March 2022 – The Church of England in Parliament

Judicial Review and Courts Bill: Bishop of St Albans tables amendment

On 31st March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Judicial Review and Courts Bill. The Bishop of St Albans spoke on his amendment to the bill:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I rise to speak briefly to Amendment 28 standing in my name. I would be grateful if the House would indulge me just for a few minutes. As I explained last week when I was presenting my Private Member’s Bill, Public Health England pointed out that, in just one year, there were 409 suicides related to problem gambling. Your Lordships will be aware that the largest lobby group here in the House is Peers for Gambling Reform. Whenever we have tried to deal with this, one thing we keep hearing back is that we simply do not have the statistics or the data on the various causes of suicide. For some while, I have been trying in every way I can to get at least some data to help us with this so that we can devise strategies to reduce the terrible burden on families who have lost a young person.

Votes: Judicial Review and Courts Bill

On 31st March 2022, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Judicial Review and Courts Bill. There were votes on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.

Bishop of Worcester speaks on the Economy: Spring Statement

The House of Lords debated the Lord Chancellor’s spring statement on the economy in Grand Committee on 31st March 2022. The Bishop of Worcester spoke in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I first put on record my appreciation of the good things the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement. He had an extremely difficult job on his hands when preparing it. The aftermath of the pandemic made things difficult enough before the horrors unfolding in Ukraine came on to our screens. I do not envy him the immensely difficult balancing act he has to perform to ensure that the public finances do not suffer irrevocably while giving help to those facing an unprecedented squeeze on their finances.

I pay tribute to the good things announced in the Statement, particularly in providing help for the hard-pressed. Having said that, I agree with noble Lords about the need to do more on climate change. We cannot afford to take our eye off that particular ball—the most serious crisis of our times. I was moved by the experience related by archbishops of the Anglican Communion, who, as it happens, were all in Parliament this morning, particularly those whose provinces are already being devastated by the impacts of climate change.

Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 31st March 2022, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. There were votes on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.

Archbishop of York asks about football and cricket

The Archbishop of York asked a question about sports on 31st March 2022:

The Lord Archbishop of York: My Lords, I was not planning to speak, but I thought I might join in some of the fun. I refer the Minister back to her earlier answer in which she referred to football as the “national game”. I wonder whether she would like to confirm that it is the Government’s view that football and not cricket is now the national game, which is a cause of great shock to some of us on these Benches.

Archbishop of Canterbury asks about climate change

The Archbishop of Canterbury asked a question during a debate on behaviour change for net-zero on 31st March 2022:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, like the Government, the Church of England has targets for reaching net-zero carbon, in our case by 2030. Churches across the Anglican Communion are deeply affected by climate change. For example, Madagascar recently had four cyclones in two months. We are working right across the communion on this question. This week, we have had a gathering of archbishops from across the communion representing more than 100 countries. Will the Minister set out the plans that the Government have to work further with faith communities, which have unique distribution and contacts, from the grass roots to the highest level, both nationally and internationally, and will he commend the work that they are already doing?

Bishop of Durham asks about early education

The Bishop of Durham asked a question regarding the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review on 30th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of the National Society, which leads the Church of England’s education work.

I hope the Minister will be pleased to hear that, in response to yesterday’s Green Paper, the Church of England has established a national network for SENCOs at primary and secondary levels, partly to get their opinions on how we should respond but also to offer development in future. However, I want to continue to pursue the early years question. Understandably, this is about education and social care. The first 1,001 days of life are the most crucial. Nothing here refers to the development of family hubs and the work of health visitors in the pre-two context, where some discernment ought to be available. Can the Minister comment on the join-up between the development of family hubs and the really early years?

Bishop of Worcester asks about returning ancient sacred tabots held in the British Museum to Ethiopia

On 30th March 2022 the Bishop of Worcester asked a question in support of returning ancient sacred tabots held in the British Museum to Ethiopia.

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, apart from the way in which these artefacts were obtained, and the responsibility of the British Museum and its independence, I wonder whether the Minister would agree that what sets these artefacts apart, as he has intimated, from any others in the British Museum and other museums across our land, is that they are sacred. As such, they relate to a living faith—the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Whereas these tabots mean very little to anyone here except as stones of limited historical value, and no one is able to see them anyway, they are of profound religious significance in Ethiopia. Would not the Minister agree that they should therefore be returned to those who understand them to be holy and will cherish them as such?

Church Commissioners Questions: Parish Funding

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP on 30th March 2022:

Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2022 to Question 141116 on Church of England: Finance, where funding has been awarded by the Church Commissioners to facilitate bringing about large parish structures, what (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages were identified during scrutiny by funding awarding panels.

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about treatment of Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch

The following written question was replied to on 30th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Hong Kong following reports of threats and intimidation of Benedict Rogers, a UK citizen and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch. [HL7070]

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