EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
released into the community within the UK) and limited arrangements for family and other contact. There is no structure of parole or time off for good behaviour, limited or no access to any paid work, restrictions on education provision and no limits to the period for which they are held except via a limited bail system. Income, benefits and financial exclusion The earnings of migrants from poorer countries are substantially lower than the average UK ones, in spite of qualification levels which are often above the average. The majority of foreign-born groups have lower income support take-up rates than the UK-born and the proportion of foreign-born people who claim unemployment benefits is also very low. Low-paid migrants from outside Europe have been significantly adversely affected by moves away from lower tax rates to tax credit benefits because many may not be entitled to them. This bar also affects those who become unable to work due to long-term illness or disability. Migrants from A8 countries have restricted access to some benefits until they have worked for a year following registration on the WRS. Financial exclusion may be a problem. Opening a bank account without a permanent address, regular income or credit history is difficult and, although most regular migrants have a passport for personal identification, many do not have proof of permanent address. Where migrants seek to circumvent complex regulations, they may end up making payments to use the accounts of ‘friends’. Harassment and violence There is mounting evidence of racial harassment against new migrants in general and against Eastern Europeans in particular. Migrants and others experiencing hostility often blame the media for it, while the public often does not distinguish between refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers. There is no specific research on racial harassment against migrants, and the British Crime Survey reports on adult victims of crime and adult fears of violent crime only by ethnicity. However, local studies offer some evidence of harassment. In south Lincolnshire, 37 per cent of respondents to a migrant survey reported experiences of discrimination and harassment; the harassment being from British people in shops, bars and cafĂŠs, or in the street. Among staff in Chinese catering establishments, 31 per cent had experienced physical attacks, 56 per cent racial abuse and 58 cent had problems with employers refusing to pay them what they were owed. A focus of considerable campaigning, and source of particular problems for migrants, is domestic violence. Migrants experiencing domestic violence need to deal with a number of interlinked issues that are not a problem for non-migrants in the same situation, specifically in relation to their immigration status and inability to access public funds, such as housing and other benefits. While there are specific provisions xv