Local Authority Commission on Asylum and Migration [LACAM]

What is the Local Authority Commission on Asylum and Migration?

The Local Authority Commission on Asylum and Migration [LACAM] is a group that brings together councillors from across Yorkshire and Humber to provide a strategic and political overview of all of Migration Yorkshire’s work – from managing the accommodation contracts to helping local authorities cope with the impacts of migration. Its focus is on issues around the asylum, refugee and migration agenda from a local government perspective.

LACAM works on behalf of the Local Government Yorkshire and Humber [LGYH] Executive and reports back to them twice each year.

What does it do?

LACAM exists to:

Influence and shape national policy around asylum and migration, to make sure it meets the needs of local government in this region.
Ensure that Government is properly and regularly informed of the implications of asylum policies on local authorities, and make representations accordingly.
Continue to lobby to secure sufficient resources to cover local authorities’ responsibilities.
Provide a ‘constituency’ for the Chair who represents the region on the Local Government Association [LGA] Task Group on Asylum and Migration.
Consider the impact of new migration as it affects specific local authority services and their community leadership role.
Oversee the work of Migration Yorkshire, including contract development and delivery.

What are its key priorities for this year?

LACAM will consider any issues where new migrant populations are impacting on local authorities. In 2011-2012, there will be a particular focus on:

Providing political oversight for discussions around any future contracting arrangements for local authorities involved in the delivery of services to asylum seekers.
Ensuring that local government positions itself to play a strong influencing role if other providers deliver this service in the future.
Developing a collective local authority position on unaccompanied children and the impact of post-18 care for local authorities – including lobbying for Government to cover the costs that this policy is having on local authorities.
Developing regional understanding around the role of local authorities at ‘end of process’ [the situation for those asylum seekers who have been refused asylum and have exhausted all appeal rights], and around the impact of No Recourse to Public Funds cases on localities.
Developing regional local authority thinking on the way that migration impacts on local areas, and ensuring that policy and delivery reflects the presence of new communities.
Considering the impact that migration is having on cohesion and ways to address this.

How often does it meet?

LACAM normally meets three times per year.

Who are its members?

There is a seat for an elected member representative from each of the 22 local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber.

The Chair is nominated by LGYH, and other representatives are nominated by individual local authorities. The Chair of LACAM also chairs the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Migration Group [SMG].

More information about LACAM

Rob Warm, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Manager
Phone: 0113 395 2434
Email: robert.warm@migrationyorkshire.org.uk

Nicola Baylis, Executive Services Officer
Phone: 0113 395 2449
Email: nicola.baylis@migrationyorkshire.org.uk