Why should I write to my MP?

You may have noticed from our social media that we’re not happy. There’s a lot of aspects of life for young asylum-seekers and refugees here that is unfair, harmful and cruel – and government policies that are making things worse. We’re not afraid to say that because our job is to stand up for young people and fight for them to be able to rebuild their futures, and live their hopes and dreams. But what can we do about it? 

Some of the changes we want to see can be achieved by a change in practice – for example, we advocate for local authority social workers to conduct fewer age assessments, following the guidance of only doing them as a last resort. You don’t necessarily need a change in law or policy for this to happen, you just need social workers to do agree and to do it. 

But some of the changes we want to see DO require a change in law or policy. The future of the 56 day move-on period pilot scheme is one of these. The government will make a decision in the next months about whether or not to make a permanent change to how long people who have been granted refugee status have to find a new place to live. We have seen so clearly that having 56 days before you are evicted from your asylum accommodation has had hugely positive consequences for the young people we support. We don’t want the Home Office to go back to only giving 28 days’ notice – this is how long people had before the start of the pilot project. To make 56 days permanent, we need government to approve the change.  And the way to encourage government to do this is by contacting your local MP and asking them to tell government to do this. 

Another example of a change young people desperately need that is in the power of the government is reversing the recent citizenship ban which means that almost all people who came to the UK will never be able to get British citizenship, even after being recognised as a refugee. You can read more about that on our blog here: https://www.youngroots.org.uk/blog/british-citizenship-gives-me-a-sense-of-belongingnbsp  

Members of Parliament (MPs) need to see that their local constituents – the people who may vote for them in the next election – care about an issue and want them to take action. MPs can write to the relevant minister, could request a meeting with a minister, could ask a parliamentary question to highlight the issue, or could raise the issue behind the scenes.  

There’s a lot of loud voices of hatred around at the moment, and it’s vital that MPs and the government know that there are so many of us who believe in welcome and compassion as well.  

If you are a member of a local community group – a faith group, a sports group, a social group – you could invite your local MP along to a meeting or event and use that opportunity to highlight your concerns. Or as a first step, you can just email them – saying why you care about this issue and what you want them to do about it. In our blog post on making the 56 days permanent, we’ve provided a lot of evidence you can share about why the 56 day move-on period is so important to young people and our communities: https://www.youngroots.org.uk/blog/make-56-days-permanent 

You can find out who your MP is here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 

Use the email address provided to get in touch – and remember to include your address to show that you are that MP’s constituent.  

We’d love to hear how you got on – let us know via our social media!