Nationality and Borders Bill 2022 – Page 4 – The Church of England in Parliament

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments on children’s citizenship

During a debate on the Nationality and Borders Bill on 27th January 2022, the Bishop of Durham voiced his support for amendments to ensure that British Citizenship should not be withheld from a stateless child born in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I am trying to imagine how it could ever be in the best interests of a child born and raised in this country not to be given the right to be a citizen of this country. In what possible circumstances could we decide that it would be in the best interests of someone born and raised in this country to be decreed, at the age of 13 or 14, a citizen of another state? That is the situation. You could almost forget the 1961 convention, human rights and so on; we are simply talking about the best interests of the child. You can then back it up with all the international stuff on top. I support these amendments.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford questions increase of powers to remove citizenship

On 27th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in committee. The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in the debate, raising the issue of increased powers to remove citizenship within the bill, and whether these increases were necessary:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I am grateful to those noble Lords who have already spoken. It is heartening to hear voices from across the Committee raising concerns about the proposed powers in Clause 9. My contribution will be very short.

I can well imagine variants on our current conversation happening time and again, ever since the British Nationality Act 1981, which has already been referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, brought in deprivation of citizenship. Indeed, a look through Hansard would confirm that.

Since 1981, these deprivation powers have been amended and extended, including in 2003, 2006, 2014 and 2018. Each time, the rationale provided by the Government is the same: that these are relatively minor tweaks made for pragmatic reasons, with the security of the nation in mind, and that these powers will be used only in extreme circumstances, with great caution and restraint on the part of the Government. Yet it seems that these powers are never quite enough.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham & Bishop of Gloucester support amendment to costs for children’s citizenship applications

On 27th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in the first day of the committee stage. The Bishop of Gloucester, on behalf of the Bishop of Durham, spoke in support of an amendment to regulations around children’s citizenship, and administrative costs associated with citizenship applications:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will speak on Amendment 13 on behalf of my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, who sadly cannot be in the House until later today. He wishes to declare his interests in relation to both RAMP and Reset, as set out in the register. The following words are his, but I will say that I wholeheartedly agree with every one of them.

My interest comes from my ongoing engagement in this House with issues concerning children and ensuring that their best interests are central to legislation. The Government should be doing everything they can to ensure that all children in the UK have the opportunity to thrive. We should be working to remove barriers that they may face in seeking to reach their full potential. The current British citizenship registration fees create a barrier for many children to being and feeling fully part of society.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford encourages alternative perspective on asylum seekers

On 5th January 2022, during a debate on the newly introduced Nationality and Borders Bill, the Bishop of Chelmsford made a speech advocating for the value of viewing asylum seekers as potential future citizens, and emphasized the importance of treating them with dignity and respect:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I must begin with an apology. As I am new to your Lordships’ House, there was an error in processing my request to speak, although I am grateful to the Whips for permission to interject at this point. It is a privilege to have been part of the debate and I look forward to following this Bill through and benefiting from the collective wisdom here.

I believe that I am among relatively few in the House who have experience of both sides of the asylum and refugee system, having first come to this country as a refugee from Iran in 1980. The plight of those fleeing violence and persecution and the difficulties in navigating identity and finding a new home are not abstract or intellectual propositions for me but part of who I am, and it is with that perspective that I offer some thoughts now.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of London speaks on modern slavery provisions

On 5th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its second reading. The Bishop of London spoke in the debate, welcoming some provisions in the bill whilst expressing concerns that it might have a counterproductive effect on protections against modern slavery:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the many noble Lords in this House who bring such expertise to our deliberations and compassion to our scrutiny of this Bill. I wish to focus my remarks particularly on Part 5 of the Bill, on modern-day slavery. It has been said that the Modern Slavery Act was a pioneering piece of legislation.

I would agree with that, but there is so much more work for us to do to confront this blight on our communities. Addressing modern-day slavery is close to the Church of England’s heart. Through the Clewer Initiative and other programmes, we have worked to raise awareness and to support survivors. This is a matter in which civil society, law enforcement and government share a joint responsibility to act.

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham raises concerns about effects on children

On 5th January 2022, the Nationality and Borders Bill was introduced to the House of Lords in its second reading. The Bishop of Durham spoke in the debate that followed, raising concerns that bill would fail to adequately protect children and others seeking asylum:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: I declare my interests as a member of the RAMP Project and a trustee of Reset, as laid out in the register. This Bill will raise strong views across the Chamber, as already illustrated by the three Front-Bench introductions, for which I thank all three, because I believe that they have served the House well in all three cases. I hope that we can have a debate that is reasoned and evidence-based, ever mindful of the individual humanity of each asylum seeker and refugee of whom we speak.

This Bill needs to be assessed against the Home Office’s own values of being compassionate, respectful, courageous and collaborative. Other values are important, too: the value of every human being as one made in the image of, and loved by, God, the value that we place on the rights of the child both through the United Nations and the Children Act 1989—and then there are the values relating to the right to family life.

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