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24/5/2023

Press Release: Government must abandon plans to exclude those seeking sanctuary from vital housing safety regulation

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​People seeking sanctuary excluded from vital housing safety regulation

​Over one hundred and thirty organisations have signed a letter to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP, and to the levelling-up secretary, Michael Gove MP, voicing their extreme concerns about regulations currently being considered by Parliament to remove licensing requirements for asylum accommodation.
The open letter co-authored by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) amassed 137 signatories, including Crisis, Shelter, the Refugee Council and Amnesty International.

It calls for Ministers to abandon plans that would see asylum-seekers housed in unsafe accommodation with inadequate protections against fire and overcrowding.

Gavin Smart, chief executive at Chartered Institute of Housing stated:
“The licensing scheme for houses that are multi-occupied are designed to keep people safe, especially safe from fire. They need to apply to everyone, including people seeking sanctuary in the UK. That’s why we’re calling on the government to drop its proposal to exempt asylum accommodation from the HMO licencing arrangements.”
​
The letter notes that the strain on the asylum accommodation system is due to excessive delays in asylum decision-making and the fact that those seeking asylum are not allowed to work. The letter urges the Home Office to address these problems rather than deny people seeking sanctuary the basic accommodation rights that should be afforded to all tenants.

Mary Atkinson at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said:
"This government is essentially proposing a two-tier system of housing, with fundamental human rights for people born here but not for those who come here seeking safety. This is outrageous. Everyone deserves a home that is decent and safe – by stripping away these protections for people seeking sanctuary, this Government is putting people’s lives at risk. It must instead act to quickly and fairly process asylum claims, and make sure local authorities are properly resourced to provide safe housing for all who need it.”

The letter asks government to redouble efforts to ensure that asylum accommodation is safe, healthy and secure, rather than removing HMO licensing requirements. The letter was sent with a further, detailed briefing document for all MPs to consider.

Nick Beales, head of campaigning, at Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (Ramfel) commented:
“Whilst appalling under any circumstances, the government appears to have made this decision following lobbying by private companies whose motivation is solely profit driven. Rather than prioritising increased profits for these companies, the government should be focused on ensuring that housing provided to asylum seekers is safe, sanitary and allows them to best settle into their local communities.

“If the government was truly committed to reducing the numbers of refugees in asylum support accommodation, their focus would be on processing claims, granting people leave to remain and allowing them to work whilst decisions on their claims are made. Instead, this is more vicious cruelty that puts vulnerable peoples’ lives at risk.
​
“We call on the government to reverse these punitive changes and guarantee basic housing standards for all UK residents.”

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24/5/2023

137 housing and migrants’ rights organisations sign joint letter calling on the British government not to trash vital housing protections for refugee accommodation.

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RAMFEL, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants have co-authored a joint letter, signed by 134 other organisations, calling on the British government not to trash vital housing protections.
 
The government is trying to ram through plans that would remove legal protections for asylum accommodation, opening the door for landlords to provide unsafe, overcrowded and even less sanitary housing for people who have already been forced to flee their homes. This is wrong and we are calling on the government to abandon these plans and recognise that everyone deserves safe and decent housing.
 
Read this letter below. 


24th May 2023
 
Dear Secretaries of State
 
People seeking sanctuary excluded from vital housing safety regulation
 
We are writing to express our organisations’ extreme concern about the regulations being considered by Parliament that would remove the licensing requirements for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) used as asylum accommodation.
 
We are aware that the Home Office promises to repeat the requirements that normally apply in licensing via its contracts with accommodation suppliers; however, experience with enforcement of conditions in existing contracts indicates that this is very unlikely to be sufficient or comprehensive given the scale of accommodation required.
 
We are particularly concerned that the potential combination of overcrowding, sharing of facilities such as kitchens and potentially lax enforcement of gas and electrical safety standards poses a severe fire risk (these factors appeared to be behind the recent tragic fire in Tower Hamlets). Given that much of the accommodation is likely to be in flats or in terraced housing, the risk applies both to the property itself and to neighbouring homes. The risk is, of course, enhanced by the very real possibility of arson attacks.
 
As well as safety issues, the potential for increased use of substandard buildings could affect the health and wellbeing of people seeking sanctuary, for example by removing the standards that apply to the kitchen and bathroom facilities required in relation to numbers of occupants. Limited or no controls over room-sharing may well lead to conflicts between occupants, and to safeguarding dangers. Occupants could be condemned to near cell-like conditions in rooms which (for example) could have no windows.
 
We are also concerned that people seeking sanctuary will potentially be placed into overcrowded rooms in overcrowded housing in neighbourhoods with existing high concentrations of hostel-type accommodation, with potential ramifications for community inclusivity and the safety of people seeking sanctuary.
 
Existing landlords and temporary accommodation providers will be incentivised to switch their properties away from their existing uses to asylum accommodation, which may be more profitable. This could include properties which may not have met HMO standards previously. As well as leading to an increase in substandard properties, this could exacerbate local housing and
homelessness pressures, with the potential for people seeking sanctuary to be blamed for causing them.
 
As contracts for asylum will be managed by the Home Office, councils will be much less likely to directly redress poor standards or safety issues. As a result, enforcement action may not take place or could be much slower than under current local HMO licensing arrangements. Councils will no longer receive HMO licensing fees from properties used for asylum accommodation, drastically reducing the funds available for enforcement work.
 
It is worth noting two important elements of HMO licensing:
 
1. The reason for licensing is that, over decades, HMOs have been shown to be the properties posing greatest risk to health and safety – especially death from fire. As a bare minimum, if the plans go ahead, additional fire safety requirements (over and above those for non-multi-occupied dwellings) should be on the face of the instrument to show explicitly how fire risk will be minimised.
2. Licensing under Part 2 powers is pre-disclosure: councils know where these properties are before they are let, so they can be checked for safety before any incident occurs. Part 1 powers (which local authorities can still use) are only effective if they know where HMOs are; they are dependent on complaints which may not be made (especially given that the occupants are people recently arrived in the UK, who are likely less equipped to navigate local authority complaints systems).
 
We appreciate the need to resolve accommodation issues resulting from the backlog of asylum claims. However, we do not believe that removing HMO licensing controls is the way to proceed. In summary, our concerns are at two levels. One is the danger of failing to liaise with local authorities and the removal of local controls in situations rife with potential problems for community relations. The second, and even more important, is the potential effect on the safety and wellbeing of people seeking sanctuary. The relaxation of standards contrasts sharply with the government’s efforts to enhance building safety more generally and to tackle poor conditions in the private rented sector, which we strongly support.
 
We note that the strain on the asylum accommodation system is partly the result of most people seeking asylum being banned from working, as well as excessive delays in asylum decision-making. The Home Office should address these problems rather than deny people seeking sanctuary the basic accommodation rights that should be afforded to all tenants.
We therefore urge you to abandon the planned removal of HMO licensing requirements, and instead to redouble efforts to ensure that asylum accommodation is safe, healthy and secure.
 
Your sincerely,
 
Gavin Smart
Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing, on behalf of the following 137 organisations
 
