Executive Summary – People, power and priorities: Insights into the UK refugee and migration sector

Introduction This summary presents selected findings of a major review of the UK refugee and migration sector and funding landscape in 2023, commissioned by Migration Exchange.1 It provides an overview of the challenging social and political context in the UK for work on refugee and migration issues since 2020. [...] Key developments have included the global Covid-19 pandemic; a chaotic and polarised national political environment; increased media and political attention on small boats crossing 2 People, power and priorities: Insights into the UK refugee and migration sector the channel; public debate dominated by culture wars; populism and the rise of the far-right; and the growing impacts of the cost-of-livi. [...] Adapting to external challenges and crises The UK migration and refugee sector has faced a turbulent and highly challenging external environment since 2020, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of hostile and chaotic policies, and growing dysfunction across the immigration system. [...] The sector’s response to the Covid pandemic was a real success – the agility and the way we quickly adapted to the new environment we faced.” 27 8 People, power and priorities: Insights into the UK refugee and migration sector Looking ahead: NGOs and funders are concerned that the sector will continue to face intense, and rapidly unfolding, pressures, to which it will need to adapt. [...] It involved this research against the findings presented detailed analysis of registered charities in the in ‘Taking Stock and Facing the Future’, UK working on refugee and migration issues, a review of the refugee and migration sector and of funding to the sector, using data from released by Migration Exchange in April 2020.