Migrant plan will hit clergy says Bishop of Norwich 

The Bishop of Norwich has questioned plans by the Government to lower migration levels with a higher minimum wage level, saying it will hit church workers coming to the UK to serve.

Writing on X/Twitter, Bishop Graham Usher said: “In the House of Lords I asked the Government minister about yesterday’s statement that migrant workers need to earn £38,700 to bring their families with them. This would preclude clergy families from around the Anglican Communion and other faith workers.”
 
Speaking in the Lords, Bishop Graham said: “Many faith communities greatly benefit from the presence of religious workers from overseas.

“The Church of England benefits from the ministry of clergy from all around the Anglican Communion, enriching our communities and resourcing individuals’ ministry for life, often equipping them for when they return to their country of origin to minister in places of conflict and abject poverty.

“Many UK clergy, me included, have benefited from overseas experiences. Will the Minister consult faith communities about exemptions for religious workers, many of whom earn below the published threshold?”
 
Responding on behalf of the government, Lord Sharpe said: “Of course, there is no barrier to recruiting people to the Church, as long as £38,700 is paid to them.

“I do not think that unreasonable, I am afraid. I appreciate that salaries may not be as high in the Church as he might like, never mind the rest of his colleagues, but that is the median salary, as I said earlier, and it is not unfair.”

Article extracts from Hansard and Premierchristian.news
 
Pictured above is Bishop Graham Usher (centre) on his introduction to the House of Lords recently, with his sponsors, the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally, and the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Christopher Chessun. Picture courtesy of Church of England in Parliament.