Tag: migrants

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Southwark speaks in support of amendments on detention facilities

During a committee debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord German and the Bishop of Durham. The amendments focused on use of facilities used to detain migrants and sought to limit places of detention in the bill to those that are presently authorised for detention:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I support Amendments 61 and 62 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord German, and welcome the opportunity to discuss what rules and regulations His Majesty’s Government will adhere to when selecting a site for the purposes of detention. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham had intended to speak but is unable to be here for this group of amendments; I am glad to be here in his place. I am grateful to Medical Justice for sharing how existing legislation governs both the nature and operation of detention centres. As it is a detailed policy area, I will focus my time on the context for these amendments while also posing questions to the Minister.

First, as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham explained at Second Reading, the Bill before us changes the nature and scope of detention considerably. It moves detention away from an administrative process to facilitate someone’s removal to a punitive system of incarceration intended thereby to deter asylum seekers from travelling to the United Kingdom. Deterrence, as we have seen, is a key theme stressed by the Government, albeit no evidence or impact assessment has been adduced in its favour. This shift towards incarceration signals a major transition in policy, but in embarking on this shift in the purpose of detention, the Government leave us with a lack of detail on what rules and guidance will be adhered to when the Secretary of State is selecting a place of detention.

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Bishop of Durham asks about status of migrants under the proposed Illegal Migration Bill

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 16th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government when a child is under the care and accommodation of the Home Office, due to the Home Secretary’s duty to detain and remove under clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill, what international or domestic legislation the Home Office is required to meet.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): The duty to make arrangements for the removal of an illegal migrant who meets the conditions in clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill does not apply to unaccompanied children, although clause 3(2) of the Bill confers a power to remove them in the circumstances set out in clause 3(3).

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Bishop of Leeds supports motion to regret on secondary legislation regarding Manston Detention Facility

The Bishop of Leeds spoke in support of a Motion to Regret tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 18th March 2023:

“That this House regrets that the Short-term Holding Facility (Amendment) Rules 2022 (SI 2022/1345) remove important safeguards and reduce the standards for the lawful detention beyond 24 hours of migrants, including children and vulnerable adults, at the immigration detention facility in Manston, Kent; that the Home Office has not consulted on these changes nor provided an adequate policy justification for them; and that this potentially contentious legislation was brought into effect while the House was in recess.”

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I support the Motion to Regret in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister. The Government were clearly right to openly acknowledge that the Manston short-term holding facility had been operating outside of legal requirements and that action was needed to improve conditions at the site. Therefore, the decision then to use secondary legislation not only to extend the length of detention powers at such facilities but to reduce the required safeguarding standards must be highly regrettable. It cannot be right that, when the immigration estate fails to meet legislation passed by this House, the response is simply to rewrite the rules. I am reading a lot about the Soviet Union at the moment, and there is an echo of that: if the five-year plan was not met, you simply changed reality to meet what you were going to get.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about UK’s human rights obligations towards migrants

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures they would need to implement to ensure the UK is compliant with international human rights obligations to migrants in the event of withdrawal from the ECHR.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): Further detail regarding the new legislation to tackle small boats will be set out in due course.

Hansard

Bishop of Gloucester asks about refugee and migrant victims of domestic abuse

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 9th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • what support is available for those on a student or visitor visa who become subject to domestic abuse whilst residing in England.
  • what plans they have, if any, (1) to extend the destitution domestic violence concession (DDVC) to six months, and (2) to widen the eligibility to all migrant survivors of domestic abuse.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority for this Government. Information on support for victims can be found on the Domestic abuse: how to get help(opens in a new tab) page on GOV.UK, or through Government’s ‘Enough’ campaign.

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Bishop of Durham asks about funded early education for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 21st December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many children subject to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions are in receipt of 15 hours a week of free early education available to disadvantaged three and four year-olds, but would be eligible for the 30 hour entitlement if not subject to NRPF.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about housing support for migrant survivors of domestic abuse

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question about support for migrant survivors during a debate on housing support for domestic abuse survivors on 12th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, in addressing this very important Question, I think we should also consider the experience of migrant survivors who may have insecure status or no recourse to public funds or may be frightened of repercussions for contacting the police. Will the Minister outline what progress the Government have made in the light of the DAC’s recommendation to develop a long-term funding solution that ensures that a clear universal pathway to support is available to domestic abuse survivors regardless of migration status and whether they will be reporting on the results of the pilot project to support migrant survivors?

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Bishop of Durham asks about funded early education for children of migrants with no recourse to public funds

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 8th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many children subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions are in receipt of the 15 hours a week of free early education available to disadvantaged two-year old children.

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Bishop of Durham asks about cost-of-living and financial support for migrants with no recourse to public funds

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 8th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what support individuals with No Recourse to Public Funds will be able to access this winter as part of (1) the £11.7 billion Energy Bills Support Scheme, and (2) the wider £37 billion cost of living assistance package for consumers.

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Bishop of Durham asks about government treatment of migrants and refugees

The Lord Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 2nd November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost of reopening (1) the Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and (2) the Haslar immigration removal centre in Gosport, Hampshire.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): As set out in the Prior Information Notice published on 21 September, the current estimated operating costs for Campsfield and Haslar immigration removal centres (IRC) for the lifetime of the 8 year contract will be £170 million and £229 million respectively. In addition to the operating costs, there are also costs associated with the refurbishment and new build of the sites.

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