Where we are

Right now the Nationality and Borders Bill passing its second reading in the House of Lords where some Peers voiced their anger and concerns about the proposed legislation. See the full transcript here. Parliamentary leads from Together With Refugees’ member organisations worked behind the scenes to brief Peers with our arguments, resulting in several Peers quoting directly from their joint parliamentary briefing.

The bill will now go to Committee Stage on 27th January where Peers will have the chance to debate each amendment and press for responses from the Government. Usually there are no votes at this stage as Members seek to sound out what Ministers make of their proposed changes. Voting takes place during the Report Stage, which we expect in the middle of March.

Next steps

Working with Together With Refugees, we are focused on two core priorities: 1) opposing the principle of treating refugees differently based on how they arrived here rather than their need for protection, and so are asking for the removal of the offending clause. 2) the introduction of a target to resettle 10,000 refugees a year. For more information see: Strategy for Engaging your MP and Key Asks guidance document (items 1 & 2 from page 4 onwards).