Sanctuary Strategy 2025-28 action plan
1. Mainstream the City of Sanctuary approach across council services
| Action | Theme | Team to deliver | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
Develop a communications plan across the Council to:
| Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium term/ ongoing |
| Incorporate people seeking sanctuary into the Council’s Equality Impact Assessment | Cross-cutting | Policy team | Short term |
| Complete and submit the application for Council of Sanctuary award | Cross-cutting | Policy team/ Housing | Short term |
| Lobby the Home Office and Government on relevant legislation and consultations relating to people seeking sanctuary | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Work in collaboration with other organisations with sanctuary status (e.g. Museum of English Rural Life) | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Continue to attend City of Sanctuary Local Authority Network meetings | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Continue to explore and enhance Modern Slavery and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) support pathways by increasing information from a sanctuary-seeker’s perspective, via the Community Safety Partnership’s VAWG Delivery Group and Domestic Abuse Board | Health & Wellbeing | Community Safety | Ongoing |
2. Provision of services to people seeking sanctuary
| Action | Theme | Team to deliver | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map customer routes and pathways for people seeking sanctuary | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium term |
| Develop a welcome/ navigation pack for people seeking sanctuary | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium-long term |
| Develop directory/ resource for RBC staff to enable a consistent and co-ordinated response to sanctuary seeker issues | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium-long term |
| Update Council web pages targeted at people seeking sanctuary | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium-term |
| Co-ordinate support for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) across Council services | NRPF & destitution | Housing | Short term |
| Work with Brighter Future for Children’s Inclusion Support in Education team (RISE) to promote guidance to and support schools | Cross-cutting | BFfC/ Housing | Medium-term |
Explore how to achieve the following Public Health objectives in relation to those seeking sanctuary:
| Health & wellbeing | Public Health | Various |
| Co-ordinate the mapping of local ESOL provision via the providers network, and enable the network to collaborate and share best practice | Education & language | New Directions | Short term |
| Continue provision of ESOL classes | Education & language | New Directions | Ongoing |
| Reduce hate crime against people seeking sanctuary through the Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Forum, as part of the Community Safety Strategy | Health & wellbeing | Community Safety | Medium-long term |
| Run quarterly information events for people seeking sanctuary | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Continue participation in Refugee Resettlement programmes, including Homes for Ukraine | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Provision of services to unaccompanied asylum seeker children | Cross-cutting | BFfC | Ongoing |
| Continue to embed people seeking sanctuary and celebrate their history and stories in arts and culture programmes | Cross-cutting | Culture | Ongoing |
| Continue to offer a free six-month membership to our leisure facilities to people seeking sanctuary via our leisure partner GLL | Cross-cutting | Leisure | Ongoing |
| Deliver the Reading Museum Partnerships four-year plan to celebrate Reading’s cultural diversity | Cross-cutting | Reading Museum & Museum of | Short-long term |
| Continue provision of ‘Welcome to Reading coffee mornings’ | Social inclusion | Libraries | Ongoing |
| Continue to provide self-employment courses for support with business starts ups | Employment & benefits | REDA | Ongoing |
3. Support voluntary and community sector (VCS) and partners to support people seeking sanctuary
| Action | Theme | Team to deliver | Timescale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development of and support to the multi-agency Sanctuary Partner Forum | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Monthly Partnership Support Panel for emergency cases | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Further workshops with VCS/ partners | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium term |
| Training/ briefing for partners on housing issues | Cross-cutting | Housing | Ongoing |
| Support development of the Community Plan by VCS | Cross-cutting | Housing | Medium term |
| Continue to support VCS through funding via the Council’s Closing the Gap commissioning framework | Cross-cutting | Various | Ongoing |
| Consider those seeking sanctuary in next Employment & Skills Strategy review | Employment & benefits | REDA | Long term |
Timescales – Short term = 3-6 months; medium term = 6-12 months; long term = 12 months+
Last updated on 07/07/2025
Sanctuary Strategy 2025-28 action plan