Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Portsmouth speaks to amendments on schools with a religious character

The Bishop of Portsmouth spoke to amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill regarding impacts on schools with religious designations on 28th January 2026, particularly in the case of multi-academy trusts and lines of communication between religious bodies and their schools:

The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 193A, 193B and 193C and declare my interest as chair of the National Society for Education. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, for her support of Amendments 193A and 193B. I will address these two first and together.

These two amendments are about good communication. They would require the chief inspector to include the relevant religious body along with the academy proprietor and the Secretary of State when a report is circulated at the conclusion of an inspection of a multi-academy trust that contains a school with a religious foundation. For example, in the case of the Church of England, the relevant body would be the Diocesan Board of Education.

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Votes: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

On 28th January 2026, the House of Lords debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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Bishop of Sheffield asks about combatting flooding and droughts in Yorkshire

The Bishop of Sheffield tabled a question on sustainable water management solutions to address flooding events and protracted droughts in Yorkshire on 28th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: To ask His Majesty’s Government what evaluation they have made of sustainable water management solutions to address flooding events and protracted droughts in Yorkshire.

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Bishop of Manchester asks about funding for music and drama education

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for music and drama heritage in the UK on 28th January 2026, during a discussion on funding of the Music and Dance Scheme for schools to support children from families with lower incomes:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interest: I might myself have the voice of a frog but I have Chetham’s School of Music, which provides wonderful choristers for my cathedral. Does the Minister agree with me that there seems to be an anomaly? Last week the Government were able to announce significant money over four or five years for the built heritage of this country. However, when it comes to an equally important part of our heritage, our music and drama heritage, we are told that the most we can expect is another year and then, perhaps, later on, something longer. Why can we not have a similar length of settlement for the music and dance schools now as we had for the built heritage last week?

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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester moves amendment on religious education

On 28th January 2026, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in a debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill regarding regulation of home education, and moved his own amendment on mitigation “of adverse impact on institutions providing religious instruction, but not wider or general education, as identified in the Equality Impact Statement.”

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I will be very brief. It is an old, apparently African, adage that it takes a village to raise a child, but it is no less true for that. What that captures in a few words is that raising a child is a balance: a partnership between the parents on the one hand and the wider community on the other. I think that is what we are trying to get at in this group of amendments: what are the appropriate powers for the state to have and what should be simply left to parents?

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: LGBT+ People

On 27th January 2026, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Church of England: LGBT+ People

Samantha Niblett MP (Lab, South Derbyshire): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment they have made of the potential implications for their policies of the Statement of the House of Bishops on Living in Love and Faith, published in January 2026.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about youth employment scheme

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 27th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government how they will ensure the jobs created for the Youth Guarantee scheme for 18-to-21-year-olds on Universal Credit are genuinely new roles which would not otherwise have been advertised.

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Bishop of Derby asks about development of guidance on child safeguarding

The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 27th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 23 December 2025 (HL12716), what is the timeline and development plan for non-statutory guidance to be issued to all relevant frontline practitioners safeguarding children from criminal exploitation to ensure a range of stakeholders can contribute; and what steps they will take to mitigate limitations to non-statutory guidance, including inconsistencies across documents and delays in updating guidance that is not statutory.

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Bishop of Coventry makes maiden speech in debate marking the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day

On 26th January 2026, the Bishop of Coventry made her maiden speech in a debate marking Holocaust Memorial Day, remarking on Coventry Cathedral’s role as a centre of peace and reconciliation, and emphasising the importance of combatting antisemitism in all walks of life:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, it is my privilege to make my maiden speech in this debate on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day. First, I express my gratitude for the kindness that I have received from your Lordships on entering this House, and especially for the support, patience and care of the staff across the departments since my appointment to Coventry.

Being of Jewish heritage myself, I cannot recall a time when I was not aware of the Holocaust. I am grateful that this was a part of our family history that was never kept from me but held as a marker of an inhumane world, from which I was charged to do all I could to make the world a better place. Since then, I have served in Yorkshire, Uganda, Surrey, Sussex, Durham and now Coventry. I have a deep love of singing, especially the high notes, and running, unimpressively, and a nice glass of Sauvignon. Coming to Christian faith through youth ministry, I think I am now qualified to say, at the risk of current cliché, that I am and have pretty much always been a faithful.

I will focus my contribution on the importance of educating our children and young people in their religious understanding of the world, as I was, having been among the first cohort of children to journey through the GCSE curriculum, with an outstanding religious studies teacher whose support remarkably continues to this day. He ensured our introduction as teenagers to Judaism, Christianity and Islam without prejudice or favour. From this firm foundation I was privileged to have the opportunity to study Judaism as part of my first degree, with a special interest in the literature generated by the Holocaust.

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Bishop of Hereford asks about financial impact of 2025 budget on music performances in churches

The Bishop of Hereford asked a question on the role of churches as music and performance venues, during a discussion on the impact of the 2025 budget on grassroots music venues on 26th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Hereford: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his answers. Across the country, churches provide the largest network of performance spaces available to professional and amateur groups for music making and other artistic endeavours, so I thank him for the recent announcement regarding the new places of worship renewal fund. But I am sure he will be aware that there are thousands of churches and other faith communities across the country waiting to know how that scheme will operate. Will the Minister let us know when the details of the scheme will be published and whether the Government will work with us to ensure the scheme is workable, consistent and fair, especially in the levying of VAT?

Lord Livermore (Lab, Treasury): I am grateful for the support that the right reverend Prelate set out in his question. I assure him that that will be responded to very shortly.

Hansard