The Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ)1 is currently engaged in an effort to identify and support specific groups who have become newly vulnerable since the referendum.
Long involved in supporting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, CARJ has welcomed the recent IPPR2 report – Roma Communities and Brexit3 – which traces the migration of Roma communities from Central and Eastern Europe to the UK and warns that once EU funding for the integration of this group is withdrawn following Brexit, the Government may not make up the shortfall.4
“These communities, already among the most disadvantaged in our society, now find themselves newly vulnerable in a number of ways. There is uncertainty over their future right of residency; they will feel insecure given the recent rise in hate crime; and EU funding to support Roma integration may cease.”
CSAN and CARJ are encouraging the Catholic community to make themselves aware of the issues raised in this report and to become actively involved in public discussion about how Brexit will affect Roma communities.
- The Catholic Association for Racial Justice is an independent charity and an Agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. More information can be found here: http://www.carj.org.uk/
- IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research, is a UK thinktank. More information can be found here: http://www.ippr.org/
- Roma communities and Brexit: Integrating and empowering Roma in the UK, Marley Morris, Institute for Public Policy Research, October 2016: http://www.ippr.org/publications/roma-communities-and-brexit
- The report estimates that a total of £1.1bn in European structural funds for the 2014–2020 period is available for the promotion of Roma integration.