Dr C Wooff, Joint leader, ACAP (Ashton Churches Asylum Project)
Duncan McAuley, CEO, Action Foundation
Rosie Boyd, Refugee Integration Officer, African Rainbow Family
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme Director, Amnesty International UK
Giles Peaker, Partner, Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP
Anna Rudd, Interim Director, ASSIST Sheffield
Ewan Roberts, CEO, Asylum Link Merseyside
Mabli Jones, Deputy Director, Asylum Matters
Kat Lorenz, Director, Asylum Support Appeals Project
Mark Goldring, Director, Asylum Welcome
Nadia Hussain, Liaison Worker, Aylesbury Women's Aid
Pierre Makhlouf, Legal Director, Bail for Immigration Detainees
Emma Hawthorne, Chair, BIRCH (Birmingham Community Hosting)
David Brown, Chair, Birmingham City of Sanctuary
Mandy Ross, Refugee Support Group member, Birmingham Progressive Synagogue
Barbara Forbes, Local lead Birmingham, Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary
Dr. Wanda Wyporska, CEO, Black Equity Organisation
Ros Holland, Chief Exec, Boaz Trust
David Thomas, Legal Officer, Brighton & Hove Housing Coalition
Laura Chester, Host Network Manager, Bristol Hospitality Network
Hana Cogingsford, Solicitor, Bristol Law Centre
Qerim Nuredini, Chief Executive Officer, Bristol Refugee Rights
Caroline Gregory, Director, Calais Action
Amber Ray, Communications and Engagement Lead, Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary
Catharine Walston, Trustee, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
Eleanor Brown, CEO, CARAS
Central England Law Centre, Central England Law Centre, Central England Law Centre
Tom Martin, Director, City of Sanctuary Sheffield
Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary UK
Toni Soni, Centre Director, Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
Sally Hyman, Trustee and founder, Cribs International
Matt Downie, CEO, Crisis
Fran Wood, Chair of DAR, Darlington Assistance for Refugees
Steve Cooke, Chair, Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity
Alex Vessis, CEO, Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support
Disrupt Foundation, ,
Karuna, National health advisor, Doctors of the world
Penny Hardcastle, Teacher, Farnham help for refugees
Joanne Watters, Head of Community Projects, Father Hudson's Care
Alan Strang, Volunteer, For Refugees Birminghan
Amber Bauer, CEO, forRefugees
Anna Pincus, Director, Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
Dan Wilson Craw, Acting Director, Generation Rent
Jason Tetley, Director, Greater Manchester Law Centre
Stephan Morrison, Researcher, Groundswell
Rose Nickolds, Housing and Destitution Caseworker, Hackney Migrant Centre
Hansen Palomares, Solicitors, Hansen Palomares
Madeleine Evans, General Manager, Haringey Migrant Support Centre
Lucy Nabijou, Coordinator, Haringey Welcome
Polly Gifford, Co-Chair, Hastings Community of Sanctuary
Jane Grimshaw, Convener, Hastings Supports Refugees
Kerry Smith, Chief Executive, Helen Bamber Foundation
Angus Clark, Chief Executive, Herts for Refugees
Rosie Carter, Director of policy, HOPE not hate
Phil Davis, Director, Hope Projects
Simon Mullings, Co-chair, Housing Law Practitioners' Association
Sarah Teather, Director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK
Lisa Norcross, Project Manager, Kairos Housing
Sue Willman, Supervising Solicitor, King's College Legal Clinic
Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, Head of Policy and Profile, Law Centres Network
Dragica Felja, Head of education, Law for Life
Jenny Willison, Trustee/Secretary, Leeds Destitute Asylum-Seekers Support
Pete Hobson, Chair, Leicester City of Sanctuary
Rosario Guimba-Stewart, CEO, Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network (LRMN)
Catherine Pellegrino, Senior Policy Officer, Maternity Action
Dr Joanna Dobbin, GP registrar, Medact
Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO, Micro Rainbow CIC
