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.
Division 1:
The Bishop of St Albans and the Bishop of Worcester took part in a vote on an amendment by Lord Coaker, insisting that the bill retain certain Lords Amendments and disagreeing with certain Commons Amendments:
Lord Coaker moved amendment C1, as an amendment to the Minister’s motion, to leave out from “House” to end and insert “do insist on its Amendments 73, 74B, 74C, 74D, 74E, 74F, 74G and 87, do insist on its disagreement to Commons Amendments 74A, 87A, 87B, 87C, 87D, 87E and 87F, and do disagree with the Commons in their Amendments 73C and 87H”.
The amendment was agreed. Content: 177 / Not Content: 138
The Bishop of St Albans and the Bishop of Worcester voted Content.
Division 2:
The Bishop of St Albans and the Bishop of Worcester took part in a vote on an amendment proposed by Lord Paddick, again voicing disagreement with certain Commons Amendments and insisting on retaining certain Lords Amendments:
Lord Paddick: Our new amendment would remove the “noise trigger” for assemblies, but it would add a power for the police to impose conditions as to the start and end time for the assembly on the day the assembly was due to take place. It also incorporates the Government’s definition of serious disruption
We have compromised by allowing this additional condition to be imposed, but short of allowing the police to ban assemblies outright, including removing the power, proposed by the Government, to impose conditions on the grounds that a static protest might be too noisy. Motion D1 is necessary to protect the fundamental rights of assembly and free speech, and we will seek the opinion of the House when the time comes. Hansard
The amendment was agreed. Content: 163 / Not Content: 151
The Bishop of St Albans and the Bishop of Worcester voted Content.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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