asylum – Page 8 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Durham asks about asylum seekers and Rwanda

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 9th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government:

when they will publish the terms of reference for the Monitoring Committee, which was referred to in the Memorandum of Understanding with the government of the Republic of Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership arrangement; and when the Monitoring Committee will be operational.
whether individuals have been appointed to the Monitoring Committee that was set out in the Memorandum of Understanding with the government of the Republic of Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership arrangement.
whether co-chairs have been appointed to the Joint Committee that was to be established “without delay” after the asylum partnership arrangement with the government of the Republic of Rwanda came into effect.

Bishop of Southwark asks about the government’s asylum agreement with Rwanda

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answers on 26th May 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government:

in respect of paragraph 9.1.2 of the Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Rwanda for an asylum partnership arrangement signed in Kigali on 13 April, what equivalent standard applies in Rwanda for the Home Office requirement that interpreters are members of the Institute of Translating and Interpreting, The Chartered Institute of Linguists, or if with a company, then the latter is a member of the Association of Translation Companies.

Archbishop of Canterbury asks about the government’s asylum policy

The Archbishop of Canterbury received the following written answers on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

what criteria they will use to determine whether someone arriving in the UK, outside of the authorised channels, is eligible for being relocated to Rwanda.
whether families will be split up through the new Asylum Partnership Arrangement with Rwanda; and if not, what evidence they have that the policy will not lead to increased trafficking of women and children.

Bishop of Southwark asks about government’s asylum policy

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answers on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda will begin under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.

Votes: Nationality and Borders Bill

On 8th March 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill in its third day of the Report stage. Votes were held on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.

Nationality and Borders Bill 2022: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments

On 8th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its 3rd day of reports. The Bishop of Durham tabled amendments to the bill and spoke in support of other amendments:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I support Amendment 64A, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, to which I have added my name.

I declare my interests in relation to both RAMP and Reset as set out in the register. I am very grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Neuberger and Lady Lister, and the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, for outlining all the arguments for why this amendment is the right route to take. On Amendment 64, I hear the words about safeguarding but it is a dangerous route to take.

The needs of children have been starkly left unaddressed in so many areas of the Bill. The policies proposed to determine the age of the child are particularly concerning. The child and their best interests, rather than deterrence, must be the starting point in designing these policies. I support the amendment because it is imperative that such assessments are up to standard and based on scientific evidence. We should be seeing help for local authorities to improve their practice through multiagency working so that social workers conduct these assessments and that they are better supported with appropriate funding and training. Making the process stricter will lead to more children being treated as adults. This is extremely concerning given that they will then be placed alone in adult accommodation, with no support or safeguarding.

Votes: Nationality and Borders Bill 2022

On 2nd March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its second day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments proposed to ensure well-being and fair treatment of refugees and asylum seekers

During a debate on amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill on 28th February 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in favour of several amendments:

by Baroness Hollins that sought to ensure the fair treatment of asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their cases by establishing a code of practice for professionals involved in the care of those seeking asylum, and introduce the need for a review of those services
by Baroness Stroud that would support the right to work for asylum seekers awaiting decisions for longer and six months
by Lord Coaker that would reduce the waiting time for asylum decisions

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I fully support the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Stroud, and my noble and right reverend friend behind me here supports it as well. I will speak to the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and the two amendments from the noble Baroness, Lady Hollins, which I fully support.

We may have 125,000 asylum seekers but let me focus on two. This is why I support both amendments. One is an asylum seeker who lives in my area who heard from the Home Office within the first three weeks of arrival then heard nothing for 12 months, in spite of inquiry after inquiry. That is why we need a code of practice. That is why we need better ways of working. It beggars belief what that says to him about how he is seen in our society and by our society. That is, of course, told time and again.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham opposes differential treatment of refugees

On 28th February 2022, during a debate on the Nationality and Borders Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of an amendment to clause 11 of the bill tabled by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, to remove the differentiation of refugees within the clause. The Bishop further expressed opposition to clause 11 in its entirety:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, if the names had not been filled on Amendment 28 then I would have added my name to it. I remind the House of my interests as set out in the register, both in RAMP and Reset.

In Committee I laid out the understanding of the two groupings proposed and argued that almost no one will actually qualify as being in group 1. I had no repudiation offered to that argument. As the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, said, Ukraine is currently illustrating the problem precisely. I was also concerned in the response to the debate in Committee by some of the language of discretion within the two groupings.

We need a simpler, more efficient asylum system, and I continue to be convinced that what is proposed will provide a more complex, slower process. Fundamentally, I am with all those who oppose the two-group system, as it creates a fundamental injustice for fair treatment of all refugees, regardless of how they arrive.

Today, a letter signed by over 1,000 leaders from all the major faith communities of this country was delivered to the Prime Minister. I quote from that letter:

Bishop of Durham asks about government’s interpretation of the refugee convention

The Bishop of Durham asked a question regarding alternative interpretations of the Refugee Convention on 28th February 2022, in response to a debate on the government’s policy on migration and asylum:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: Can the noble Baroness offer us any other examples of alternative interpretations of the refugee convention worldwide? If not, on what basis does she believe the Government are entitled to do so in reference to Clause 11 of the Bill we will discuss later?

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