refugees – Page 5 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Gloucester asks for assurances on curbing risk of refugee homelessness

During a debate on refugee homelessness on 13th December 2023, the Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the impact of an inadequate notice period to leave home office accommodation on refugees, and requested an assurance that no notices to vacate would be implemented when severe and emergency weather warnings were in place:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, given what has already been said about the inadequate notice period, can the Minister give an assurance that no notice to vacate will be implemented when a severe weather emergency protocol has been announced?

Bishop of Durham asks about potential for community sponsorship scheme for Afghan refugees

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the potential for community sponsorship, similar to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, to allow Afghan refugees to come to the UK on 12th December 2023, during a discussion on the threat of deportation faced by former Afghan special forces soldiers currently in Pakistan:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interest as a trustee of Reset, as laid out in the register. The British population have a lot of sympathy with these Afghans. What work has been done to learn the lessons from Ukraine and see what levels of community sponsorship might be offered to such Afghans who qualify under these schemes, and to welcome them here? I recognise that this is a Home Office question, so I understand if the Minister needs to write.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about monitoring of funds to refugees allocated by Rwanda under new treaty

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the government’s treaty with Rwanda, on whether the monitoring committee outlined in the treaty would review how funds have been allocated to meeting the needs of refugees by Rwandan authorities:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, will the monitoring committee, as outlined in the economic development partnership and now the treaty, review how funds have been allocated by the Rwandan authorities towards meeting the needs of refugees?

Bishop of St Albans asks about success of networking hubs to deal with asylum claims for children and young people

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the success of dedicated networking hubs to speed up asylum claims for children and young people on 22nd November 2023, during a discussion on safe routes available for child refugees and asylum seekers to come to the UK:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in May 2021, recognising the need to speed up the applications for child asylum seekers, the Government set up two dedicated caseworking hubs to try to process these claims more quickly. What assessment, two and half years on, has been made of the success of these dedicated hubs, and what more could be done to speed up the claims of young people as they seek asylum?

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about Homes for Ukraine scheme

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 26th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the National Audit Office’s report Investigation into the Homes for Ukraine scheme, published on 17 October, what steps they are taking to improve and expand data on homelessness among Ukrainian refugees who have been part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, given that local authority data returns on scheme homelessness are voluntary.

Bishop of Durham asks about detention and regulations affecting asylum seekers

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 26th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied children have been held at (1) HMP Elmley, Kent, and (2) other adult prisons over the last year, including those determined to be children after local authority age assessments.

Bishop of Durham asks about housing for refugees

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 25th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, following the High Court ruling that the use of hotels to house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is unlawful, what steps they will take to end the use of hotels for this purpose.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): Hotel accommodation is a temporary means to accommodate the increased number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) arriving in the UK and is only ever a contingency option, not a long-term solution. The high number of UASC arrivals, particularly because of small boat crossings, has placed unprecedented pressure on the National Transfer Scheme (NTS). Out of necessity, the Home Office have accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued.

Bishop of Coventry asks about future of the Nagorno-Karabakh region

The Bishop of Coventry received the following written answers on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry asked His Majesty’s Government what (1) humanitarian assistance, and (2) financial support, they are offering the government of Armenia to meet the needs of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Bishop of Durham asks about regulations affecting refugees and asylum seekers

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.

Bishop of Durham stresses importance of family reunification in migration cases

The Bishop of Durham spoke in response to a motion to take note of the Family Migration (Justice and Home Affairs Committee Report) on 20th September 2023, drawing attention to the work of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and to the importance of family reunification:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interests as laid out in the register, both with the RAMP project and RESET. I am pleased to speak today following the helpful and insightful report from the Justice and Home Affairs Committee. The concept of family, which we all know is much more than just a societal description—it is a fundamental building block of our communal life as a nation—serves as an excellent basis for the review of migration policy. I refer the Minister to the Love Matters report from the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, which I co-chaired, which has research on how family is now understood in our nation. I commend my friend the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and the committee for their important work.

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