The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 29th November 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of British Iranian dual nationals detained by the government of Iran; and what support they are providing (1) the detainees, and (2) their families.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about the status of dual-nationals detained in Iran”
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd November 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they sought planning permission from Shepway District Council for the continued use of Napier Barracks to house people seeking asylum; and if not, why not.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about use of Napier Barracks to house people seeking asylum”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 17th November 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what is the definition of an accommodation centre applied by the Home Office; and what are the reasons Napier Barracks is not classified as such.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about use of Napier Barracks as asylum accomodation”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 23rd March 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans, if any, they have for an immigration centre for women on the former site of Hassockfield Secure Training Centre.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about immigration detention facilities”On 5th October 2020 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Government’s Immigration and Social Security (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2020 during the second day of its Report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in favour of amendments to the Bill on
The texts of his speeches are below. He and ten other bishops voted on these and other amendments to the Bill and the details are recorded here.
On 22nd July the Government’s Immigration and Social Security (EU Withdrawal) Bill was debated at Sec0nd Reading in the House of Lords. The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, and the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol, spoke in the debate, highlighting modern slavery, work eligibility, EU citizens, visas for ministers of religion, tariffs, and children’s welfare.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, the introduction of this Bill in another place is a signal opportunity for Her Majesty’s Government comprehensively to reset the legislative basis for immigration control in this country, to set out a vision for doing so, and to rationalise and streamline the more than 1,000 pages of immigration legislation under which we labour. It is surprising, therefore, that, as other speakers have pointed out, this Bill is so narrow in scope. Continue reading “Bishops of Southwark and Bristol highlight concerns with Government’s Immigration Bill”
On 9th June the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, received a written answer to a question from Baroness Williams of Trafford on immigrants displaying Covid-19 symptoms.
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: HL4966 To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many residents of immigration removal centres (1) have displayed, or (2) are currently displaying, symptoms of COVID-19; and of those, how many have been tested.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks Government about Covid-19 levels in immigration removal centres”
On 14th May 2020 the Bishop of London, Rt Revd Sarah Mulally, received a written answer to a question to Government on immigration removal centres:
The Lord Bishop of London: HL3786 To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 January, the statement that “for detention to be lawful, there must be a realistic prospect of the individual’s removal from the UK within a reasonable timescale”, and the travel restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what steps they are taking to find alternative ways in which those placed in detention centres are managed. Continue reading “Bishop of London asks Government about pandemic effect on immigration detention and removals”
On 3rd April 2020 the Bishop of London, Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, received a written answer to a question on Covid-19 support to people in immigration removal centres:
The Lord Bishop of London: HL2780 To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide healthcare and support services to people in immigration removal centres during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading “Bishop of London asks Government about Covid-19 support to people in immigration removal centres”
On 24th March 2020 the House of Lords debated the emergency legislation from the Government to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. The Bishop of Rochester, Rt Revd James Langstaff, spoke in the debate, highlighting issues to do with church closures, funerals, and care of the vulnerable, including the homeless, and those in prison or immigration detention:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, in these days I have been reflecting on the words of the Hebrew psalmist who, at the time of his people’s exile, articulated the question:
“How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
In many ways we are entering into a strange land, and indeed in some ways a land of exile: a land in which we are exiled from many of our normal patterns of living, in which people of faith are not able to attend their places of worship and in which many people find themselves having to live life in entirely new ways.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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