Bishop of Durham responds to Home Secretary's announcement of new resettlement scheme for refugees

Four years ago, immigration – and the refugee crisis in particular—was one of the most divisive and emotive topics in politics.

Some saw taking in more refugees as a threat to our community cohesion. To many others, the idea of not doing so was seen as a threat to our values and national reputation.

Activists and faith communities were calling for a major commitment, but would they step up and do something? If they did, could the government work effectively with them? Could we find ways to make it work for communities?

Decisions were taken then that mean today we know that we can meet our obligations to refugees, and to our communities.

Through resettlement schemes, ordinary people up and down the country have played a part in welcoming refugees, and they have found these newcomers to be gifts to our communities, not burdens.

New friendships, bonds that will last for generations, have been built. Perhaps as a result, attitudes towards refugees across the UK are changing for the better, and migration is less of a divisive political topic.

Four years ago, the right risks were taken by government, by faith and community leaders, and by ordinary citizens. They have paid off.

And today we heard that we will continue to resettle a similar number of refugees, and that any refugees who came through the Community Sponsorship Scheme would be additional to the number committed by the Government. In making that announcement, the Home Secretary is grasping the opportunity to strengthen our communities, demonstrate our commitment to a moral role in the world, and perhaps even to heal some of the hurts that linger.

Decisions like these are particularly important in times of uncertainty. They anchor our politics and communities in a larger story of what we want the UK to be. If we let them, these moments can act as markers with which we can navigate the polarisation and paralysis that currently abound.

We have seen the impact that resettlement has had on communities over the last four years. The act of welcoming has drawn mosques, synagogues, churches, schools, charities and councils – even bishops and Home Office officials – into relationship. In the words of one Community Sponsor, ‘it took a community to welcome a family, but it also took a family to make a community.’

Through resettling refugees, we seem to be beginning to find answers to some of the deep questions of identity gripping our politics. Today’s commitment offers hope that that work can continue.

It is not all good news. The announcement is only a one-year extension. The programme’s future must be secured. The ‘refugee crisis’ has not disappeared. There remain 65 million people worldwide displaced from home.

We are not able simply to disengage. I hope that once the Comprehensive Spending Review is complete, the UK will be able to cement its place as a global leader in refugee resettlement.

Today offers the opportunity to reflect and celebrate, yes, but it is foremost a call to action. There has been lots of exciting work in the last four years but there is so much more to do: more families to welcome and more communities to make.

That refugees coming through Community Sponsorship are now additional to the resettlement commitment presents a brilliant challenge to civil society. It is now up to each of us to decide how many refugees the UK resettles. Do you think that the UK should be welcoming more refugees? I do too, looks like we need to set up a Community Sponsorship group!

There is also a wider opportunity to apply the lessons learnt resettling those affected by the Syrian conflict to other parts of Government. Transferring these lessons to all refugees that arrive in the UK, is a vital and necessary next step.

What would an asylum system look like that had at its heart the belief that every person is a gift? This is a question that faith communities and others in civil society can help politicians answer. To do so we need to get around the table and be prepared to work with all parts of government. That will mean taking some risks.

It is the beginning of Refugee Week. This year’s theme, ‘you, me and those who came before’ invites us to reflect on the dislocation, journeys and hospitality that have marked our personal, communal and national stories. We will think about the risks that were taken, and rewarded, in welcoming strangers.

The Home Secretary’s announcement prompts us to also look to the future: how you and I will relate to those who will come after.

We are left asking: What risks will we take to offer them welcome?