Responding to the Migrant and Refugee crisis

October 14, 2015

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Rev David Chillingworth, has received a response to the letter he sent on 10 September to the Prime Minister regarding the refugee crisis. The letter sent by the Primus can be read here.

The response, sent from Richard Harrington MP, Minister with Responsibility for Syrian Refugees, acknowledges the generous spirit of the British public in volunteering and supporting charitable causes and points out that the initial focus is in working with a number of local authorities who have well established structures and support mechanisms in place to accommodate refugees but also indicates that it has not ruled out a future role for private support and sponsorship from members of the public.  Richard Harrington also affirms the UK Government’s moral responsibility to assist those who are suffering as a result of conflict in the world and outlines some of the measures that it is taking in order to address the current migrant situation in Europe, stressing that its priority is to continue to provide humanitarian aid to those most in need in the region and to actively seek an end to the crisis.