Policy

The section of the website contains stories that link to policy material that has been published by faith-based organisations.

Lift the Ban on people seeking asylum working
Oct 28

Lift the Ban on people seeking asylum working

The Lift the Ban coalition is calling for the right to work for people seeking asylum, and their adult dependants, after six months of having lodged an asylum claim or further submission, unconstrained by the Shortage Occupation List. People currently seeking asylum in the UK are effectively ...
European Asylum Conference declaration
Oct 23

European Asylum Conference declaration

150 asylum experts from churches and civil society last week issued a declaration calling on an end to the EU asylum regime of hotspots and the establishment of ways of safe passage into Europe. The 15th European Asylum Conference began on Chios, an Aegean island, where the delegates were ...
Italian church launches Welcome Manifesto
Aug 31

Italian church launches Welcome Manifesto

The board of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI) recently launched a Welcome Manifesto [view in translation] that says ‘no’ to xenophobia and describes every form of racism as a theological heresy. FCEI President Luca Maria Negro spoke about what had triggered the development ...
Legal aid to be restored to unaccompanied and separated children
Jul 16

Legal aid to be restored to unaccompanied and separated children

Two UK government policy changes are highlighted in a new article on the Free Movement website. Following on from a judicial review by the Children’s Society, the Justice Minister Lucy Frazer QC has announced the government’s plans to “lay an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and ...
End Hostility report from Joint Public Issues Team
Jun 21

End Hostility report from Joint Public Issues Team

The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) have launched their End Hostility report [PDF] calling for an end to the ‘hostile environment’, starting with a full independent review of Home Office immigration policy and practice which examines the damaging effect the policies of the hostile environment ...
Responding to the hostile environment policy
May 16

Responding to the hostile environment policy

CTBI’s Churches’ Refugee Network met last week and among a number of other topics, the attendees discussed the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ policy and the recent U-turn on the deportation of the Windrush generation. Revd Fleur Houston – author of the book You Shall Love the Stranger as ...
“the only right, pragmatic, humane, fair & positive step for any government to take is amnesty, or regularisation of immigration status”
Apr 28

“the only right, pragmatic, humane, fair & positive step for any government to take is amnesty, or regularisation of immigration status”

In an article on the openDemocracy website, Zrinka Bralo argues that “in a free and fair society, amnesty for all migrants stuck within yet excluded from our dysfunctional system is the only workable reparation for the government’s hostile environment immigration policies”. Over recent weeks ...
Community Sponsorship Guide
Mar 23

Community Sponsorship Guide

A step-by-step guide to preparing your community group to welcome a refugee family has been published by Social Finance, Good Faith Partnership, Refugee Action and Church Response For Refugees. The guide breaks down the UK Home Office process into small steps and explains how the many criteria ...
Refugee Family Reunion Bill passes next stage in UK Parliament #FamiliesTogether
Mar 18

Refugee Family Reunion Bill passes next stage in UK Parliament #FamiliesTogether

The Refugee Family Reunion Bill passed another stage in its progression through the UK Parliament with its second reading in the House of Commons on 16 March 2018. Introduced as a Private Members Bill by the SNP’s Angus MacNeil back in July 2017, the proposed legislation hopes to improve the ...