Lord Bishop of Newcastle
Main Page: Lord Bishop of Newcastle (Bishops - Bishops)Department Debates - View all Lord Bishop of Newcastle's debates with the Department for Transport
(12 years, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Earl Attlee
My Lords, I hope that I made the distinction between immigration and asylum seeking very clear indeed. I accept my noble friend’s point about the need to avoid driving asylum seekers underground, but that is trumped by the need to avoid making seeking asylum an attractive proposition.
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle
Is the Minister aware that the Church of England’s General Synod, representing local churches with considerable first-hand experience of the lives of asylum seekers, voted overwhelmingly that all asylum seekers should have access to work? Does he accept that 12 months is far too long to be unable to provide for their families while waiting for their claim to be resolved?
Earl Attlee
My Lords, I do not accept that 12 months is far too long, because it is backed up by European legislation.