What is the Refugee Integration and Employment Service (RIES)?

RIES is a new service funded by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Refugee Council are providing this service as the lead contractor in the East of England, London, and the West Midlands, and as a subcontractor of Leeds City Council in Yorkshire and Humberside, from 1 October 2008. The service aims to help and support newly-recognised refugees to integrate smoothly and quickly into UK society.

RIES support for new refugees involves three elements:

• an integration advice service for 6 months

• an employment advice and brokerage service for up to 12 months

• a refugee mentoring service, which can be accessed at any point in the first 12 months, and which lasts between 6 and 12 months

How RIES will work

RIES takes referrals directly from UKBA case owners in regional asylum teams. Referrals can only come via UKBA. Those new refugees who receive status through the Case Resolution Programme are not allowed to access RIES services.

Whilst other agencies or individuals cannot make formal referrals directly, if they believe that any refugee is eligible for RIES, they should contact the Refugee Council Central RIES Referrals Team on 020 7346 6714 who will follow the case up with UKBA and ask them to consider making a formal referral for RIES.

RIES staff will support new refugees from our offices, partners’ and subcontractors’ offices, and from outreach venues throughout each region. Travel expenses to the first appointment will be refunded. Each refugee will meet with an integration advisor who will support them through the first few difficult months in their new community. At the core of the service will be an individual Personal Integration Plan for each refugee, offering them early and intensive casework support with all aspects of settling into life in the UK, and assisting them with things like housing, health services, education and welfare benefits. Once they are established, they will work intensively with an advisor to devise an Employment Action Plan to help them find sustainable employment.

Our RIES teams will work with other Refugee Council teams and with other agencies, including refugee community organisations, local authorities, housing providers, Job Centre Plus and employment agencies, education and training agencies, health services, legal and advice services, UK Border Agency staff and interpreting services, to enable new refugees to access a range of relevant services.

Our subcontractors for RIES delivery are, in London, Timebank, and in the West Midlands, Stoke CAB, Coventry Refugee Centre, and the Refugee and Migrant Centre (formerly WARS - Wolverhampton Asylum and Refugee Services) to deliver integration and employment advice in their areas, and the Centre for Equality and Diversity in Dudley to provide mentoring for the whole of West Midlands.

RIES services led by the Refugee Council will make strong use of volunteers in a variety of innovative and interesting roles, extending opportunities for both volunteers and refugees. Each RIES staff team will be backed by an equivalent number of volunteers, to help service users (new refugees) with completing forms, to accompany them to appointments, advocate for them, involve them in social and educational activities, introduce them to local facilities and provide mentoring to them, among other things. Thus, volunteers will be involved in all areas of RIES services, providing advice and support to enable new refugees to meet their integration aims, and will be provided with appropriate training, supervision and support. Paid staff will work with and support the work of volunteers within the service and the Refugee Council as a whole.

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