On 22nd July 2025, the House of Lords debated the Universal Credit Bill. A vote was held on a regret motion associated with the Bill, in which a Bishop took part.
Votes: Universal Credit Bill
Author: parliamentaryunit
Universal Credit Bill: Bishop of Newcastle raises impact of bill on disadvantaged communities
The Bishop of Newcastle spoke at the second reading of the Universal Credit Bill on 22nd July 2025, expressing concern regarding the potential impact of the bill on those with disabilities and the need to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and ill health:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, I begin by offering my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Shawcross-Wolfson; I look forward to her maiden speech, and acknowledge the valedictory speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Bryan. I also thank Ministers for listening to concerns about the Bill when it was initially brought forward.
A functional social security system tackles poverty and supports people to live full lives. With that, the system needs to retain public confidence, expressing the best of our values. It must also strike a balance between supporting people who are able to work and ensuring that people who cannot work are protected and cherished for who they are. We need economic growth—that is not disputed; this is, after all, a money Bill—but I am concerned for those who are left behind or who do not fit the model of financial productivity at the rate that seems to be desired.
Continue reading “Universal Credit Bill: Bishop of Newcastle raises impact of bill on disadvantaged communities”Votes: Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2025
On 22nd July 2025, a vote took place in the House of Lords on amendments to the Enterprise Act 2002:
Bishop of Newcastle asks about environmental impact of AI data centres
The Bishop of Newcastle asked a question on the environmental impact of AI data centres during a discussion on artificial intelligence legislation on 21st July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, I am very pleased that Blyth in north-east England has been chosen as the site of a new AI data centre. This represents good investment in training and skills and in transport infrastructure. However, data centres have a lot of impact on the environment and local communities, particularly in terms of water shortages. What ongoing assessment has been done of the impact, particularly on water shortages in local communities?
Continue reading “Bishop of Newcastle asks about environmental impact of AI data centres”Bishop of Oxford asks about changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Fund
The Bishop of Oxford received the following written answer on 21st July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the cost implications of children who (1) remain longer in care, and (2) are returned to care, as a result of the changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund.
Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford asks about changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Fund”Bishop of Bristol calls for peacebuilding initiatives alongside Strategic Defense Review
The Bishop of Bristol made her final speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the Strategic Defence Review on 18th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, for bringing the SDR to debate to this House, and I look forward to continuing to hear this House’s wide-ranging expertise. I also look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord McCabe.
George Bell, formerly the Bishop of Chichester, thought deeply about the ethics of international relations and spoke, on occasions controversially, in this House about his conclusions. Speaking more generally of the Church in wartime—and I too believe that we are in a time of considerable risk of war—he asserted that the task of the Church, in its service and witness, was to be the Church, and often, that would be in practical endeavour within a whole-society response.
Last weekend the General Synod of the Church of England in York responded to the current international threat level very practically by providing new legislative arrangements to hold the records of military chaplains centrally, not locally. That will allow chaplains, regular or reservists, to be licensed to move much more rapidly into operation. I commend this new legislation to members of the Ecclesiastical Committee and to the whole House, as the Church seeks to support the aim of increasing agility in deployment.
Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol calls for peacebuilding initiatives alongside Strategic Defense Review”Bishop of Leeds asks about freedom of religion in Estonia
The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 18th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government:
- what assessment they have made of freedom of religion or belief in Estonia.
- what assessment they have made of whether the proposed the Act on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act adopted by the Estonian Parliament on 18 June contravenes international standards and norms on the right to freedom of religion of belief, and whether they have made representations to the government of Estonia.
Bishop of Southwark asks about threats against Christians in Syria
The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answers on 18th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government, in the light of the suicide bombing at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias on 22 June, what support they have given to the new government of Syria to help to protect the Christian population against attack.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about threats against Christians in Syria”Bishop of Leicester asks about engagement with work on debt cancellation
The Bishop of Leicester asked a question about the Jubilee 2000 Campaign on 17th July 2025, during a wider discussion on debt relief and cancelling international debt:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Jubilee 2000 campaign—a remarkable coming together of tens of millions of people from around the world, which led to around $130 billion of debt being cancelled across 36 countries. It allowed those countries to reinvest in education, healthcare and poverty alleviation. The Pope has also declared this year a year of Jubilee and set up a commission to look at international debt relief. What are the Government doing to learn from the Jubilee 2000 campaign and to engage with faith communities and charities working in this sector?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about engagement with work on debt cancellation”Bishop of Chester introduced
On 17th July 2025, the Right Reverend Mark Tanner, the Bishop of Chester, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops’ Benches as a Lord Spiritual:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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