Tag: refugees

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham tables amendment aimed at protecting children subject to age assessments

The Bishop of Durham tabled an amendment to the Illegal Migration Bill during the fourth day of the committee stage on 12th June 2023. The amendment would reinstate the right of appeal against age assessments for putative children affected by these under the bill:

121: Clause 55, page 56, line 21, leave out subsection (2).

Member’s explanatory statement:

This amendment reinstates the right of appeal against age assessments in respect of putative children whom there is a duty to remove under the Bill.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in moving Amendment 121 I shall speak to Amendments 122 and 126 in my name. I am grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Lister and Lady Neuberger, for their support. My comments will also be in support of Amendments 124 and 125, which were tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister.

Before I get going, I note that on the Nationality and Borders Bill the debate on age assessment took place at 2.30 am on 9 February last year. We now find ourselves at 12:25 am discussing age assessments once again. Age assessments are serious matters. I know that it was not designed that this has happened again but it is extremely unfortunate, and since we have more time on Wednesday, I think we could have moved this to Wednesday. However, we have not, so I will carry on.

I believe strongly that these changes need to be made to Clauses 55 and 56 if we are to ensure that the welfare and best interests of children are protected. I will try to be brief, but they are critical amendments that are worthy of full consideration. It is vital that we adequately scrutinise the impact this Bill will have on children; it is therefore a failure in their safeguarding responsibility for the Government not even to have produced a child rights impact assessment. They are asking this Chamber to agree to these additional clauses on age assessments, added on Report in the other place, which on their own admission are more likely than not to be incompatible with conventions under the ECHR—not on the rights of anyone here today but on the rights of children. We have a duty to ensure that their voices are heard. Will the Minister guarantee that an assessment will be published before Report?

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of safeguarding victims of modern slavery and human trafficking

On 12th June 2023, during the fourth day of committee debates on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of proposals by Baroness Hamwee to remove clauses 21, 25, 28 & 28 from the bill, in order to safeguard victims of modern slavery and human trafficking who would otherwise be subject to removal under the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interests with RAMP and Reset and, like the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, did at the outset of the debate, I hope that will stand for the other times I speak later on different groups.

I support all the amendments, but I am speaking in support of the proposal of the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, that Clauses 21, 25, 26 and 28 be completely removed. This is supported by my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Bristol, who we heard earlier is unfortunately unable to be here today. Bishops across England have had the privilege of working very closely with the large sector of faith-based charities and projects that work with victims of slavery. We have heard a lot about the Salvation Army, but I want to highlight the Clewer Initiative, which is our own project raising awareness and helping support victims. The feedback that has been coming from the Salvation Army, from Clewer and from other groups in relation to the modern slavery provisions of the Bill ranges from trepidation to outright horror.

Rather euphemistically, the Explanatory Notes refer to what is proposed in this and the following clauses as “a significant step”. I suggest that the complete disapplication of all support, replaced with detention and removal, is drastic in the extreme. I cannot see how such a step could be justifiable, but for it even to be defensible would require the most robust and extensive level of proof of its necessity. I do not think that has been shown.

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Bishops won’t abandon the vulnerable that Christ calls us to love – Archbishop of Canterbury writes for The Times

The following article by the Most Rev Justin Welby, appeared in The Times newspaper on May 24 2023.

We must control our borders. We must stop the boats. We must have limits to those coming because we cannot take everyone. I said all this in the opening sentences of my speech in the House of Lords the week before last.

As the Illegal Migration Bill enters committee stage in the Lords, everyone agrees the status quo position on asylum fails. Those that arrive use dangerous means and face chaotic, ineffective treatment at tremendous cost, which creates discontent among those in the UK who feel their generosity is being exploited. We need a new approach that loves mercy and does justice, to use words from scripture.

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendments to ensure compliance with international legislation

On 24th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in its first day of Committee. The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke on the details of the bill concerning “safe and legal routes”, in support of two amendments:

  • amendment 4, tabled by Lord Paddick, Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, Lord Etherton, and Baroness Chakrabarti, which would replace clause 1 of the bill with a requirement that bill not violate any international legal obligations
  • amendment 84, tabled by Lord Alton of Liverpool, aimed at ensuring compliance with international legislation against human trafficking

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I support Amendments 4 and 84; I also have a great deal of sympathy for Amendment 148. I declare an interest as vice-chair of the independent Commission on the Integration of Refugees. I have been listening with great interest to the expert points raised by particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti, but also other noble Lords.

I am sure noble Lords will be aware that Clause 1, as it stands, is a narrative introduction that sets the scope and intent of the Bill as a whole. Crucially, it defines the purpose of the Bill as

“to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes”.

I am sure we can all sympathise with the desire to make the migration system thoroughly orderly and predictable in nature, but I question whether this is plausible and whether what it entails is indeed desirable, particularly if it cannot guarantee compatibility with those international treaties, as we have heard. The sort of circumstances of catastrophe and persecution that drive refugees do not tend to allow for orderly or safe departures. I know this from my own personal experience but also from having spoken to many asylum seekers and refugees over the years.

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Archbishop of Canterbury asks question on help for South Sudan in taking Sudanese refugees

On 24th May 2023, the Archbishop of Canterbury asked a question he had tabled on what the government are doing to assist the government of South Sudan to support refugees from the current conflict in Sudan:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assist the government of South Sudan to support refugees from the conflict in Sudan.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about support for countries hosting Sudanese refugees

The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 17th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what financial assistance and logistical support they are providing and intend to provide to countries that have accepted Sudanese refugees, such as Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about government plans to welcome refugees from Sudan

The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 16th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they are making to welcome those Sudanese refugees fleeing violence who want to come to the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): There are no plans to create a country specific scheme for refugees fleeing Sudan.

The UK continues to welcome refugees through existing resettlement schemes which are global in scope, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Family Reunion Scheme.

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham highlights threats to safeguarding and potential breaching of the refugee convention

On 10th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in its first reading. The Bishop of Durham spoke in the debate, pointing out risks to child safeguarding and potential breaches of the refugee convention if the bill was enacted as written:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: I declare my interests as a member of the RAMP project and a trustee of Reset.

When looking to engage with a Bill, Members decide whether to focus on the detail or address the underlying principles behind the proposed legislation. This Bill leaves me with no choice but to start with the latter, as it asks fundamental questions about who we are as a nation. In order to supposedly reduce channel crossings, are we really prepared to consent to “extinguishing”, as the UNHCR puts it, the right to claim asylum and withholding support for victims of trafficking, and indefinitely detaining thousands of asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women? We have been left to consider the Bill’s provisions without an impact assessment, but these consequences will potentially lead to an unjustified intolerable level of harm which does not reflect who we are as a nation.

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Archbishop – Illegal Migration Bill plans ‘morally unacceptable and politically impractical’

On 10th May 2023 the House of Lords debated the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill at its Second Reading.

The Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, we need a Bill to reform migration. We need a Bill to stop the boats. We need a Bill to destroy the evil tribe of traffickers. The tragedy is that, without much change, this is not that Bill.

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Bishop of Derby asks about support for Afghan women being resettled in the UK

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on targeted funding to aid support and integration for Afghan women being resettled in the UK, following a government statement on the Afghan resettlement scheme on 30th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I share many of the concerns that have been expressed about the routes into this country and the nature, safety and appropriateness of the accommodation for those who make it here—those to whom, as we have already noted, we have a moral obligation to extend sanctuary and welcome in this very particular circumstance.

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