Cllr. Dr. Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini, Co-founder, Migrant Champions Network
Lara Parizotto, Co-Director, Migrant Democracy Project
Son Olszewski, Caseworker, Migrants Organise
Fizza Qureshi, CEO, Migrants' Rights Network
Ceri Hutton, Chair, MigrationWork CIC
Jane Long, MTVH Migration Foundation Committee Member, MTVH Migration Foundation
Bridget Young, Director, NACCOM
John Mayford, CEO, Olmec
Shelley Meister, Founder, trustee, One and All Aid
Salma Ravat, CEO, One Roof Leicester
Alex McMahon, Senior Associate, Osbornes Law
William Ford, Partner, Osbornes Law
Amos Schonfield, CEO, Our Second Home
Paul Quinn, Owner, Paul Quinn writing and editing
Elaine Fraser, Co Founder, PEOPLE IN MOTION
Wren Trevisan, Manager, Phone Credit for Refugees
Sally Daghlian OBE, CEO, Praxis
Kristine Harris, Policy Coordinator, Project 17
Jean Demars, Director, Public Interest Law Centre
Shameem Ahmad, CEO, Public Law Project
Nick Beales, Head of Campaigning, RAMFEL
Anna Jones, CEO & Co-founder, RefuAid
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
Sarah Fenby Dixon, Trustee, Refugee Aid Network
Shari Brown, Partnership and Development Manager, Refugee and Migrant Centre (West Midlands)
Shelley Braddock- Overbury, Senior Caseworker, Refugee Asylum Seeker Migrant Action (RAMA)
Ruhi Akhtar, CEO / Founder, Refugee Biriyani & Bananas
Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council
Nick Harborne, CEO, Refugee Support Group Berkshire
Nese Davidson-Birch, Supported Lodging Lead, Refugee Welcome Homes
Alison Moore, CEO, Refugee Women Connect
Mandy Littlewood, Project manager, Refugees & Mentors CIC
Sarah Crowther, Director, Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership (REAP
Jeremy Thompson, Manager, Restore - a project of Birmingham Churches Together
M El Sayed, Research and Advocacy Officer, Rethink Rebuild
Caroline Coombs, CEO, Reunite Families UK
Derek White, Trustee, Rochdale Action with Destitute Asylum seekers and Refugees
Polly Neate, CEO, Shelter
Elizabeth Morgan, Trustee/Treasurer, Side by Side Refugees
patrick marples, CEO, South West London Law Centres
Lucy Parker, Homeless Advice Worker, Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
Robert Rush, Garden coordinator, Southwark Day Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Rebecca Bahar, Solicitor, Southwark Law Centre
Liz Needham, Chair of Trustees, St Albans for Refugees
Abigail Martin, Manager, St Chad's Sanctuary
Becky Hellewell, Head of Support & Immigration, St. Augustine's Centre
Stephanie Neville, Project Manager, Stories of Hope and Home
Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
Rachel Balabanoff, Coordinator, The Care Rights Project
Alexandra Lopoukhine, Interim Executive Director, The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Jane Williams, Founder, The Magpie Project
Alex Kempton, Director of Operations and Campaigns, The Refugee Buddy Project
William Gomes, Director, The William Gomes Podcast
Susanne Schuster, Publicity and Events volunteer, Thousand 4 £1000
Sue Hirschler, Volunteer, Thousand for £1000
Susie Dye, Grants Manager, Trust for London
Laura Coyle, Partner and Housing Solicitor, Turpin Miller LLP
Dania Thomas, Co-Director, Ubuntu Women Shelter
Andrew Jackson, Chief Executive, Upbeat Communities
Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile
Marcie Winstanley, Volunteer Coordinator, West End Refugee Service
Jason Hussein, Head of Advocacy and Support, West End Refugee Service
Joanne MacInnes, Director, West London Welcome
Ted Britton, Chair of Trustees, West Yorkshire Destitute Asylum Network (WYDAN)
George Reiss, Vice chair, Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary
Alphonsine Kabagabo, Director, Women for Refugee Women
Debby Wilson, Domestic Abuse Caseworker, Women's Aid
Jo Cobley, CEO, Young Roots
Valerie Clark, Director, Youth Legal

