1996 the Conference Adopted the Report Immigration and Asylum and Commended It for Study

1996 The Conference adopted the report Immigration and Asylum and commended it for study and action

1997 The Conference was invited to oppose the detention in prison of asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision on their application. In reply, reference was made to the 1996 Conference report on Immigration and Asylum, which described the appalling circumstances in which asylum seekers are being held. The Conference directed that representations be made to HM Government.

1998

1999

2000 The Conference endorses vigorously the call of the President to welcome asylum seekers to the UK. It deplores both the negative tone of some of the media and populist proposals of certain politicians to detain all asylum seekers on arrival in the UK. It welcomes the increasing proportion of asylum seekers being given either refugee status or exceptional leave to remain.

It urges the government

(a) to urgently reconsider the voucher system for support of asylum seekers on the grounds of both human dignity and cost;

(b) to ensure adequate support for the dispersal programme, particularly in terms of accommodation and access to legal advice;

(d) to continue its humanitarian approach to not returning asylum seekers to situations of conflict or danger.

It urges all churches, wherever they are situated

(a) to campaign actively to ensure that asylum seekers shall – to quote the President – be respected, embraced and made welcome at our national table;

(b) to study and follow the Practical Guide to the Dispersal of Asylum Seekers published by the Churches Commission for Racial Justice.

It encourages the President to seek, with other church leaders, a meeting with the Home Secretary to discuss these matters.

2001 The Conference expressed the continuing concern of the Methodist Church over the lack of dignity and respect accorded to those seeking asylum in the UK. It believed their treatment did not reflect the Prime Minister’s often expressed belief that all are of equal worth. Therefore the Conference urged Her Majesty’s Government;

(a) to take a more welcoming attitude to asylum seekers and to seek to educate the public to take a similar attitude;

(b) to end detention for those who have committed no crime;

(d) to provide a more sensitive and supportive system of dispersal;

(e) to end the system of vouchers immediately and return to a cash benefit system; where asylum applications are refused, to develop a supportive system for voluntary return.

The Conference instructed the Connexional Team to forward this motion to the new Home Secretary at the earliest opportunity and, with our ecumenical partners, to seek an early meeting with him to press these views.

Memorial M47 Immigration guidelines and candidates for the ministry.

The Gordano Valley (7/14) Circuit Meeting: (Present: 44. Vote: Unan.) expresses its concern

that the Church's Guidelines on immigration are more restrictive than they need to be under the

UK immigration regulations, and effectively prevent any foreign national from candidating for

ministry in the British Methodist Church.

The Circuit believes that this weakens the ministry of the British Methodist Church and calls

upon the Conference to urgently review the Guidelines with a view to allowing foreign

nationals t& candidate for ministry in the British Methodist Church. Such a review should

consider:

1 The views of Circuits who have been affected by the Guidelines.

2 The pain and damage caused to individuals who feel a call to ministry in the UK, but

who are barred from candidating because they are foreign nationals.

3 The procedures that could be put into place, in strict accordance with the UK

immigration regulations, to train foreign nationals up to the point of ordination and

then stationing in Great Britain.

4 The likely level of additional funding required to resource the change.

The Memorials Committee recommends the following reply.

Foreign nationals may candidate for presbyteral or diaconal ministry in the British Methodist

Church, but may do so only if they have the right to reside and work in the United Kingdom.

The UK immigration rules allow people who do not have that right to apply to study in

the UK or to work in the UK Anyone entering the UK for study or training must undertake to

leave when they complete their course. They cannot move from studying to working. If,

having completed study or training here they wish to work in the UK, they must return to their

own country and achieve there all due qualifications and appropriate professional experience

before applying for a work permit in the UK

Probation counts as work for these purposes. Thus non-EU nationals who were given

permission to study »the UK would have to leave the country before they could be stationed as

a probationer, and would only be able to return to the UK to work as a Methodist minister or

deacon if they had in the interim become ordained or gained substantial pastoral experience

working as a minister or deacon in their home country. For this to happen they would have to

be in good standing with their own church or conference and work under its discipline.

The British Conference therefore does not accept and train for the ministry or the diaconate

foreign nationals who do not have the right to reside and work in the UK, unless it has an

arrangement with some other conference or church about them. Training of overseas nationals

through the Scholarship Programme is always at the request of the overseas church to meet

their needs rather than ours. Without such arrangements the Fund for World Mission has not

been used to pay for individuals to train for the ministry or the diaconate either for the British

Conference or for another conference or church.

The Conference sympathises with the intent of the Gordano Valley Circuit, but believes it is impossible to meet their desired outcome at the present time. The Conference notes that 'the pain and damage caused to individuals' is sometimes the result of suggestions being made informally which cannot be fulfilled because they are contrary to the law of the land.

