Migrant workers offered free flights home
Migrant workers who become homeless will be offered free flights home in a Government-funded scheme being trialled in Lincolnshire.
The £150,000 National Reconnection Service aims to halt the rise of shanty towns that have sprung up in rural areas after jobs for foreign workers dried up in the recession.
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Polish immigrants who had lost their jobs and could no longer afford rent set up tents next to a drain in Lincoln
It is said cheap one-way flights to Eastern Europe would cost the taxpayer less than if a migrant worker becomes ill or ends up in court.
As reported in the Echo in March last year, around 30 Poles were thought to be sleeping rough in Lincoln, with some living in tents near the River Witham in the east end of the city.
Unable to find work and not entitled to claim benefits, many migrant workers are reduced to living in such shanty towns, relying on handouts from friends to survive.
Lincolnshire's agricultural chaplain the Reverend Canon Alan Robson welcomed the idea, but said £150,000 was nowhere near enough to tackle the wider issue of homelessness.
The scheme is being trialled in Boston and Peterborough, but could be rolled out to the whole country if successful.







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by mumford, lincoln
Monday, February 08 2010, 5:57PM
“See you still haven't read Andrew Neather's article "How I became the story and why the right is wrong" Swiss. Daily mail all the way is it?”
by JR, Lincoln
Monday, February 08 2010, 5:56PM
“Martin, that is a reasoned post but wasted here. People have to have an us and them. The 'them' can be blamed for most things without any real understanding of what 'they' do. It happens in work amongst departments and in social circles. The ultimate them and us is people from other countrys because they are different in the way they speak etc. If you have a problem, lack of uni places, overcrowding in hospitals, poor hospitals, lack of money, lack of jobs etc rather than spend time investigating the likely complex reasons behind it, it is far easier to blame it on one group. It used to be the Jewish community many years back, then changed to immigrants, muslims etc etc. Sadly it will never change. On a positive note, these people can't organise themselves to do anything about it and tend to fight amongst themselves as they find differences between them (North/South Posh/Working class etc).”
by Martin, Lincoln
Monday, February 08 2010, 5:19PM
“Echo reader logic:
If you have a clue what you're talking about you're naive.
Damn foreigners comming over here taking our shanty towns!
"Just when 6,000 people will needlessly lose out on a university place this year owing to "lack of funds" the government wastes money on helping nationals of other countries who FAILED to put any contingency planning in place"
That actually doesn't make any sense at all, and despite government policy far too many people are going to uni doing worthless degrees in media studies and sport science which is exactly where the problem starts in the first place.
But okay you guys are funny.
There's like 3 immigrants in Lincoln to every 1000 people and you guys act like the reverse is the case, it's also interesting that a load of these guys are doing jobs that nobody wants, a lot of it is manual labour on farms and whatnot - and the stuff that isn't, if they can compete good luck to them.”
by Will, The Shire
Monday, February 08 2010, 3:33PM
“Shame on the government.
Just when 6,000 people will needlessly lose out on a university place this year owing to "lack of funds" the government wastes money on helping nationals of other countries who FAILED to put any contingency planning in place. How is it right that money is spent helping foreigners before helping those who pay in to the tax pot?”
by Swiss Toni, Switzerland
Monday, February 08 2010, 2:48PM
“"The huge increases in migrants over the last decade were partly due to a politically motivated attempt by ministers to radically change the country and "rub the Right's nose in diversity", according to Andrew Neather, a former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett.
He said Labour's relaxation of controls was a deliberate plan to "open up the UK to mass migration" but that ministers were nervous and reluctant to discuss such a move publicly for fear it would alienate its "core working class vote"."
How does it feel ladies and gents to have your nose rubbed in diversity?”
by Mrs.Sneer, Decision on my cold
Monday, February 08 2010, 2:30PM
“"The fit women can stay......others....get em out sharpish. "
Oh dear,won't leave us with many then will it.
I hope it's the Polish government paying to take them back or is it the british taxpayer? We shouldn't have opened the borders up in the first place. Every other EU country had the brains to realise they'd be swamped.”
by Stan Butler, On The Busses
Monday, February 08 2010, 1:41PM
“Mike of Sincil Bank; ignorant of the fact that he can only feel good about himself by trying to belittle other people. How sad is that Mike...”
by Swiss Toni, Switzerland
Monday, February 08 2010, 1:19PM
“Boomerang, you know me. I like to call a spade a spade.
I'm not particularly outspoken, I just think it's confusing to use any other term for it.”
by Boomerang, Heading home for a while
Monday, February 08 2010, 1:14PM
“You sound like the young Dingle lad Swiss Tony ,but like your thinking.”
by Swiss Toni, Switzerland
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:58PM
“The fit women can stay......others....get em out sharpish.”