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10/5/2023

JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY SOLIDARITY STATEMENT ON THE ILLEGAL MIGRATION BILL

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As a coalition of 175 civil society organisations representing the human rights, migrant, refugee, asylum, anti-slavery and trafficking, children’s, women’s, LGBTQI+, disability rights and other sectors sectors, we call on Parliamentarians to urge the Government to immediately withdraw the ‘Illegal Migration Bill’.
We all deserve to live safe from harm and to be treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. But this shockingly cruel and inhumane Bill turns our country’s back on people fleeing war and persecution, blocking them from protection, support, or justice at a time they need it most.
The Bill is effectively a ban on asylum, extinguishing the right to seek refugee protection in the United Kingdom. It will put people seeking safety and a better life at risk of irreversible harm, with life and death consequences.
This Bill attacks the very core of human rights, which is the fundamental belief that we all have human rights regardless of who we are or where we are from. Instead, it separates people into categories of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ of human rights.  In stripping the most basic rights from people seeking safety and a better life, the Bill dismantles human rights protections for all of us.
The Bill deliberately and unacceptably excludes an entire category of people from the protections guaranteed under our domestic laws and international obligations.
It will almost certainly breach multiple international conventions and agreements, including the UN Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT).
The Government has acknowledged that it cannot guarantee the Bill will be compatible with the ECHR, a legally binding instrument. The Convention represents the rights and values that we hold dear, including the right to life, protection from slavery and torture, and the right to liberty, which are all threatened by this Bill.
Not only does the Bill substantially threaten human rights, it aims to shield the Government from accountability when it does violate those rights by reducing parliamentary and judicial scrutiny.
The Bill includes the unprecedented and alarming proposal to disapply Section 3 of the Human Rights Act, which empowers our judges to interpret laws in a way that protects our rights. Without that protection, individuals affected by this Bill are limited from getting justice when their rights are violated.
The Bill hands vast delegated powers to the Secretary of State, including the power to amend laws in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, despite the fact that human rights are largely a devolved matter.
The Bill would also enable Ministers to ignore interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights – a rare yet vital last resort to halt proceedings like deportations when people’s lives are deemed at risk of extreme and irreversible harm.
This Bill would almost certainly be unlawful domestically and internationally. The Bill signals to the international community that the Government intends to commit human rights abuses while evading scrutiny and accountability, setting a dangerous example to other states.
More importantly, these cruel and inhumane plans are a stain on our collective moral conscience, attacking the values we cherish as a democratic, rights-respecting society.  This Bill is a dangerous piece of legislation that will most certainly lead to irreparable harm, grave suffering, and possible deaths if enacted.
We stand united in solidarity with the individuals and families who would be directly harmed, and oppose the Government’s divisive attacks on refugees migrants,  victims and survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery, and other people who move. We fiercely reject any attempts to undermine the universality of human rights.
We urge all Parliamentarians to urge the Government to withdraw the Bill. 
Signed: 
  1. Danielle Roberts, Senior Policy and Development Officer, Here NI
  2. Andrea Cleaver, CEO, Welsh Refugee Council
  3. Paul Hook, Director, Asylum Matters
  4. Deborah Gold, Chief Executive, National AIDS Trust
  5. Saqib Deshmukh, Interim CEO, Alliance for Youth Justice
  6. Deborah Coles, Executive Director, INQUEST
  7. Chris Jones, Director, Statewatch
  8. Declan Owens, Co-Chair, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
  9. Declan Owens, CEO, Ecojustice Ireland
  10. David Weaver, Chair, OBV
  11. Lee Jasper, Co-Founder, Blaksox
  12. Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair
  13. Emma Hutton, CEO, JustRight Scotland
  14. Chloe Trew, Director, Participation and the Practice of Rights
  15. Jonathan Senker, CEO, VoiceAbility
  16. Andrew Copson, Chief Executive, Humanists UK
  17. Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
  18. Victoria Marks, Director, ATLEU
  19. Clare Moseley, Chair, Care4Calais
