On 27 September 2024, the council signed a pledge marking our intent to progress towards accreditation as a Council of Sanctuary.
The pledge was signed by the Chief Executive Natalie Brahma-Pearl, Council Leader Cllr Steve Pitt (Leader of the Council’s Liberal Democrat group), Cllr Simon Bosher (Leader of the Council’s Conservative group) and Cllr Charlotte Gerada (Leader of the Council’s Labour group), at an event attended by representatives from a range of community groups.
Council of Sanctuary is an accreditation from the City of Sanctuary umbrella organisation whose mission is to provide co-ordination and support for networks of community groups supporting people seeking sanctuary. You can find out more about the organisation in the City of Sanctuary Charter.
In the past City of Sanctuary used to award a citywide recognition but moved away from this as it was found more effective to engage specific organisations in the process. As part of this, in December 2020 the City of Sanctuary Local Authority Network was launched. A steering group, made up of civil servants, local group representatives, Councillors and people with lived experience, provide support to staff and the network in an advisory capacity to assist its strategic and operational development.
Any council can apply to become a member of the network and in doing so is committing to working towards the ‘Council of Sanctuary’ award. The network aims are:
- To support the development of a non-partisan network of local authorities that are working towards the City of Sanctuary vision
- To promote the embedding of a culture and practice of welcome in local authorities to support the City of Sanctuary theory of change
Our decision to pursue Council of Sanctuary accreditation follows a notice of motion unanimously carried at the Full Council meeting on 19 March 2024, the full details can be seen in the meeting agenda and minutes, it is item 29. The council’s resolution was:
- Continuing to work with Portsmouth City of Sanctuary and other partners to support those seeking sanctuary in our city;
- Join the local authority network. In joining the network, we are committing to continuing our work towards the Council of Sanctuary Award and are agreeing to sign up as a Supporting Organisation;
- Produce an Action Plan, which focuses on learning and embedding the principles of City of Sanctuary and sharing good news stories; and
- Then, when ready, apply for formal recognition.
Our role as a Council of Sanctuary is to act as a co-ordinator of existing services – both those in the community and within the Council, to facilitate communication across those groups to share knowledge and experience, avoid duplication and make best of use of citywide resources. The aim is to improve our engagement and participation with people seeking sanctuary who have been assigned to the city by legitimate asylum or resettlement programmes managed by government agencies such as the Home Office.
The City of Sanctuary and Council of Sanctuary movement is not about encouraging people to come to the city. It is simply aimed at ensuring those who are going through a Home Office application process or who are legally allowed to remain in this country and have been placed in our city by due legal and governmental process are provided with support. Individuals are assigned to Portsmouth by the Home Office while their cases are being processed. Local authorities are not involved in these decisions or allocations.
The pledge signing is a symbol of the Council’s commitment to the movement’s vision of creating a culture that is welcoming, compassionate and inclusive across every part of society to ensure wherever sanctuary seekers go they will find people who welcome them and understand why they are here.
The Council’s pledge reads:
- We agree to sign up as a supporting organisation and endorse the following pledge:
- We support the ‘City of Sanctuary’ vision that the UK will be a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution.
- We endorse the City of Sanctuary Charter and agree to act in accordance with City of Sanctuary values and apply the network principles within our work (as far as our specific context enables us to).
- We recognise the contribution of people seeking sanctuary. Sanctuary seekers are welcomed, included and supported within our context.
- We are willing for our organisation’s name to be added to a list of supporters of City of Sanctuary, linked to our website. We are also willing to be contacted by City of Sanctuary with further ideas for how we can turn our support into practical action and to discuss ways we might work together to promote the vision further.
- We agree to work towards a City of Sanctuary Local Authority Award with the aim of becoming a recognised Council of Sanctuary and are also willing to be added to a list of members of the City of Sanctuary Local Authority Network on the website