parliamentaryunit

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Same Sex Relationships, Homelessness & Poverty, Young People, Investment, and Rural Areas

On 6th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Clergy: Homosexuality

Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions he has had with the Church of England General Synod on its expected timetable for bringing forward proposals on (a) blessings, (b) marriages and (c) rules for clergy in same-sex relationships.

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): In February 2023 the General Synod agreed proposals that would enable same-sex couples to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.

Illegal Migration Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury urges creation of 10-year strategy for tackling refugee crises and human trafficking

On 5th July 2023, the Archbishop of Canterbury moved his amendment 168A to the Illegal Migration Bill, requiring the Secretary of State to implement a 10 year strategy for collaborating internationally to tackle refugee crises affecting migration by irregular routes, or the movements of refugees, to the UK, and for tackling human trafficking to the UK:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I rise to move Amendment 168A, tabled in my name. I shall also speak to Amendment 168C, which is consequential to it. I am very grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Blunkett, and the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, for co-signing it. This amendment is a combination of the two amendments that I put forward in Committee. It requires the Secretary of State to produce a 10-year strategy for tackling the global refugee crisis and human trafficking in collaboration with international partners. As I explained the rationale behind this in detail in Committee, I will be very brief.

In aid of this amendment I want to quote the Foreign Secretary, who spoke to an Italian newspaper a couple of days ago. He said that

“there needs to be an international response to this because it is an inherently international issue”.

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham tables amendment to mitigate caps for safe and legal asylum routes

On 5th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the final day of the report stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of his amendment 162, which would exclude schemes for those displaced from Ukraine, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Hong Kong BN(O) routes from the safe and legal routes cap proposed in the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I again note my interests as laid out in the register. I will speak to Amendment 162. In Committee, I explained the well-intentioned nature of this amendment and hoped it would have afforded the Minister the opportunity to clarify that any cap placed on safe and legal routes would exclude current named schemes already in operation. I appreciate the Minister’s comments. He said:

“The cap will not automatically apply to all current and new safe and legal routes that we offer or will introduce in the future.”—[Official Report, 4/6/23; col. 1980.]

But, with respect, how can local authorities reflect on accommodation provision for new routes without excluding their current commitments from this assessment?

Votes: Illegal Migration Bill

On 5th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the third day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendments reinstating right of appeal against age assessments

On 5th July 2023, during a report-stage debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham tabled amendments which would reinstate the right of appeal against age assessments in respect of putative children who would otherwise be subject to removal under the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendments 156A and 161. Due to a technicality, Amendments 156 and 157 were not formally withdrawn, but they will be withdrawn, so it is Amendment 156A which is under consideration. I note my interests as a trustee of Reset and with the RAMP project, as laid out in the register.

I thank the usual channels for changing business on Monday so that this item was first today rather than last on Monday. We noted previously that, both during the Nationality and Borders Bill and during this Bill, age assessments have been talked about at 2 am and just after midnight. I am truly grateful to the usual channels for hearing my plea about not being last on the agenda again.

Bishop of Exeter asks about resolution to doctors’ strikes

The Bishop of Exeter tabled a question on what progress the government had made towards resolving strikes by NHS doctors on 5th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards resolving the strikes by doctors in the NHS.

Lord Markham (Con): My Lords, the Government have been clear that we want to resolve the strikes by doctors. We negotiated in good faith with the BMA’s junior doctors committee in May. The Government stand ready to meet junior doctors again if they move from their unreasonable ask of a 35% pay rise this year. We also want to open negotiations with consultants. We encourage unions to come to the negotiating table rather than proceeding with strike action.

Bishop of Ely asks government to engage with Archbishop’s office and church contacts on laws criminalising homosexuality in Uganda

On 5th July 2023, the Bishop of Ely asked that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office utilise contacts available within the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office and the wider church to engage with people in Uganda on the country’s recent institution of the death penalty for homosexuality:

The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reference to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter to the Archbishop of Uganda, and for hearing us, as Bishops, say how much we deplore what has been decided by the Archbishop of Uganda in support of this ignoble law. In the light of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop’s intervention, and all that has been said about engaging with civil society, will the FCDO engage with the Archbishop’s office and make use of the Church’s contacts to offset some of the very conservative religious engagement from other countries in Uganda and engage with people on the ground in Uganda to seek to change this abhorrent law?

Bishop of St Albans asks about average ambulance response times

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what was the average ambulance response time in (1) NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, and (2) NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, and (d) 2022.

Lord Markham (Con): Ambulance response times by Integrated Care Board (ICB) area are not centrally collected.

Hansard

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Gender Pay Gap

On 5th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Church of England: Equal Pay

Cat Smith MP (Lab, Lancaster and Fleetwood): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church has taken to close the gender pay gap.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: