On 28th March 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Public Order Bill. A vote was held on further amendments, in which bishops took part:
Votes: Public Order Bill
Month: March 2023
Public Order Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports conditions on stop and search powers
On 28th March 2023, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of an amendment to the Public Order Bill tabled by Lord Coaker, which would seek to place conditions on how suspicion-less stop and search powers are used by police:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interest as co-chair of the national police ethics committee, but obviously I am not speaking on behalf of it today. I had hoped not to have to speak at all this afternoon but after the contributions of other noble Lords I feel I must say a few words.
Continue reading “Public Order Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports conditions on stop and search powers”Bishop of St Albans asks about United Nations World Water Development Report
The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s assessment of the United Nations World Water Development Report on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations World Water Development Report, published on 15 March.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): My Lords, the UK supports the findings of the UN World Water Development Report 2023. We agree that partnership and co-operation are key to achieving sustainable development goal 6: equitable access to water and sanitation for all. However, delivery is far off track, particularly on accountability, political leadership and finance. At last week’s UN water conference I called for increased action in these areas and announced a new £18.5 million water sanitation and hygiene—WASH—system for health programme, as well as seed funding for a new £38 million water programme.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about United Nations World Water Development Report”Bishop of Derby asks about support for border staff
The Bishop of Derby asked a question on safeguarding and support for border staff at ports and airports, during a debate on conditions at entry points to the UK on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, whatever the causes may be for queues as they arise at ports and airports, the people working there can come under great pressure as those queues and stress levels rise. Can the Minister say what support is being given to those who work at our borders to safeguard their well-being in the midst of all this pressure?
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about support for border staff”Bishop of St Albans asks about alleviating effects of famine in Kenya
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to Kenya to alleviate the effects of famine caused by drought in that country.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): In response to the ongoing drought in Kenya, 30,500 children have received life-saving nutritional assistance due to the UK’s support. UK supported programmes have also reached over half a million people in Kenya in drought-prone areas. Programmes such as the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) are bolstering the use of cash-based safety nets and have had a demonstrable impact in mitigating some of the worst effects of the drought.
Bishop of St Albans asks about homelessness and public transport in rural areas
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many people used public transportation supported by the Rural Mobility Fund in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) was awarded via a competitive process in 2021. It is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. The majority of these pilot Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes have now launched, with most launching in late 2021 and over the course of 2022.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about homelessness and public transport in rural areas”Bishop of Derby asks about employment schemes for young people
The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the success of the Youth Offer and Kickstart scheme against their stated aims of supporting those under 25 to find employment.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about employment schemes for young people”Levelling up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Derby supports amendments on housing planning
On 27th March 2023 the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in the 8th day of the committee stage. The Bishop of Derby spoke in favour of amendments to the bill that would ensure health and wellbeing of residents is taken into account in housing planning:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I am glad that today we have the opportunity to consider the health and well-being dimensions of planning. It is my view that development planning cannot be truly successful if it does not also enhance health and well-being. I speak first in favour of Amendment 188 and Amendments 394 to 399 from the noble Lord, Lord Crisp. The right reverend Prelates the Lord Bishop of London, the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, the Lord Bishop of Manchester and the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, who have previously spoken on these issues, regret they cannot be in their place today. However, I have no doubt they would want to give their support to these amendments were they in the Chamber.
I am sure noble Lords will recall stories of what can happen when living conditions deteriorate. Awaab Ishak’s death in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by “extensive mould” was an incredibly tragic story, as was that of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s death, partly caused by toxic air near where she lived. It is welcome that the Government are working to deliver Awaab’s Law through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill and that Ella’s Law, the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, continues its journey through Parliament in the other place.
Continue reading “Levelling up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Derby supports amendments on housing planning”Bishop of Derby asks about treatment of children in the criminal justice system
The Bishop of Derby asked a question on the treatment of children in the criminal justice system on 27th March 2023, following a Children’s Commissioners report on the strip searching of children, many from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, by police:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I declare an interest as vice-chair of the Children’s Society. I join other noble Lords in expressing horror at the findings of the Children’s Commissioner’s report. It is vital that children are treated as children at all times. Can the Minister reassure the House that children are treated and recognised as children within every aspect of the criminal justice system?
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about treatment of children in the criminal justice system”Bishop of Derby asks about supply chain issues affecting food banks
The Bishop of Derby asked a question on the effect of food supply chain issues on food banks, during a debate on food provision by charities on 27th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, 80% of our churches currently support food banks. The Food 4 Thought Alliance was set up to respond to the immediate needs of people in Derby at the start of the Covid pandemic. It reports a 30% increase, already mentioned here, in the distribution of food parcels since last year.
The National Farmers’ Union cautioned last year that we were
“sleepwalking into a food supply crisis”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about supply chain issues affecting food banks”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.