Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-establishing the National Refugee Integration Forum for coordinating support for refugees at the national, regional and local level.

The National Refugee Integration Forum was wound up in October 2006, as it formed part of a wider programme of changes to stakeholder engagement at that time.

However, as part of our commitment under the New Plan for Immigration, we are committed to offering an enhanced integration package for refugees. This will be for those arriving through safe and legal routes to help them integrate into UK society and become self-sufficient more quickly.

We have been in consultation with key stakeholders to design this package. It will build on previous Government schemes and evidence of good practice from the UK and abroad. We will provide a package of tailored support to help refugees rebuild their lives in the UK more quickly. This will include working with local authorities and charities to help refugees into work, and to learn English.

Collaboration with civil society, businesses and local authorities will continue to be key to achieving our goals on refugee integration, and we will ensure our approach is informed by the experiences of refugees.