Migrant Integration Framework: progress update 2025

• This year we strengthened the evidence base underpinning the Migrant Integration Framework for Wales and expanded our ability to understand migrant experiences across key policy areas.
• Stats teams across Welsh Government updated several indicators feeding into the Framework, including work-related measures such as the percentage of people in employment who are on permanent contracts (or on temporary contracts and not seeking permanent work) and earning at least the real Living Wage.
• New analyses have been undertaken on datasets containing country-of-birth variables. ADR Wales produced research exploring GP registrations and health-related activity among migrants using administrative and survey data. The School Health Research Network analysed health and wellbeing outcomes among UK-born and non-UK-born pupils from the 2017 and 2021 Secondary Student Health and Wellbeing Surveys.
• Country of birth has now been added to several new administrative data collections, including the Single Advice Fund, a Homelessness Support pilot, and the Childcare Offer for Wales. These developments will support improved monitoring of advice service utilisation, homelessness prevention, and family support.
• New insights on migrant rights are being collected through the British Red Cross VOICES network. With Welsh Government funding and training, experts by experience will undertake focus groups in 2026 to capture migrants’ knowledge and perceptions of their rights.
• Work has also progressed on how data within the Framework will be presented. In partnership with Cardiff University, a postgraduate feasibility study assessed options for displaying indicators in ways that are meaningful and accessible to end users. Findings will inform the next phase of development in 2026.
• To support delivery, a statistician has been added to the team with responsibility for managing the collection, analysis and dissemination of data related to the Migrant Integration Framework.
• Welsh Government has also commissioned a research project exploring the current reach, awareness and user experience of the Framework. Interviews with stakeholders have taken place to understand perceptions, barriers and opportunities for improvement.
• The publication of the Migrant Integration Framework and its continued annual updates fulfil the commitment within the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan to publish a national framework on migrant integration.

Domain 1: work

• Employment suitability: Updated indicators from Welsh Government labour market statistics, with continuing work to ensure regular reporting.
• Job security and earnings: Real Living Wage and contract-type data for migrants continue to be updated using official statistics.
• Income poverty: Ongoing refinement to incorporate disaggregation by demographic characteristics.
• Job satisfaction and financial insecurity: Continued exploration of survey linkage options, including National Survey for Wales and Census 2021.

Domain 2: housing

• Overcrowding and tenancy security: Reliance on Census 2021 continues; alternative survey-based sources under review.
• Homelessness: Inclusion of country of birth in a new Homelessness Support pilot represents progress toward future indicator development.
• Housing satisfaction: Work continues on potential linkage between the National Survey for Wales and Census 2021.

Domain 3: health and social care

• Health and wellbeing: New evidence from ADR Wales and SHRN provides insight into migrant health behaviours and wellbeing.
• GP registration: ADR Wales analysis has strengthened understanding of GP registration patterns among migrants.
• Healthy behaviours and mental wellbeing: Alternative datasets, including Understanding Society and survey-based collections, remain under review.
• Social care satisfaction: Future improvements depend on the development of datasets with migrant identifiers.

Domain 4: social connections

• Belonging and community cohesion: Linkage work with Census 2021 continues to be explored.
• Cultural participation and volunteering: Potential enhancements identified through survey linkage discussions.
• Diverse friendships: Still limited by lack of suitable data; future qualitative engagement may support indicator development.

Domain 5: education and skills

• Language skills: Census 2021 continues to be the main source; future updates will require new data collection.
• GCSE attainment: Work ongoing to review Annual Population Survey variables for feasibility.
• Internet usage: Exploring Understanding Society and other survey datasets.
• Tertiary education and qualifications: Reviewing post-16 data collections for gaps and potential inclusion of country-of-birth variables.

Domain 6: safety and stability

• Criminal justice fairness, safety and hate crime: Work continues to explore routine publication options for analyses from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
• Local area satisfaction: Further linking of National Survey for Wales and Census 2021 being investigated.

Domain 7: rights and responsibilities

• Voter registration: Continued monitoring of data availability for EU citizens; exploration of broader access options.
• Advice service use and rights knowledge: Country of birth added to the Single Advice Fund dataset will support future indicator development.
• Knowledge of rights: VOICES network focus group work will provide new qualitative insights for indicator 3.

• Data gaps remain across several domains, particularly for indicators requiring regular updates or covering topics where no existing data source currently includes a migrant identifier.
• New datasets with migrant flags will take time before becoming available for analysis. For example, enhanced homelessness and social care datasets are expected to require 2 to 3 years before producing usable outputs.
• Data fragmentation continues to present challenges. Migrant-specific data sits across numerous sources, including Census 2021, survey datasets and administrative collections, making harmonisation and consistent reporting complex.
• Resource and capacity constraints, particularly before the appointment of the new statistician, limited the ability to progress some strands at pace. Continued reliance on external partners for access to and interpretation of specialist datasets also poses challenges.
• Awareness and uptake of the Framework varies among stakeholders, with early findings from interviews suggesting that some users require clearer guidance on potential applications and limitations of the indicators.

• Use insights from the MSc feasibility study to develop a clear, accessible data presentation model for 2026.
• Establish routine publication of migrant-related analyses drawn from updated administrative and survey datasets.
• Develop a harmonised approach to linking surveys, including the National Survey for Wales, with Census 2021 to enhance migrant-specific insight.
• Expand work with partners to improve the availability of country-of-birth or nationality variables in existing datasets and to design new collections where needed.
• Incorporate findings from stakeholder research into the next phase of Framework development to ensure the resource is accessible, relevant and practical for users.
• Support the VOICES network focus groups in 2026 to strengthen understanding of migrants’ awareness and perceptions of rights.