Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Protecting What Matters action plan, how the proposed cross-governmental integration strategy will support people seeking protection and refugees.

The Government is clear that a new approach to integration is required to effectively integrate new arrivals and existing communities.

In Protecting What Matters, we outlined the steps government is taking to implement a new approach to integration based on values, including:

• Committing to set national integration expectations across the country, focused on stronger social connections, shared identity, English language proficiency, and participation in work. These expectations will be developed as part of the integration strategy and provide a transparent way to measure outcomes and track where progress is being made and where more needs to be done.

• Committing to develop an effective cross-government integration strategy to help existing and new migrants effectively integrate into their communities. Efforts will focus on removing barriers to participation, supporting underrepresented groups, and fostering a shared sense of values across the UK. The strategy will be underpinned by strong collaboration with local government and the voluntary and community sector, as well as other government departments to build on existing work and identify new opportunities.