The Conference also reminds the Circuit Meeting that in making representations to HM

Government, the Methodist Church has consistently argued for the most generous terms of

entry possible for non-EU nationals. This is done in the belief that a multi-cultural Britain is a

strength and not a weakness in general and particularly in the Church. Thus the Conference

celebrates the ministry of people from overseas who have come to us through the formal

programme of the World Church in Britain Partnerships and through less formal relationships.

The Conference notes that over 300 million residents of EU countires, the vast majority of whom are white, can enter the UK to work at any time whereas, for example, citizens of Commonwealth countries cannot. It therefore regards the above outworking of British immigration laws as a further example of the racist basis of those laws. In the light of all the above the Conference expresses its unhappiness with a rigid system which appears to deny the possibility of a call to the Methodist ministry of a student already studying in this country who may, inter alia, see the need for an increasingly multicultural ministry. It is also unhappy with a system which calls into question the integrity of the Church’s procedures for testing such a call.

The Conference therefore instructs the Connexional Team to consult with the Churches Main Committee and make further approaches to the Home Office to see how a less racist and more flexible system may be developed in relation to those experiencing a call to religious ministry.

Since this memorial a discretionary policy has been introduced that will allow suitable people to transfer to minister of religion status from a student of theology or other suitable status.

2002. The Conference notes that many Asylum Seekers and Refugees are coming to our churches in search of support. There is evidence from those coming to us that decisions taken by the Home Office, often seem arbitrary and procedures very slow. Communication with the Home Office is extremely difficult and financial support appears inefficient resulting in much delay and considerable hardship. This Conference declares its deepest concern about the treatment of Asylum Seekers and Refugees and urges its Government to revise the procedures so that justice prevails and sustainable support is given

2003

Notice of Motion 32 Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Refugees

The Conference notes that many Asylum Seekers and Refugees are coming to our churches in search of support. There is evidence from those coming to us that decisions taken by the Home Office, often seem arbitrary and procedures very slow. Communication with the Home Office is extremely difficult and financial support appears inefficient resulting in much delay and considerable hardship. This Conference declares its deepest concern about the treatment of Asylum Seekers and Refugees and urges its Government to revise its procedures so that justice prevails and sustainable support is given.

Proposed: The Revd Terence J Young Seconded: The Revd Geoffrey Peddie. Passed unanimously.

2003

President expresses concern about public treatment of asylum seekers

The President of the Methodist Church, the Rev Ian White, made the following statement:

"The current debate about people who seek asylum in Britain deserves considered reflection rather than the alarming political and journalistic rhetoric seen in some quarters. It can be all too easy to forget that those seeking asylum are human beings who have the right to be treated with dignity and equality at all stages of the asylum process.

"The use of language where 'asylum seeker' equates with 'terrorist' must be condemned. Everyone who seeks asylum has the right to have his or her claim heard promptly and thoroughly. The authorities need to be allowed to judge each asylum application on its particular merits rather than being pressured by populist opinions based on unsubstantiated fear rather than fact.

"What seems clear is that the effects of the four most recent Acts of Parliament in this area have made life more difficult for asylum seekers. The Refugee Council has estimated that 100 people seeking asylum are now being made destitute each day because of the withdrawal of benefits, since 8 January, for those who do not claim asylum at their port of entry.

"The dispersal system might work better if people heard how support in local communities is central to helping asylum seekers adapt to life in Britain. I have been encouraged in this respect by Methodist congregations offering a practical demonstration of the Christian commitment to welcome the stranger.

"This generous and dedicated work includes churches running drop-in centres that provide a social focus for asylum seekers and local people to meet each other and learn about each others’ cultures. Some churches are running language classes for asylum seekers to help them learn English or improve conversational skills. Others have made their premises available for groups of asylum seekers to have religious services in their own language.

"These stories are to be commended as signs of building bridges of real hope in communities where asylum seekers are placed. We would encourage other churches and community groups to consider ways to emulate these good examples.

"This work often includes an inter-faith dimension. Where appropriate, I would encourage churches to form links with other faiths and community groups to build a consensus of support for all who are placed in our towns and localities. In many places inter-faith groups or councils of faith exist, some of whom are already involved in asylum issues. One practical need is to ensure that all asylum seekers within induction centres, detention centres and areas of dispersal have access to a chaplain of their faith. My hope is that Methodists will work with members of other Christian churches and other faiths to help this happen.

"We call on all people of faith and goodwill to challenge the knee-jerk responses to the current situation, both nationally and locally, to ensure that all asylum seekers are treated with fairness and dignity."