  20. Susanna Revolti, CEO, Borderlands
  21. Mauricio Silva, IRD Coordinator, Columbans in Britain
  22. Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director, René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
  23. Amber Bauer, CEO, forRefugees
  24. Lucy Nabijou, Coordinator, Haringey Welcome
  25. Jane Lees, CEO, CommunityWorks
  26. Ruhi Akhtar, CEO, Refugee Biriyani & Bananas
  27. Naabil Khan, Volunteer Coordinator, STAR Exeter
  28. Jeremy Thompson, Manager, Restore (a project of Birmingham Churches Together)
  29. Miranda Reilly, Director, The Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees
  30. Aisling Playford, Policy and Advocacy Manager, Rainbow Project
  31. Toni Soni, Centre Director, Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
  32. Suleiman Abdulahi, Managing Director, Horn of Africa People’s Aid Northern Ireland
  33. Andrea Cleaver, CEO, Welsh Refugee Council
  34. Jabbar Hasan, Director, Iraqi Association
  35. Jeannie Tweedie, Co-Director, Elmbridge CAN
  36. Kayte Cable and Vicki Felgate, Co-Founders, Big Leaf Foundation
  37. Aderonke Apata, Founder and CEO, African Rainbow Family
  38. Sampson Low, Head of Policy, UNISON
  39. Gisela Valle, Director, Latin American Women’s Rights Service
  40. Aderonke Apata, Founder and Chairperson, Manchester Migrant Solidarity
  41. Sue Lacey, Founder, Together100
  42. Eleni Venaki, Director, The Comfrey Project
  43. Karen Pearse, Director, Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers
  44. Amos Schonfield, CEO, Our Second Home
  45. Chloe Crowther, Bristol Defend Asylum Seekers Campaign
  46. Tom Brake, Director, Unlock Democracy
  47. Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO, Micro Rainbow
  48. Sheila Mosley, Steering Group member, Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network – QARN
  49. Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile
  50. Ewan Roberts, CEO, Asylum Link Merseyside
  51. William Gomes, Director, The William Gomes Podcast
  52. Dr Razia Shariff, CEO, Kent Refugee Action Network
  53. Andrea Simon, Director, End Violence Against Women Coalition
  54. Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
  55. Tamsin Cook, Co-Artistic Director, Mafwa Theatre
  56. Rose Caldwell, CEO, Plan International UK
  57. Isobel Ingham-Barrow, CEO, Community Policy Forum
  58. Clare Moody, Co-CEO, Equally Ours
  59. Sadia Sikandar, Advisory Board, West End Refugee Services
  60. Rosie MacPherson, Artistic Director & Joint CEO, Stand & Be Counted Theatre
  61. Efi Stathopoulou, Programmes Manager, Refugee Legal Support
  62. Ros Gowers, Coordinator, Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees
  63. Margaret Lennon, Director, Bridges Programmes
  64. Daniel Boyle, Senior Parliamentary and Policy Officer, BEMIS Scotland
  65. Elayne Hill, CEO, Central England Law Centre
  66. Margaret Lennon, National Committee, Women for Independence – Independence for Women
  67. Angus Clark, Chief Executive, Herts for Refugees
  68. Liz Needham, Chair of Trustees, St Albans for Refugees
  69. Jean-Pierre Moussally, community councillor of the agglomeration of Grand Calais Terres & Mers, EELV (French Green Party)
  70. Nancy Kelley, CEO, Stonewall
  71. Juliet Harris, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), Director
  72. Shameem Ahmad, CEO, Public Law Project
  73. Emma Ginn, Director, Medical Justice
  74. Pete Ritchie, Director, Nourish Scotland
  75. Fraser Sutherland, Chief Executive, Humanist Society Scotland
  76. Alexandra Lopoukhine, Interim Executive Director, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
  77. Georgina Fletcher, Chief Officer, Regional Refugee Forum North East
  78. Catharine Walston, Trustee, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
  79. Catharine Walston, Chair of Executive, Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
  80. Rev Peta Evans, Senior Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church of North London
  81. Jenni Regan, CEO, IMIX
  82. Bridget Young, Director, NACCOM
  83. Andrew Jackson, Chief Executive, Upbeat Communities
  84. Sarah Fenby-Dixon, trustee, Refugee Aid Network
  85. Kat Lorenz, Director, Asylum Support Appeals Project
  86. Mhairi Snowden, Director, Human Rights Consortium Scotland
  87. National Committee, Women for Independence
  88. Will Sutcliffe, Chair, Bradford City of Sanctuary
  89. Charles Dobson, Chairman, Skipton Refugee Support Group
  90. Angie Pedley Co-ordinator, Craven Refugee Support Network
  91. Angie Pedley, Co-ordinator, Craven District of Sanctuary
  92. Robert Rae, Co-Director, Art27 Scotland
  93. Amanda Jones, CEO, Shropshire Supports Refugees
  94. Amy Lythgoe, Trustee, Together Now
  95. Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General, Muslim Council of Britain
  96. Maggie Pearse, Chair, BIASAN (Bradford Immigration and Asylum Support and Advice Network)
  97. Daniel Tsz Kin Kwok, Director, The Hong Kong Scots CIC
  98. Gail Heath, CEO, Pankhurst Trust (incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid)
