United Kingdom

The UK Government introduced Payment services legislation in 2017 to implement the second European Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The Legislation will come into force in the UK in January 2018. Under this legislation credit institutions will be required to provide payment service providers (PSPs) with access to payment accounts on a proportionate, objective and non-discriminatory basis, and report instances where access has been denied to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Many local authorities in the UK offer free English language classes to adult immigrants in their area. The London Borough of Islington, for example, offers English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses to unemployed or low-paid adults resident in Islington or with children in Islington schools. The course are for those for whom English is not their first language and who want to improve their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, helping with their employability and citizenship.

This framework has been developed to help DFID take the right decisions to have the greatest impact on stability. The UK has committed to spend at least half of DFID’s budget in fragile states and regions in every year of this Parliament. The highest development returns may lie in the long-term foundations for a future free of violence, rather than in those immediate gains which remain critically vulnerable to being destroyed by conflict. 

The European Qualifications Passport being piloted in Greece by various European agencies for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills is another example to emulate. The “passports” confirm the qualifications and skills of migrants based on interviews and credential evaluations so that they can readily enter the labour market.

IOM offices and partners launched Skills2Work to improve the access of employers and beneficiaries to information and services related to skills recognition.

The Skills2Work project aims to promote labour market integration of refugees by promoting the early validation of formal and informal skills and competences. This is achieved by supporting the reception framework and capacities of relevant authorities, service providers and employers, and by enhancing access to information and services regarding the recognition of skills and qualifications of refugees. 

The Shortage Occupation List is a strict list of jobs for migrant workers.

The IGC is an informal, non-decision making forum for intergovernmental information exchange and policy debate on issues of relevance to the management of international migratory flows.

The IGC brings together 16 Participating States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the European Commission. The Participating States are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America.

The UK made an industry Code of Conduct a statutory instrument making compliance with the Code a legal requirement. The ‘Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations’, 2003 and 2007 set out the expected business standards of PRAs in relation to the provision of ancillary services (i.e.

The Employment Agencies Act, 1973, as well as the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations, 1976 and 2003, are the main statutory instruments regulating employment agencies in the United Kingdom.

The project aims to break down negative stereotypes and improve public perception of migrants and the phenomenon of migration in the Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain by creating strong and long-lasting basis for interaction and dialogue between migrants and members of receiving communities. Since a large part of the project will take place in 2013, the European Year of Citizenship, the project seeks to bring attention to the wider definition of citizen, meaning a person who is linked to a country by rights, but also by responsibility to the society.