Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports amendment on women’s safety and human trafficking

On 8th February 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in the fourth day of the Committee stage. The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in favour of amendment 105, tabled by Baroness Lister, which would remove restrictive wording in clause 32 of the bill, especially with regards to victims of trafficking:

“The amendment would remove the narrow restrictive and requirement in Clause 32 that, in order to qualify under the “particular social group” grounds of persecution for recognition as a refugee under the convention, two conditions must be met. The amendment would replace this with an either/or condition.” Hansard

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I have added my name to Amendment 105 and the intention to oppose Clause 31 standing part of the Bill. I too am grateful to Women for Refugee Women and others for their briefings and support.

In the New Plan for Immigration and the briefings for the Bill, the Government have argued repeatedly that the existing asylum and refugee system is weighted against vulnerable women. The Home Secretary has repeatedly made the point that the large majority of channel crossings are by men aged under 40, for example. Given this, there might be some expectation that the Bill would contain some good news or ambitions on the part of the Government for better reaching and helping the women and girls who make up 50% of the world’s refugees and displaced people. Unfortunately, I do not see any such commitments. As a sting in the tail, in Clauses 31 and 32 we find proposals that seem to significantly disadvantage women further.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling levies

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on tackling harms related to gambling during a debate on the Gambling Act 2005 on 9th February 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as a member of Peers for Gambling Reform. The British Medical Journal said:

“We do not allow tobacco companies to design tobacco control policies, yet the gambling industry, through the organisations it funds, shapes our responses to … harms”.

Does the Minister agree that the system of voluntary levies is part of the problem, because the industry is controlling the messaging, and that what we need are statutory, smart levies to give total independence to research, treatment and education if we are really to tackle gambling-related harms?

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Bishop of Guildford introduced

On 9th February 2022, Rt Rev Andrew Watson, the Bishop of Guildford, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops Benches as a Lord Spiritual.

Hansard records that:

Andrew John, Lord Bishop of Guildford, was introduced and took the oath, supported by the Bishop of Birmingham and the Bishop of Carlisle, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.

Votes: Dissolution and Calling of Parliaments Bill

On 9th February 2022, the House of Lords debated the Dissolution and Calling of Parliaments Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the Bill, in which a bishop took part.

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Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of London tables amendment in support of domestic abuse survivors

During a debate on amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill on 8th February 2022, The Bishop of London tabled amendment 140, which would provide for safer usage of personal data to protect migrant survivors of domestic abuse:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, Amendment 140 in my name and those of the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and the noble Lords, Lord Rosser and Lord Paddick, asks the Committee to consider again the debates that we had during the passage of the Domestic Abuse Bill. Indeed, this amendment was passed in your Lordships’ House last year, only to be rejected by the Commons.

In short, the issue is that immigration enforcement and the sharing of data too often serve as a significant barrier, preventing survivors of domestic abuse coming forward and receiving the help they need. Research from the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, to which I am grateful for its support and briefings, has repeatedly shown that in cases of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls, victims with insecure immigration status are unlikely to approach the police because they believe that the police will prioritise their lack of legal status instead of protecting them as victims of a serious crime. As many as 50% of domestic abuse victims never report the crimes committed against them.

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Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments around family reunion

During a debate on amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill in its fourth day of the Committee stage, on 8th February 2022, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments targeted towards ensuring family reunion for migrants, particularly refugees and unaccompanied minors:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I specifically support Amendment 117, to which I have added my name, but I support all these amendments around family reunion. I declare my interests in the register around RAMP and Reset as before.

Acknowledging that when people are forcibly displaced they end up in different places, often having lost family members, UNHCR research has shown that families often set out together but become separated along the way. Reconnecting those families, or, where some family members are lost, reconnecting people with other relatives, really matters. In seeking protection, those seeking asylum want to do so alongside the family that they have. This is better for individuals—their well-being and their future prospects—and for the community as a whole. It is therefore also better for social integration.

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Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments on offshoring of asylum seekers

On 8th February 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its fourth day of the Committee stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments 100 and 101, tabled by Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, that would remove the powers in the bill to “offshore” asylum seekers before the consideration of their claims:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in rising to support Amendments 100 and 101, to which I have added my name, I declare my interests in relation to both the RAMP project and Reset, as set out in the register.

When people arrive on our shores seeking protection, we have a responsibility to treat them as we would wish to be treated if we had to flee for our lives. It is right that we have a process to determine who meets the criteria for refugee status, but while we determine this, we are responsible for people’s safety, welfare and care. If we move them to other countries for the processing of their asylum claims, I fear a blind eye will be turned to their treatment. How will we be sure that they are being treated humanely and fairly, and would our Government even give this much concern once they had left our shores? If we look to the experience of Australia and the refugees accommodated in Nauru, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, has just mentioned, we hear deeply shocking accounts of abuse, inhumane treatment and mental and physical ill-health.

As mentioned in relation to an earlier amendment, I visited Napier barracks last week to see improvements that have been made since the exposure of the disgraceful conditions at the beginning of last year. If what we have seen at Napier is permitted to happen in the UK, what can we expect overseas, where accountability and monitoring will be so much harder? The monitoring of asylum accommodation contractors in the UK is poor, which gives us some idea about the level of monitoring we could expect of offshore processing.

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Bishop of Chichester asks about role of the Anglican Communion in international development

The Bishop of Chichester asked a question on the role of the Anglican Communion in supporting international development on 8th February 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, parishes across England have links through the Anglican Communion with international communities where the issues of poverty, conflict and disease are most clearly felt. Those are shared by the people in our congregations in this land. As the bishops from the Anglican Communion gather for the Lambeth Conference this summer, I hope the Minister will enable us to present something about our nation’s international strategy for international development that will address some of the most crucial issues. First, there are the ways in which human rights are trampled on, particularly in the context of persecution of people for their faith—both Christian and other faiths. Secondly, there is the use of opportunities for partnership with the Anglian Communion in that strategy. Thirdly—

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Bishop of Durham asks about trust in the Prime Minister

On 31st January 2022, during a debate on the Sue Gray report concerning the events in Downing Street during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Bishop of Durham raised the question of trust in the Prime Minister:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the Leader for all she has done so far. I spend time talking to children, and sometimes they cut to the chase. Last week, year 6 children in primary schools said to me, “Do you trust the Prime Minister? Can we trust him?” They were not interested in parties, civil servants and special advisers. It was: can we trust the Prime Minister?

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con): As the Statement makes clear, the Prime Minister has said to the people of this country that he knows the issue is trust and that we are a Government who can be trusted to deliver. He also understands that we need to work tirelessly to prove that.

Hansard

Bishop of Durham asks about targeted action to tackle economic crime

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the government’s plans to tackle economic crime on 31st January 2023, during a debate on the planned Economic Crime Bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, those who decide to perpetrate economic crime are apparently targeted, swift and very bright about how they do it. I read the Statement and it mentions the Home Office, the Treasury and BEIS. Is it not time for more targeted, thought-through, quick action by government, rather than action that is divided across too many departments?

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