Central and Eastern European migrant communities in Salford and Bury : Final report

The arrival of Central and Eastern European migrant communities into Salford and Bury has placed extra demand on public services as well as changing the demographic make–up of communities. While there is general awareness on the part of public services of significant in-migration, often into deprived urban locations, and statistical evidence of such migration from governmental recording schemes, there is limited data on the specific areas of residence and the breakdown by age, gender and household type of these new arrivals. There is also a lack of awareness of their particular needs with regard to core areas of public service delivery (health, education, community safety, etc.) and how services can adequately respond to meet these. Finally, there is a knowledge gap in relation to the people’s future intentions. In order to provide an initial baseline of knowledge in these areas a study brief was developed to enhance intelligence in relation to the Czech, Polish and Slovak communities in both local authority areas. This study was also intended to inform community cohesion and integration actions, as well as the priorities for local neighbourhood level work. The research was commissioned by Salford City Council and Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in October 2009 and was conducted by Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) at the University of Salford. The study was greatly aided by research support from a number of community interviewers. The project was managed by a steering group composed of officers representing Salford City Council and Bury Metropolitan Borough Council. The study was undertaken by conducting: consultation with 26 key stakeholders and service providers in Salford and Bury; and a total of 200 interviews with migrants from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia