Advocacy

In line with our five-year strategy, we continue to strengthen our role as a voice for our clients, advocating for their rights and ensuring their lived experiences inform local and regional policy decisions. We are actively engaged with policymakers, strategic partners, and networks to influence meaningful change. Our CEO drives policy and impact through key panel appointments: guiding London’s support for migrants and refugees on the Mayor’s Migration Advisory Panel, shaping grant strategies on the BBC Children in Need Panel, and improving migrant health outcomes via the MigRefHealth Advisory Panel in partnership with Middlesex, Anglia Ruskin, and Greenwich Universities.

At the local level, we remain closely involved in Barnet Council strategy groups, ensuring our clients’ needs are reflected in community development and inclusion strategies. We are proud partners in several advocacy networks and campaigns, including the London Asylum Civil Society Forum, the Barnet Suicide Prevention Strategy Group, and the Mental Health Partnership Forum. As a member of the IMIX Group, we collectively support campaigns that drive systemic change and improve the lives of vulnerable communities.

Through these platforms and partnerships, we remain committed to championing the rights and wellbeing of our clients, ensuring their voices are heard and represented at every level of decision-making.

Free Bus Travel for Asylum Seekers

New Citizens’ Gateway partners with Citizens UK and community partners to campaign for free bus travel for asylum seekers across London. The campaign highlights the daily challenges faced by asylum seekers, who often receive very limited financial support, making it difficult to cover everyday needs, including transport. At NCG, we see the impact of this every day. Many asylum seekers we support are unable to attend ESOL classes, GP appointments, or solicitors’ meetings without our help, simply because they cannot afford the bus fare.

We strongly believe that a lack of access to affordable transport isolates asylum seekers and prevents them from rebuilding their lives. Through Citizens UK, our staff and community leaders have joined local actions and assemblies to call on Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London to make public transport more accessible.

This campaign aligns closely with our values of empowerment and social justice. We are proud to stand alongside our community and partners in ensuring that no one is excluded due to poverty or immigration status.

Food Quality Improvement Campaign

New Citizens’ Gateway collaborated with Barnet Citizens, a branch of Citizens UK, along with community organisations and our clients who are asylum seekers, to lead a campaign focused on enhancing the quality of food provided in contingency hotels.

In partnership with Citizens Advice Barnet, NCG maintained continuous communication with Barnet Council, the Home Office, other charity organisations and accommodation providers to explore ways to improve food standards for asylum seekers. A delegation of twenty-three leaders, including one representative from each of the five asylum hotels, met with Council Leader Barry Rawlings, Councillor Zahra Beg (now Mayor of Barnet), and other relevant council officers. During this meeting, the delegation formally presented a petition signed by each organisation. They provided detailed testimonies about the food situation at each hotel and urged the Council to commit to addressing the issues by writing to the Home Office and contractors. We are grateful to Citizens Advice Barnet for their tireless efforts, collaborative work, and follow-ups to ensure these commitments are translated into tangible actions and improvements.

Thanks to persistent advocacy and strong community partnerships, our campaign successfully secured council support and led to significant, tangible improvements in food quality across local hotels.