Report of the Chief Partnership Officer
(Listing Officer: P Barnett – peter.barnett@coventry.gov.uk)
Minutes:
Further to Minute 70 above, the Cabinet considered a private report of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, which set out the confidential matters relating to refugee resettlement and newly arrived communities.
RESOLVED that the Cabinet:
1. Approve the proposed regional model put forward by the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership to disperse people who are asylum seekers across the West Midlands region, as set out in Appendix 2. As set out in section 1.5 providing information on ‘Move to Full Dispersal’ policy and described in Option 2 of the Options and Recommended proposal section.
2. Reaffirm the position of Coventry as a City of Sanctuary, City of Peace and Reconciliation and continue to be a welcoming and inclusive place for people from asylum seeking, refugee and migrant communities. This is with a particular emphasis on supporting new arrivals to be able to make a positive contribution to local communities and the local economy.
3. Confirm the Council’s pledge to resettle 125-150 people per annum from the Government’s Resettlement Schemes. This would reflect the capacity in the city to support these very vulnerable refugees and make a positive contribution to the Government’s request for support with the challenges faced particularly by the collapse of the previous Afghan regime in August 2021.
4. Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities to be able to increase or decrease the Council’s pledge to the Government’s refugee resettlement schemes. This would be in accordance with Coventry’s capacity to deliver effective integration support and would be based on the population size of the city.
5. Authorise the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities following consultation with the Head of Service Libraries and Migration and the Chief Legal Officer to prepare and thereafter issue a letter to the Home Secretary stating the following:
• That the City Council remains supportive of the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership’s plan which reflects the move to a new and better dispersal model;
• That the current contingency hotels are stood down in the City of Coventry; and
• No further contingency hotels are to be created in the future within the City of Coventry
6. Accept all government grant allocations awarded to the Council per individual under the grant schemes programmes listed in Appendix 1 for current and future years and delegate authority to the Head of Service Libraries and Migration following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities to take all necessary actions to bring into effect this recommendation.
7. Authorise the Council to accept additional grant funding award of £794,753 from the Asylum Migration Integration Fund (AMIF) subject to the appropriate match funding being secured by all necessary delivery partners which shall thereafter be utilised to extend the current MyCoventry programme for a third year (ending December 2023) as described in Paragraph 1.10 below.
8. Delegate authority to the Head of Service Libraries and Migration following consultation with Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities to enter into the appropriate agreements:
• To secure the additional grant funding; and
• Back-to-back funding agreement with the necessary delivery partners.