Too many statistics on migrant population are out of date, cause incorrect grant funding and exacerbate local community tensions says the report this week by the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. Criticising the lack of updated figures from the Office for National Statistics, the commission says it should ‘urgently reinvigorate its work' on co-ordinating migration figures nationally. It adds: ‘The Government cannot let this issue fester. Until a strong national framework for data exists local areas are at risk of putting too much emphasis on the integration and cohesion impacts of new residents.' Its comments follow a call by several London boroughs for urgent talks with the Treasury over outdated population figures which mean less grant (The MJ, 7 June). The commission's report also says better cohesion will not be achieved by a ‘one-size-fits-all' strategy. Pointing out that ‘challenges to integration' are often local, the report, chaired by Ealing LBC chief executive Darra Singh and commissioned by Ruth Kelly last year, says every local authority in England should map its communities to identify potential tensions. Overall the report is upbeat about the state of community relations commenting that 79% of respondents say people of different backgrounds get on well with each other in their areas while the level drops below 60% in only 10 out of 387 local areas. But its own poll found 56% of respondents still feel some minority groups have unfair priority over public services. Emphasising that cohesion problems are often highly localised it identifies such areas as l those beginning to experience diversity often through internal migration like outer London boroughs l rural areas beginning to experience diversity often from Eastern Europe l diverse areas experiencing new migration from non-Commonwealth countries such as inner cities. Among its 57 recommendations the report also calls for more voluntary services for young people, an expansion of citizenship ceremonies, more English teaching and less focus on printing leaflets in different languages, a new national body to manage the integration of new migrants and a rapid rebuttal unit against misinformation run by the DCLG, LGA, LGIU and other partners. The commission's key recommendations l A statement of integration and cohesion policy l A national body to manage integration of new migrants l A national ‘community week' in 2008 l Single national PSA target for cohesion l The CAA to audit integration measures l Focus on teaching English not translation into foreign languages l More resources for teaching English l Local communities should be mapped l Local PIs for integration
