The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 6th December 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many reports under (1) rule 32 of the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018, and (2) rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, were issued in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, and (c) 2023; and how many led to the release of an individual detained after a detention review.
The Bishop of Norwich asked a question in response to a government statement on levels of migration to the UK on 5th December 2023, bringing up the potential risks to the social care sector under new migration proposals, and the issue of workers in faith communities facing new barriers to entering the UK:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I have three brief comments and questions. We know that there are 152,000 vacancies in social care in England, as reported by Skills for Care. This is of course a concern for the well-being of vulnerable people. The National Farmers’ Union reports a national shortage of 80,000 vacancies in the horticultural and agricultural sectors, but His Majesty’s Government estimate 40,000. This of course leads to a massive reduction in production and has an economic impact. As we know, this is further exacerbated in our rural communities. What conversations has the Minister had with these sectors about the risks inherent in their new policy?
On 4th December 2023, the Bishop of Chichester spoke in a debate on a motion to regret tabled by Baroness Lister on the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023, raising the potential impact the change in regulations would have on levels of child poverty:
The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, I am enormously grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for bringing this debate to us. I underline my great support for everything that she said, as well as what has been said in other contributions.
On 29th November 2023, the Bishop of Chelmsford’s Private Member’s Bill, the Asylum Application (Entry to the United Kingdom) Bill, was introduced and had its first reading in the House of Lords:
Asylum Application (Entry to the United Kingdom) Bill [HL]
A Bill to make provision for leave to enter the United Kingdom to be granted to people for the purposes of making an application for asylum; and for connected purposes.
The Bill was introduced by the Bishop of Chelmsford, read a first time and ordered to be printed.
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 29th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked what steps they are taking over the immigration detention estate to ensure the use of force is continually monitored and recorded for all detainees, and particularly vulnerable adults and children.
Lord Sharpe Epsom (Con, Home Office): We will accept nothing but the highest standards from companies employed to manage the immigration removal estate.
On 27th November 2023, the House of Lords debated new regulations regarding Age Assessment as part of immigration control. Votes were held on two Motions to Regret regarding the regulations, in which a Bishop took part:
The Bishop of London spoke in a debate on a motion to approve the use of X-rays as age determining tools for individuals subject to immigration control on 27th November 2023, raising the issue of informed consent, and of potential lack of capacity to perform the required X-rays:
The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I promise that I will be brief. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for moving this regret amendment and thank all those who have spoken so far and so well. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Winston, for pointing out that this is not science; it is the use of scientific instruments. My two concerns relate to consent, as many have spoken about, and to the workforce.
The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s long term asylum and immigration strategy on 20th November 2023, following a government statement regarding the Supreme Court Judgement on the proposed Rwanda Immigration Partnership:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, we on these Benches are quite clear that we cannot have open borders, that we must stop people risking their lives, and that we need to stop the people smugglers. But we are also clear that we cannot export our moral responsibilities towards those seeking sanctuary on to the shores of another country, be it Rwanda or anywhere else. This is such a long-term, complex, worldwide problem that we need a long-term strategy for tackling this refugee crisis, in concert with our global partners, so while the Government are proposing some immediate new laws, what are they doing to address the scale of the problem, to provide long-term certainty? Will the Minister commit to developing and publishing a long-term strategy so that we can all try to engage with this in a much more measured way?
The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the number of doctors coming to work in the UK from other countries in the last year on 20th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, how many doctors, including GPs, have come from outside the UK in the last year for which we have records? What long-term plan is there to stop us relying on having to bring in doctors from countries that need them far more than we do because they are much poorer than here in the UK?
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 17th October 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government from what date asylum applications were first treated as withdrawn on the basis that the claimant failed to report or to inform the Home Office of a change of address.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): We do not currently publish data on the date asylum claims were first treated as withdrawn on the basis that the claimant failed to report or to inform the Home Office of a change of address. However, official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
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