Please write to your MP: Westminster Hall debate on children
This is an important request for you to put all your fantastic support into words, and contact your MP about an upcoming debate on "Asylum support for children and young people."
On the 27th of February (9:30-11:00am) Sarah Tether MP will introduce a debate on "Asylum support for children and young people." This follows the report of the cross party Parliamentary Inquiry into this issue in January 2013. The Inquiry made several positive recommendations, including that: Section 4 should be abolished, that asylum support should be increased annually at least in line with Income Support, that the rates of support should never fall below 70% of Income Support and that permission to work should be granted if an asylum application has not been concluded within six months.
What we are asking you all to do is to contact your local MPs or any MPs who you have links with and to:
(a) Brief them on the issue and ask them to speak in the debate on 27 February and to support recommendations from the cross party Parliamentary Inquiry in to asylum support for children and young people
(b) To sign Early Day Motion (EDM) No. 1019 on Asylum Support Rates, if they have not already done so. This EDM calls on the Government to implement the above recommendations from the Inquiry. The full text and signatures to date can be seen at: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1019
This is action is important because we need to show that there is substantial parliamentary support for these measures at time when the Government is reviewing the current support arrangements. Thank you to our friends at Still Human, Still Here for passing this information on to us.
Please see below for details on how to contact your MP and a draft template for doing so.
Kind Regards,
Anna Wardell
Volunteer Administrator
City of Sanctuary, Bristol
43-45 Easton Business Centre,
Felix Road,
Easton Bristol,
BS5 OHE
Tel: 0117 941 5960
M: 07887391986
Email: bristol a_t cityofsanctuary d_o_t org
Website: www.cityofsanctuary.org/bristol
Template (courtesy of Still Human, Still Here)
You can then send them the following draft e-mail with the subject title as: Westminster Hall debate on children , 27 February. Try and add a sentence which talks about the local situation or personalise it in some way.
Dear
The report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Asylum Support for Children and Young People was published In January 2013 and will be discussed in a Westminster Hall debate at 9.30am on Wednesday 27 February. The full report is attached for your interest.
We would appreciate it if you would consider supporting the Inquiry's work by speaking at the Westminster Hall debate and endorsing the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry and by signing EDM No.1019 which calls on the Government to implement recommendations from the Inquiry. For the full text: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1019