FOI - Romanian population and mental health services [Feb 2023]

Your request

Please provide the following information necessary for a wide population research in designing integrative mental health community services:

1. The number of Romanian born citizens living in London.
2. The number of Romanian children and women victims of domestic violence, including the number of Romanian mothers living in refuges in London.
3. The number of Romanian businesses in London.
4. The number of people on universal credit from the Romanian minority in London.
5. The number of Romanian NHS service users with mental health problems in London (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Adult Mental Health Services).
6. The rate of crime linked to Romanian minorities in London.
7. The available 2023-2026 grants and funding for community mental health startups and new social enterprises to tackle this segment of population.
8. The number of Romanian charities in London funded by GLA and government grants (amounts) providing inclusive services for Romanians with mental health challenges, addictions, and social exclusion; their names and addresses or links to their websites.
9. What has the GLA done since the pandemic to provide the Romanian community with support and funding to help tackle inequality, racial discrimination, equal access to healthcare, work, culture, by the Romanian minorities in London?
10. Any recent request for collaboration in this sense from any Romanian citizen living in London, business, charity or Romanian Embassy in London, and your response.
11. Would you be willing to support or fund a bilateral initiative supporting both Romanians living in London and London residents from disadvantaged backgrounds suffering from enduring mental health conditions, aimed at training and employing people with mental health challenges? If yes, would you be willing to offer an audience for such a presentation?

Our response

The GLA is London's strategic government and does not operate in the same way as local Borough Councils. We therefore do not hold the information in the format you have requested. I have provided some background against the parts of your request below, including links to other public authorities where appropriate.

You may also wish to contact the individual local Borough Councils.

Question 1

The Census put the Romanian-born population of London at 176,000 in March 2021.

Question 2 and 6

Although the GLA and Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are closely linked, they are separate Public Authorities for the purposes of The Freedom of Information Act 2000, as per schedule 1 of the Act.

You may wish to send your request to the MPS.

Question 4 

The GLA does not hold any record level information on benefit claimants. The published statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do not give any information on nationality, citizenship, ethnicity or country of birth which would help with this enquiry.

You may wish to contact the DWP for further enquiries of this nature.

Questions 7-10

The GLA doesn’t tend to give out funding for mental health startups as it’s not within our remit. You may wish to contact the NHS for further information on this subject.

Although many of our grants will have an equity focus, We don’t have ringfenced funding for specific communities. Romanian Londoners are one of the biggest communities in London and their voices, rights and participation are important to the Mayor and the GLA In 2019.

Deputy Mayor Dr Debbie Weekes-Barnard hosted the first roundtable with Romanian London community and embassy representatives to hear about their experiences as Londoners and the challenges they faced in exercising rights and accessing services. Consequently, Dr Weekes-Barnard also met with the Romanian Parliamentary Committee for Romanian Communities Living Abroad.

Part of the #LondonIsOpen campaign, the Mayor has been clear that London remains a welcoming home for all European Londoners. The Mayor continues to meet regularly with European Ambassadors, and Her Excellency Laura Popescu, the Romanian Ambassador to the UK, spoke at the February 2021 meeting where participants discussed Brexit and EU Londoners rights, the COVID–19 pandemic response, recovery plans and future joint priorities.

The hostile environment and changes to immigration rules, following the EU referendum and Britain’s decision to leave the EU, disproportionally impact Romanian Londoners. As part of the Mayor's promise to champion London's diversity, the Migrant Londoners Hub provides information, including in Romanian, to welcome new arrivals to our city and support migrant Londoners with information about their rights.

The GLA, together with NHS and Public Heath London colleagues, and community organisations, has organised a series of Big Conversation events about the COVID-19 vaccine, including one with Romanian Londoners.

Civic and democratic participation are a key pillar of social integration, and the voice and participation of Romanian Londoners in decisions impacting them, their communities and our great city is very important. Hence, part of the GLA Civic and Democratic Participation programme and its flagship annual GLA London Voter Registration Week, a number of Romanian civil society organisations are coalition partners.

In response to unprecedented changes to democratic rights, the GLA has launched the #NoVoteNoVoice public awareness campaign into the introduction of photo Voter ID and the changes to the voting rights of some EU Londoners. As part of this, the GLA grant funds a Romanian-led organisation to raise awareness in trusted community settings and has recently co-organised with the Romanian Consulate in London a public awareness event into Romanian Londoner’s access to civic and democratic rights.

All GLA Civic and Democratic Participation programme resources are co-designed and co-delivered with under-registered and under-represented Londoners and available in community languages, including Romanian.

We know that London’s communities have been hard hit by COVID-19. Some communities have been disproportionally affected, many of whom are unheard voices or already experience long term inequality and disadvantage in areas such as health, employment, housing and access to green spaces.

Part of the GLA recovery programme, a Romanian civil society organisation received Building Stronger Communities grant funding in round two. Round three is currently open. 

Question 11

As I am sure you can appreciate the GLA receives many such requests, all from very worthy causes such as yours, as such it is I am afraid not possible to offer support in this case.

May I take this opportunity to wish you every success in your endeavours and thank you again for taking the time to contact the GLA.

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting reference MGLA030223-9153.