March 2022 – Page 2 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Worcester asks about the Schools White Paper

The Bishop of Worcester asked a question concerning Church of England schools and the government’s Schools White Paper on 29th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I echo the noble Lord, Lord Storey, in his thanks for the White Paper. In doing so, I declare my interest as president of the Woodard Corporation. In expressing gratitude, I appreciate in particular how the White Paper recognises the vital role the Churches have played in the educational landscape of this country for more than 200 years and that it sets out how the role needs to continue to be enabled in the future development of the school system. I will focus on two questions regarding the move towards the fully academised educational landscape set out in the White Paper and invite the Minister to agree that it requires two key things.

Votes: Building Safety Bill

On 29th March 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Building Safety Bill. There were votes held on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.

Building Safety Bill: Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate

On 29th March 2022, the House of Lords debated a report on the Building Safety Bill, and amendments to the bill. The Bishop of St Albans tabled amendments and spoke in support of other members’ amendments. Lord Blencathra spoke on behalf of the Bishop in the first part of the debate:

Lord Blencathra (Con): I rise to comment on the disabled amendments that the Government have laid, including the one that was just moved. I will also comment briefly on Amendments 46 and 47, which have not yet been spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley, and speak to Amendments 39 and 40 on behalf of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, since he is unable to be with us at this time of the morning.

I commend the Government for listening to my noble friend Lady Grey-Thompson in Committee and on all the amendments that they have brought forward today. Having been bored on the train when I was heading up north last week, I counted on the Order Paper more than 220 government amendments and 50 proposed new clauses. That is an extraordinary achievement and shows the extent to which my noble friend the Minister has been listening, as well as what he has been able to drive forward—principally because the Secretary of State, my right honourable friend Michael Gove, gets it and understands what needs to be done. So, although my noble friends and I may move a few amendments today, and perhaps force them to a vote, I do not want the Minister to think that we are being churlish. We appreciate the huge distance that the Government have travelled; we just think that there may be one or two more gaps that we need to fill.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about the Healthy Start Scheme

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 29th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to allow Healthy Start prepaid cards to be used for making online and telephone purchases of food items covered by the scheme.

Bishop of Birmingham asks about cohesion in schools

The Bishop of Birmingham asked a question regarding improvements in cohesion in Birmingham schools on 28th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Birmingham: My Lords, will the Minister commend the people of Birmingham for their extraordinary efforts since 2014 on cohesion and attempting to learn lessons from this very complicated event, as we have heard in your Lordships’ House today? Will she particularly commend them for the United Nations rights reporting school award, which has been applied for every year and is now awarded to 51% of primary and secondary schools in Birmingham, compared with only 18% across the country? Will she commend these actions and others, and ask for them to be replicated around the country so that we might live as one people?

Bishop of Worcester asks about the Homes for Ukraine scheme

The Bishop of Worcester asked a question in a debate on the Homes for Ukraine scheme on 28th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I pay tribute to the Minister for the enormous amount that he has done in a very short space of time. At the same time, however, I acknowledge the frustration that is felt and expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, on the part of so many people. We have tried locally to convene people in the community, and enormous support is forthcoming, but there seems to be a problem with the process. One acknowledges the need for security checks, but I have heard a lot of times, anecdotally, about the complexity of the visa process and how difficult it is. Local government is waiting for guidance from the Government here.

Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling treatment services

The Bishop of St Albans asked about funding of NHS gambling treatment services on 28th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcements that the NHS (1) will no longer accept money from GambleAware, and (2) is establishing two additional NHS gambling clinics to meet demand, what plans they have to agree a long-term independent funding settlement for NHS gambling treatment services.

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Definitions of a Parish

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 28th March 2022:

Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to change the definition of a parish; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 on the definition of a parish.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): There are no plans to change the legal definition of a parish.

Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill: Bishop of St Albans moves to pass bill

On 25th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill (2021) in its third reading. The Bishop of St Albans, who had brought the bill as a private members bill, moved that the bill should pass.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: That the Bill do now pass.

My Lords, I shall make just one or two brief comments. I am sure everybody is greatly relieved that the timing is going so well this afternoon, and I really shall not delay your Lordships for too long, but this gives me an opportunity to say one or two brief things and then give some thanks.

The reason behind the Bill is that, seven or eight years ago, a couple came to see me, sat in my study and told me how their son had taken his life because of a gambling problem. The sad thing about that story was the way they talked about the fact that they could see what was happening. He had gone in and out of treatment, but they just could not reach out to him. They knew what was going to happen, and they watched as he slowly spiralled down until that fateful day when he took his life. That led me on a journey. Eventually, we managed to get a Select Committee here. As your Lordships may be aware, Peers for Gambling Reform is now, I think, the largest lobbying group in the House of Lords.

Bishop of Manchester asks about police vetting

On 24th March 2022, the Bishop of Manchester asked a question during a debate on the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Report:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I want to echo from these Benches our concern for the Daniel Morgan family, and also to reiterate my interest in policing ethics at both force and national level, as set out in the register.

I am particularly interested in the comments on vetting made in the report. In Greater Manchester we commissioned our own investigation into the force’s vetting procedures a few years ago. While on the whole that was satisfactory, as the report here has done, it identified that people from UK minority ethnic backgrounds were disproportionately getting vetted out of the system, both at recruitment level and promotion level.

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