  99. Steve Newman, Chair, FODI (Friends of the Drop In for asylum seekers and refugees, Sunderland)
  100. Alphonsine Kabagabo, Director, Women for Refugee Women
  101. Tim Hopkins, Director, Equality Network
  102. Gill Tipping, Co-chair, Lewes Organisation in Support of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (LOSRAS)
  103. Lilian Geijsen, European Director, Ben & Jerry’s
  104. Sian Summers-Rees, Chief Officer, City of Sanctuary UK
  105. Chloe Wolfe, Charity Manager,  Swindon City of Sanctuary
  106. Helen Hodgson, Operations Director, Hope at Home
  107. Lisa Norcross, Project and Fundraising Manager, Kairos Housing
  108. Alan Gray, Chair, Forth Valley Migrant Support Network
  109. Amanda Church-Mcfarlane, Co-CEO, Abigail Housing
  110. Clare Campbell, Operations Manager, Walking With in North Tyneside
  111. Stroud District Together With Refugees
  112. Martha Spurrier, Director, Liberty
  113. Nick Beales, Head of Campaigns, RAMFEL
  114. Revd Jide Macaulay, Chief Executive Officer, House of Rainbow CIC
  115. Lade Olugbemi, The Nous Organisation
  116. Sandy Brindley, Chief Executive, Rape Crisis Scotland
  117. Dennis Carney, Chair, Black Connection
  118. Ros Holland, Chief Exec, Boaz Trust
  119. Ted Britton, Chair of Trustees, WYDAN
  120. Gwen Hines, Chief Executive, Save the Children
  121. Jamie Balfour-Paul, Founder, Magic for Smiles
  122. Avril Sharp, Policy Officer, Kalayaan
  123. Dania Thomas, Director, Ubuntu Women Shelter
  124. Mark Courtice, Chair of Trustees, Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group
  125. Agnes Tolmie, Chair, The Scottish Women’s Convention
  126. Kate Alexander, Director, Scottish Detainee Visitors
  127. Simon Tyler, Director, Doctors of the World
  128. Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive, Amnesty International UK
  129. Dr. Patrick Roach, General Secretary, NASUWT
  130. James Wilson, Director, Detention Action
  131. Anna Lewis, CEO, Open Door North East
  132. Simon Cheng, Director, Hongkongers in Britain
  133. Jane Grimshaw, Convenor Hastings Supports Refugees
  134. Julie Bishop, Director, Law Centres Network
  135. Sattinder Collins, Chair, Tees Valley of Sanctuary
  136. Elizabeth Long, Partnerships, Refugee, Asylum seeker & Migrant Action (RAMA)
  137. Stephanie Neville, Project Manager, Stories of Hope and Home
  138. Alison Pickup, Director, Asylum Aid
  139. Kerry Smith, CEO, Helen Bamber Foundation
  140. Ailsa Dunn Secretary Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees
  141. Reverend Gerard Goshawk, Minister, Six Ways Erdington Baptist Church
  142. Clare Henry, Management Committee, Exeter City of Sanctuary
  143. Hayley Nelson BEM, Director, Learn for Life Enterprise
  144. Sanchita Hosali, CEO, The British Institute of Human Rights
  145. Paul Parker, Recording Clerk, Quakers in Britain
  146. Clarissa Hanna, Chair, Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group
  147. Dr Judith Turbyne, Chief Executive, Children in Scotland
  148. Lucila Granada, CEO, Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
  149. Marguerite Hunter Blair CEO Play Scotland
  150. Fizza Qureshi, CEO, Migrants’ Rights Network
  151. Robert Moore, Company Secretary, North Wales Regional Equality Network
  152. Mark Kieran, CEO, Open Britain
  153. Griff Ferris, Senior legal and policy officer, Fair Trials
  154. Kris Harris, Policy Coordinator, Project 17
  155. Debbie Ariyo OBE, CEO AFRUCA Safeguarding Children
  156. Debbie Ariyo OBE, Chair BASNET
  157. Pierre Makhlouf, Legal Director, Bail for Immigration Detainees
  158. Chris Minnoch, CEO, Legal Aid Practitioners Group
  159. Owen Temple, Chair, No To Hassockfield
  160. Sneh Aurora, Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
  161. Jim McCormick, Chief Executive, The Robertson Trust
  162. John Good, Acting CEO, ActionAid UK
  163. Suzanne Swinton, Chief Executive, Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
  164. Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO, Oxfam GB
  165. Hugh Knowles and Miriam Turner, Co-Executive Directors, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
  166. Donna-Louise Cobban, CEO, Beyond Detention
  167. James Pearson, Director of Policy & Practice, Alzheimer Scotland
  168. Yo Dunn, Director, National Autistic Taskforce
  169. Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council
  170. Rev Caz Hague, Methodist Minister, Birmingham Circuit
  171. Steve Cooke Chair Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity
  172. Katrina Ffrench, Founder and Managing Director, UNJUST
  173. Dr Shabna Begum, Director of Research, Runnymede Trust.
  174. Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director, Human Rights Watch

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​RAMFEL (Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London) is a company limited by guarantee (regd in England No. 08737163) and a registered charity (No. 1155207). Registered office: RAMFEL, The People's Place, 80 - 92 High Street, London, E15 2NE.
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