Money will enable the council to improve and increase capacity of services for asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants to access the support they are entitled to and begin to contribute
Liverpool City Council has secured £2.4m from the Controlling Migration Fund to help migrants and refugees settle into their new city and get to know their neighbours.
The money will enable the council to improve and increase capacity of services for asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants to access the support they are entitled to and to live independent healthy lives and contribute to their communities, such as housing, education and health services.
A programme of activity across the Liverpool city region authorities will deliver support to refugees to obtain mainstream benefits and housing, freeing up emergency accommodation for the wider community.
It will also support migrants to access employment easing pressures on job centres and family learning support to enable migrant children to access education more readily.
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Across Liverpool, the programme will include initiatives to tackle migrant rough sleeping, provide specialist educational support to migrant children to free up pressure on schools and release the capacity of teachers and provide ESOL to enable migrants to use services more effectively.
Many of the projects supported will provide English language lessons to allow new residents to contribute to and feel part of their communities. They will also include education around British values and social norms, breaking down cultural barriers.
Liverpool will also support the city region local authorities in tailoring and developing their services and capacity to further support asylum seekers and refugees. The programme will run from summer 2018 and continue until August 2020.
Mayoral Lead for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, Cllr Frank Hont said: “Welcoming people into our city and helping them make it their home is incredibly important to us. We want to ensure everybody has access to good housing, education and health services.
“Helping people access language courses and understanding British social norms is part of building a cohesive community.”