Month: December 2023

Bishop of Durham speaks in debate on Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the government’s immigration partnership with Rwanda

The Bishop of Durham spoke in a debate on what steps the government are taking to promote the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 11th December 2023, stressing the dangers of the potential incompatibility of the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum & Immigration) Bill with the UDHR:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay of St Johns, for securing this debate, and for the way in which she has stood for these issues for many years.

The United Nation’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a milestone in the history of our world. It marked a global commitment to put human beings above conflict, above the politics of division and above economic gain, granting each individual dignity without discrimination. Though we are 75 years on, promoting the human rights laid out in the declaration remains as vital today as it was in 1948.

The principles and values of human rights lie in the conviction that each human being is unique, made in the image of God and loved by God. Each person is valuable for who they are, not what they are able to do. Thus it applies to every infant and child, and to every frail elderly person, as much as to those who are regarded as wholly fit and able.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham speaks in debate on Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the government’s immigration partnership with Rwanda”

Bishop of Durham asks about banking in the north-east of England

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the rate of new banking hubs, and the effects of the diminishing number of post offices in the north-east of England, during a debate on bank branch closures and the opening of new hubs on 11th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that last answer. However, in the north-east, only one banking hub has been opened this year and there is a diminishing number of post offices, so it is quite hard to see how the post office network is actually helping in the north-east.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about banking in the north-east of England”

Bishop of St Albans asks about sexism and misogyny in the Ministry of Defence

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • what assessment they have made of the allegations of sexism, misogyny and sexual assault in the Ministry of Defence, in a recent letter sent in October which included testimonies from 60 female civil servants at the Ministry of Defence.
  • what plans they have to commission an independent investigation into the culture of sexism and misogyny at the Ministry of Defence, as called for by the FDA trade union.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about sexism and misogyny in the Ministry of Defence”

Bishop of Durham asks about conditions in the UK immigration and detention system

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 11th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a progress report on the implementation of recommendations from the Brook House Inquiry report, published on 19 September.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about conditions in the UK immigration and detention system”

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about monitoring of funds to refugees allocated by Rwanda under new treaty

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the government’s treaty with Rwanda, on whether the monitoring committee outlined in the treaty would review how funds have been allocated to meeting the needs of refugees by Rwandan authorities:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, will the monitoring committee, as outlined in the economic development partnership and now the treaty, review how funds have been allocated by the Rwandan authorities towards meeting the needs of refugees?

Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about monitoring of funds to refugees allocated by Rwanda under new treaty”

Bishop of Chelmsford raises need for affordable and sustainable housing for families during Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on the work of the Families & Households Commission and the “Love Matters” report on 8th November 2023, bringing up the need for stable and affordable housing:

My Lords, I too thank my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for securing this important debate. Love Matters is, as noble Lords have already remarked, impressive for its scale and breadth. Covering subjects from tackling child poverty to valuing single people in our churches, the report is able to draw some creative links across a range of topics.

Today, however, given my role as the lead bishop for housing in the Church of England, I want to focus my remarks on the report’s findings on bricks, mortar and the communities that well-designed, affordable housing can foster. It is in houses and flats that families and households of different shapes and sizes are built, and housing which, done right, creates homes and can enable the health and prosperity of those who live in them. I want here to thank in particular the noble Lord, Lord Mann, for his valuable contribution on housing-related issues in this debate.

Noble Lords will know that this report is the last in a series of three. The first, published in 2021, was on the work for which I am now responsible: housing, church and community. I cannot take any credit for the report itself, but I am delighted to be involved in that work. The report, to which the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury has already referred, was called Coming Home, and it recommended, among other things, that housing needed to be stable, affordable and of high quality to enable people to put down roots and build healthy lives, families and neighbourhoods.

Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford raises need for affordable and sustainable housing for families during Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate”

Bishop of Gloucester speaks on the criminal justice system during debate on “Love Matters” report of the Families & Households Commission

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on families on 8th December 2023, focusing on the criminal justice system and its effects on families:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will try to do even better than 10 minutes. I am grateful to my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for putting forward this Motion. I should like to focus my remarks on families and children in relation to the criminal justice system, and particularly imprisonment, and I declare an interest as Anglican Bishop for Prisons in England and Wales.

Jesus Christ once placed a child front and centre as he taught his listeners. I want to use that image simply to pose the idea that we would navigate things differently, we would see different sorts of manifestos committed to the long-term and make better policies if the child were always the central focus and starting point for all our policy-making. It seems that so much of government policy is focused on short-term fixing for the now or a few years’ time. What would it look like if policy and legislation were shaped in response to the child born today into a network of relationships, and then their life as an adult in 20 or 30 years’ time?

Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester speaks on the criminal justice system during debate on “Love Matters” report of the Families & Households Commission”

Bishop of Durham speaks in debate on the work of the Families & Households Commission

On 8th December 2023, The Bishop of Durham spoke in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on families, mentioning the importance of preparation when entering marriage, and the need for supportive and strong communities:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury for holding this debate on a matter that is foundational to not only the well-being of us as individuals but the whole of society. I should obviously declare my interest as co-chair of the commission that produced the report. I also thank him for the privilege of being asked to co-chair it, alongside Professor Janet Walker. It was an honour to work with her and the 10 other commission members in listening and speaking to children, young people and adults from all faiths and all walks of life.

I thank each of the commission members, who generously gave their time and expertise voluntarily to contribute to this. Their work has been invaluable. I also pay tribute to the Children’s Commissioner for England for the way in which she shared with us her work, which took place in parallel. Our conclusions are remarkably similar.

My most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury opened the debate by speaking poignantly on the importance of family. I will speak on what is at the very heart of families, which is relationships. Throughout the commission, we met and spoke with people from across the country. They were people from different backgrounds, ages, cultures and faiths. Despite these differences, there was a theme that echoed throughout all our conversations: the importance of family and loving relationships.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham speaks in debate on the work of the Families & Households Commission”

Archbishop leads debate on support for families and households

On 8th December 2023 the Archbishop of Canterbury led a debate in the House of Lords on the following motion:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury to move that this House takes note of ‘Love Matters’, the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households.

The opening speech made by the Archbishop is below. More information and a copy of the report on which the debate was based, can be read here.

The opening speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury in his House of Lords debate on families
Continue reading “Archbishop leads debate on support for families and households”

Bishop of Worcester asks about impact of new immigration legislation regarding UK’s partnership with Rwanda

The Bishop of Worcester asked a question on the disapplication of the Human Rights Act in immigration enforcement, and the impact of this on clergy visas, on 7th December 2023, in response to a government statement on new legislation relating to the UK’s immigration partnership with Rwanda:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I apologise for being slightly delayed for the consideration of this Statement. My understanding is that the Bill disapplies certain sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 to allow public authorities to operate in a way that is incompatible with international obligations. If that is the case, surely that means disregarding the human rights of people seeking asylum, and I struggle to see what human rights can mean if they are not conferred on all human beings. I will be grateful if the Minister can comment on that. I will also be grateful—as would all of us on these Benches—for some clarification of the status of tier 2 ministry religion visas, in light of the new financial threshold. Perhaps it would be possible to have a meeting about that.

Continue reading “Bishop of Worcester asks about impact of new immigration legislation regarding UK’s partnership with Rwanda”