The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales will take part in both the ‘Migrant Access to the NHS’ and ‘Tackling Illegal Migration in Privately Rented Accommodation’ consultations.
Bishop Patrick Lynch, the Lead Bishop for Migrants, has made an initial response to the opening of both consultations:
Migrant Access to the NHS
“It is not helpful to use the term ‘migrants’ without clarifying that we mean migrants from outside the European Union. Now is not a time for overblown rhetoric – a balanced debate is clearly needed. We should never deny medical care to children under any circumstances and those who are seriously unwell should never feel that they will be turned away if they are unable to pay. The proposals do not differentiate between grave, serious and less serious medical conditions and they will put doctors and nurses in an invidious position where they will be prevented from putting patient care first. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for frontline medical administrative staff to determine whether or not a migrant/foreign national is eligible for NHS care.”
Tackling illegal migration in privately rented accommodation
“People have a right to a place to live and the new requirement on landlords to conduct immigration checks on new tenants could lead to more vulnerable people being out on the streets.”
gov.uk/government/consultations
Migrant Access to the NHS
ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
Tackling Illegal Migration in Privately Rented Accommodation
