Immigration tensions popping up in English towns

In Peterborough, Barking, and Burnley, three areas where immigration rates are very high, the communities are experiencing issues with integration. One factor causing tension on community relations is the stress that immigration is adding on public services. Immigrants may not speak the best English which is resulting in the overcrowding of schools with children that may need extra attention.

Community members claim that government funding for the public services offered within each area is much lower than it should be because the population figures that the funding is based on are incorrect.

To help offset added costs in these communities Liam Byrne, Immigration Minister, said "We do think it is right that newcomers are asked to pay a little bit more for public services. Actually we propose that the fund should raise tens of millions of pounds every year. This vital cash will allow us to channel money quickly to public services wherever there is a short term pressure from migration."

Speaking out against Minister Byrne's statement Dr. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah with the Institute of Public Policy Research said "We're risking turning everything that migrants do into a problem and forgetting that they are dynamically contributing to the local economy and to the country because they are working and paying taxes."

Others Like Baroness Warsi point the issue back toward the government adding that "failure to control the numbers of migrants coming into this country" and the "inability to know where migrants are living and to fund local authorities accordingly."

www.ippr.org.uk