Anne Singh reports on recent changes to policy affecting migrant care workers. You would be forgiven for missing it, but in mid December 2010, amidst the sustained stream of government announcements about restricting the numbers of spouses, students, migrant workers – pretty much anyone – coming to the UK from outside the EEA, there was
Theme: Health
Segregation myths exposed
A crucial book questioning dominant ideas about race, ethnicity and segregation deserves to be widely read. Claims about the growing impact of segregation have permeated policy-making to such an extent within the UK that they have visibly impacted upon a wide range of criminal justice, social policy, education, and anti-terrorism strategies. They are central to
Jayaben Desai 1933-2010
On 23 December 2010, 77-year-old Jayaben Desai, the militant leader of the Grunwick strike (1976-1978) passed away. ‘There was another powerful political lady with a handbag other than Thatcher in the 1970s’, wrote Jenny Bourne when reviewing a DVD on the struggle at the factory, ‘A tiny woman, usually swathed in a bulky cardigan, almost
Prisons for rent
Below we reproduce an article by Shiar Youssef of Corporate Watch that examines recent developments in the world of privatised prisons and policing. As the coalition government announced its plans to ‘reform’ the prison and rehabilitation services, private companies were greasing their palms for fat contracts in the new market. Meanwhile, private security giant G4S
Sledgehammer approach to forced marriage rejected
The Court of Appeal has told the Home Office to disapply marriage rules for the majority of couples applying for a visa. In November 2008, the Home Office amended the immigration rules to require that only couples over 21 could benefit from family reunion. Applications by under-21s to join spouses here, or applications by older
A cashless society: the other side of the coin …
As the seasonal festivities get into full swing, campaign and support groups are stepping up their lobbying against the Azure card – a cashless payment system for asylum seekers – which leaves thousands in extreme poverty. ‘Section 4 support’, as set out in Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, provides for limited
Sudden about turn in Habib Ullah case
Last week the inquest into the death of Habib Ullah was suddenly halted as the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) made an application to the coroner to stop proceedings so it could reopen its investigation into the five police officers involved. Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah, (39) died on 3 July 2008 after a stop and search
Legal aid cuts: exclusion from justice
Today the IRR publishes a briefing paper about the impact of the proposed legal aid cuts in the field of immigration. The legal aid cuts proposed by the ministry of justice, which remove most immigration cases from the scope of all legal help and advice, will have a devastating effect on migrants’ access to justice,
Coalition announces cuts in ESOL funding
A lecturer in a further education (FE) college examines the impact of planned cuts to ESOL funding. The recently published coalition strategy for further education, Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth,[1] makes little reference to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), but what reference there is makes extremely worrying reading. In brief, from September
Woolas: hoist by his own petard
Phil Woolas, one of the harshest of immigration ministers, has lost his parliamentary seat for distributing misinformation about immigration to tar his opponent. The ejection of Phil Woolas from Parliament, and suspension from the Labour Party, on 5 November 2010, for untruthful and inflammatory statements made when campaigning in the general election earlier in the