Afternoon Tea in the House of Commons
On the 5 th September 2023, the Community Sponsorship Alliance UK met for ‘Afternoon Tea’ in the House of Commons Jubilee Room at the invitation of Helen Hayes MP. The gathering was an important opportunity to call for “safe routes to safe homes in safe communities for people seeking sanctuary” in other words for the expansion of the Community Sponsorship scheme and its wider application to refugees needing resettlement.
The idea of Afternoon Tea was to bring to the attention of parliamentarians the work of the
Community Sponsorship Alliance and in particular what we are calling for:
- Support for the UNHCR involvement and Home Office investment in a streamlined
UK Resettlement Scheme with special reference to supporting lead and principal
sponsoring organisations; - A safe humanitarian route for “Named” individuals and families to come to the UK;
- More innovation in rental arrangements to ensure the availability of housing and
accommodation to refugees
- A recognition of the experience and contribution civil society actors such as
sponsoring organisations can make to resettlement; - A national strategy with long-term goals and investment.
This was an important moment in the development of an alliance of community sponsorship organisations and a great event with a very positive atmosphere and spirit of togetherness. Helen Hayes MP, who hosted the event, spoke of the importance of voluntary organisations playing an important part in resettlement and integration. Lord Alf Dubs and Lord Blidworth of Murray were both in attendance and enthusiastic to promote the strategy to keep open safe and humanitarian routes for refugees.
Finally, a lovely note to end on was that friendships underpins the Community Sponsorship
Alliance. Friendship was physically amongst the takeaways as friendship bracelets that had
been hand-made especially for invitees by displaced Syrian women. Theses friendship
bracelets are made with hope, given with love and worn in solidarity.
UKWR is a proud supporter of the Community Sponsorship Alliance UK. To find out more
visit www.csaalliance.org.uk
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Finally, some good news📢 BREAKING @followers:![]()
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We're thrilled to see a significant policy change announced today, which will mean that some Afghan families torn apart during the fall of Kabul can now be reunited in safety in the UK!![]()
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New changes to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will mean that some Afghans resettled in the UK under Pathway 1 CAN NOW BE JOINED by their closest family members, including their children and spouses. Afghan children evacuated to the UK can now be joined by their parents or siblings. ![]()
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Over the last three years, we've worked with many families torn apart in the chaos of evacuating Kabul. It is fantastic that they will finally have a way to be safely together again thanks to the swift action taken by the new Government. For children apart from their parents, this will be life-changing. ![]()
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Immigration and Citizenship Minister Seema Malhotra said, “It’s our moral duty to ensure that families who were tragically separated are reunited. Afghans did right by us, and we will do right by them.”![]()
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Thank you to all the supporters of the Families Together coalition who have helped raise our voices and support the people we work with. Together, we can continue to make a positive impact.![]()
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#BreakingNews #families #Afghanistan #policychange