parliamentaryunit

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendment to exclude certain groups from cap on safe and legal migration routes

On 14th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the fifth day of committee. The Bishop of Durham moved his amendment 128B to the bill, which would “exclude the 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.”

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I remind the Committee of my interests with the RAMP project and as a trustee of Reset, as laid out in the register. In moving Amendment 128B, I am grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Stroud and Lady Lister, and the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, for their support, which, in itself, I hope demonstrates that this whole business of safe and legal routes is a matter about which there is common mind across the House and that we all agree that we need safe and legal routes. I am therefore looking forward to the next couple of hours—as I anticipate it might be—as we explore these issues, because this is really a debate about what is the best, how and when.

This amendment is a straightforward and well-intentioned addition to ensure that any cap placed on safe and legal routes excludes current named schemes already in operation. I hope, therefore, that it is a simple amendment that the Government will be able to accept to help provide clarity. Before I explain the rationale behind the amendment, I should like to comment on the importance of safe and legal routes. Since the pandemic, and following the end of the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, I have despaired as I have witnessed the breakdown of our contribution to global efforts to support refugees to find sanctuary.

Bishop of Leicester asks about the UK Inter-Faith Network

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 14th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the value of the Inter-Faith Network, and (2) the risks of withdrawing funding from the Network.

Votes: Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023:

On 13th June 2023, the House of Lords debated a motion to approve the Public Order Act 1986 (Serious Disruption to the Life of the Community) Regulations 2023. A vote was held on an amendment to the motion, in which a Bishop took part:

Financial Services and Markets Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury supports effort to prevent changes that would go against Banking Standards Commission Report

On 13th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Financial Services & Markets Bill in the third day of the report stage. During the debate, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke in support of an amendment to the bill tabled by Baroness Kramer that would “prevent the Government from making substantive changes to the policy on ring-fencing and SMCR by statutory instrument, and would prevent policy from being amended in a way that departs from the report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.”

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I have joined the noble Baroness in supporting her Amendment 106, as I did her two amendments on this topic in Committee. This amendment seeks to prevent change which goes against the two years of work of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which looked in detail at both issues and produced its final report, Changing Banking for Good, 10 years ago. I declare an interest: I sat on the commission along with the noble Baroness.

As I said in Committee on 21 March, the underlying motivation of this amendment is to ask us not to forget the hard lessons learned after the 2008-09 financial crash, for which the whole country, especially the poorest, paid, then and to this day. Recent events show that the memory in the markets is strong, even if it is not in the Government. Alarm spreads easily.

Votes: Financial Services & Markets Bill

On 13th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Financial Services & Markets Bill in its third day of the report stage. Votes were held on two amendments to the bill, in which the Archbishop of Canterbury took part.

House of Commons Passes Church Commissioners Diocesan Stipendiary Funds Measure

On 13th June 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, put an amendment to the Delegated Legislation Committee on new regulations allowing the transfer of diocesan stipend funds outside of dioceses, either to another diocese, to the Archbishop’s Council, or to another Church charity. The Committee agreed the measure:

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the Diocesan Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure (HC 1413).

It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I hope that you will permit a very brief piece of historical context setting on the Measure before us today. In medieval times, clergy were paid mainly from income from land owned by the Church, known as glebe land, from the Latin gleba, meaning soil. The amount of land varied from parish to parish and from 1571 onwards, the amount of land a parish owned was recorded in a glebe terrier. With the industrial revolution and the growth of cities, wealthy industrialists were often willing to give significant amounts of money to support the local church, often helping to build and endow the church in question, such as, for example, St Mattias church in Stocksbridge, which opened in 1890 thanks to the generosity of Samuel Fox, the founder of the local Stocksbridge works.

Bishop of Durham asks about government’s response to Archbishops’ Commission On Families & Households

On 13th June 2023, the Bishop of Durham tabled a question on the government’s assessment of the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, and any steps they planned to take in response to the report’s findings:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, ‘Love Matters’, published on 26 April; and what steps they plan to take in response to its findings.

Baroness Barran (Con, Department for Education): My Lords, I thank all members of the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households for their report, which underlines the importance of love in family life. This has particular importance for those children with a disrupted family life, hence the focus in our recent strategy for children in the social care system, Stable Homes, Built on Love. We will consider the report’s recommendations alongside the Government’s response to the Office of the Children’s Commissioner Family Review.

Bishop of St Albans asks about government support for farms affected by animal attacks on livestock

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 13th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support farmers who suffer from livestock worrying.

Lord Benyon (Con): The Government takes the issue of livestock worrying very seriously, recognising the distress this can cause farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications.

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham tables amendment aimed at protecting children subject to age assessments

The Bishop of Durham tabled an amendment to the Illegal Migration Bill during the fourth day of the committee stage on 12th June 2023. The amendment would reinstate the right of appeal against age assessments for putative children affected by these under the bill:

121: Clause 55, page 56, line 21, leave out subsection (2).

Member’s explanatory statement:

This amendment reinstates the right of appeal against age assessments in respect of putative children whom there is a duty to remove under the Bill.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in moving Amendment 121 I shall speak to Amendments 122 and 126 in my name. I am grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Lister and Lady Neuberger, for their support. My comments will also be in support of Amendments 124 and 125, which were tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Lister.

Before I get going, I note that on the Nationality and Borders Bill the debate on age assessment took place at 2.30 am on 9 February last year. We now find ourselves at 12:25 am discussing age assessments once again. Age assessments are serious matters. I know that it was not designed that this has happened again but it is extremely unfortunate, and since we have more time on Wednesday, I think we could have moved this to Wednesday. However, we have not, so I will carry on.

I believe strongly that these changes need to be made to Clauses 55 and 56 if we are to ensure that the welfare and best interests of children are protected. I will try to be brief, but they are critical amendments that are worthy of full consideration. It is vital that we adequately scrutinise the impact this Bill will have on children; it is therefore a failure in their safeguarding responsibility for the Government not even to have produced a child rights impact assessment. They are asking this Chamber to agree to these additional clauses on age assessments, added on Report in the other place, which on their own admission are more likely than not to be incompatible with conventions under the ECHR—not on the rights of anyone here today but on the rights of children. We have a duty to ensure that their voices are heard. Will the Minister guarantee that an assessment will be published before Report?

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports citizenship amendment on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans

On 12th June 2023, during a committee debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendment 98I, tabled by Baroness Brinton and the Bishop of St Albans, which would seek to limit the effects of the bill on those holding or those entitled to British National Overseas Citizenship, with particular reference to people from Hong Kong:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for tabling Amendment 98I, and I thank Amnesty International and the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens for their steadfast support for those who wish to register as British citizens. My friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who added his name, was here earlier in the day but was unable to stay through to the evening.

This amendment aims to tackle a matter of great significance that affects the lives of many individuals residing in the UK under British national overseas visas. They include many people from Hong Kong who are rightly entitled to British citizenship but face serious uncertainty about their legal status. Many Hong Kongers have reported appalling responses from immigration officials regarding their children born here, being told that they cannot have any travel documentation and even querying whether they are allowed to become British citizens in the future.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: