Sanctuary in Parliament 2018
“Towards a Fairer System”
12.00 – 16:00
Monday 12th November in Attlee Suite, Portcullis House
Cross-party MP and refugee panel 12:30 to 1:30
Our overarching theme this year is for a fairer more compassionate system for people seeking sanctuary in the UK. The event is now fully booked with 150 attendees and we are unable to accept further bookings due to space limitations. However, this strategic annual events is an opportunity for everybody to engage their MP and we are still seeking support for the network and our partners to encourage their MPs to attend the events, and also to talk to their MP about our 3 policy asks which most of the refugee sector are engaged with through coalition partnerships.
We are specifically focusing on the following issues, which are all key to producing a fair and humane system and will be areas of scrutiny around the upcoming Immigration Bill:
- The right to work for people who have asylum claims outstanding for more than six months;
- Extension of refugee family reunion;
- An end to indefinite immigration detention;
Please see this background paper Sanctuary in Parliament 2018 which describes our rationale and the key messages which we wish to convey through the upcoming Sanctuary in Parliament event.
We will be relying on the network and our partners to invite their MPs to attend and to continue an ongoing dialogue with their MPs about these issues.
Here is the Sanctuary in Parliament 2018_ Policy Briefing which provides background information to help you discuss the issues and a Sanctuary in Parliament 2018 – Quick Policy Guide which can also be used to send to your MP. The more letters regarding these topics and the more invitations that MPs receive to the event, the more likely we will receive a positive response and so we are encouraging all our supporters to contact their MPs, and engage them in the issues, whether or not they are able to attend the event.
Indeed, there is still an important role for all groups to engage with their MPs on these strategic priorities over the coming months by arranging to meet their MP in the constituency if they are unable to meet them at the Sanctuary in Parliament event.
Here is A short guide to engaging with your MP with the issues we are raising in Sanctuary in Parliament.
Here is a Template invitation letter to MPs to support you to write to your MP. It is a suggestion only and the more personalised and individual your invitation is, the more effective it will be in securing MP commitment to attend. We also welcome the extension of invitations to Peers in the House of Lords.
Here is a Social Media Guide for SIP 2018 which provides suggested tweets and guidance for how everybody can help with the success of Sanctuary in Parliament regardless of attendance.