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46
There has been an increase in the number of immigrant parents who have approached me because
they are worried about the behaviour of their children who are in their 'teens. It could be that there
is now a larger proportion of children of immigrants in the teenage groups rather than that problems
within this group are increasing. On the other hand, it might be that it is now known that my area
includes the Soho district, as among these parents have been those concerned that their children,
together with other teenagers, are keeping very late hours because they are frequenting the Soho area
where clubs for young people appear to be mushrooming. These clubs are popular in the way that
local youth clubs are not.
The little time that I have as yet been able to devote to this district has been sufficient for me to be
alarmed at the way in which it appears to have become an area for teenage "night life" activity.
While without more knowledge I could not say that these discotheque type clubs are bad, I still maintain
that it cannot be other than harmful for young people, at the age when they start out to earn their
living, to be encouraged to attend clubs especially for them which proudly announce that they stay
open very late and even all night.
It is recognized that young people are approached in clubs and cafes known as London's night life
by those who try to persuade young people to become drug "pushers" and "takers". Because the
general public appear to have made up their minds that people from overseas are more concerned
with drug taking than others, young people who are coloured are particularly vulnerable to approaches
of this kind. Many parents who have discussed their children with me are apprehensive about this.
As a result of recommendations in the Government White Paper "Immigration from the Commonwealth"
(August 1965) the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants was set up by the
Prime Minister in September, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its Chairman. Its function is
"to promote and co-ordinate on a national basis efforts directed towards the integration of Commonwealth
immigrants into the community".
The Committee also is to encourage and assist with the setting up of voluntary liaison committees
in areas with concentrations of immigrants and to assist with training of full-time officials to serve
them.
The Committee is comprised of experts in their particular field drawn from all over the country.
Specialized advisory panels (also comprised of nationally drawn experts) have also been formed to
advise the Committee (and through the Committee the Government) on problems involving Commonwealth
immigrants which are concerned with Health, Housing, Education, Employment, Children's
Problems, Legal Problems, and Social Work Training. Dr. J. H. Briscoe-Smith, Medical Officer of
Health, is a member of the Advisory Panel for Children's Problems, and I have been invited to be a
member of the Social Work Training Panel.
In paying tribute to the work done by existing liaison committees, the White Paper urged the setting
up of further committees in areas with concentrations of immigrants. (The City of Westminster has
the Westminster Overseas Committee, with Westminster City Councillors among the members, which
was first formed in the Paddington area in 1956.)
The promotion of these committees and also the fact that financial grants are available for the
salaries of full-time officers to serve them, has naturally meant there has been an increase in the
number of people working in the field of integration, and has brought a wider range of projects to
assist with the problems of integration.
Immigrants have specific needs and problems of adaptation which cannot always be met by the
formal Social Services. It is appreciated that to meet these needs by introducing new services or
extending existing ones, could only serve to arouse hostility against immigrants and their families
at a time when so many social needs which also affect indigenous people are unable to be met, for
instance, problems of lonely old people.
Therefore, the value of voluntary effort by people of goodwill in this work cannot be overestimated.
Nevertheless, despite the work of the voluntary liaison committees that which is done to promote
integration by officers working within the local government service remains of great importance.
The multiplicity of complex problems and situations concerning immigrants and the indigenous
people involved are sometimes only revealed by intimate casework contact with the people concerned
and by regular visiting in areas where these take place.
The year 1965, was also significant by the passing of the Race Relations Act (November 1965).
It is too soon to comment in this Report on the machinery which is being set up to implement the
Act, or on the repercussions arising from the Act.