On 12th March 2020 the House of Lords debated a motion from Baroness Tyler of Enfield, “that this House takes note of the case for Her Majesty’s Government to use wellbeing as a key indicator of national performance when setting budgets, deciding policy priorities and reviewing the effectiveness of policy goals.” The Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt Revd Christopher Foster, spoke in the debate:
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I begin by humbly making two recommendations of ways in which your Lordships might profitably spend their time.
The first is to visit Portsmouth’s historic dockyard, where the nations historic naval hardware is on display. It is the stuff of national myth: from the “Mary Rose” to HMS “Victory” to HMS “Warrior”. Beyond them, visitors can see one or sometimes both of the Royal Navy’s latest, hugely powerful expressions of British sea power: the great aircraft carriers HMS “Queen Elizabeth” and “Prince of Wales”. These great ships, old and new, represent projections of hard power, but what often speaks more powerfully to those visiting the dockyard is the soft side to life on board: the story, how people lived their lives, their feelings, aspirations, hopes and fears—their well-being.
It seems to me that this exemplifies the challenge faced by policymakers and any assessment of how well, and if, a policy has worked: whether it has produced the desired outcome. Crunching the numbers is one way, but what policy looks and feels like in Whitehall and Westminster can be very different from the feelings and experience of those it directly affects. Continue reading “Bishop of Portsmouth call for measurement of children’s well-being on national level”
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, in thanking the Minister, may I ask him whether he can give any information on the precautions and particular challenges in prisons, where, for instance, social distancing, isolation and provision of hospital services will be difficult to achieve? 
On 12th March 2020 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received a written answer to three questions he had tabled on the annual report of the Gambling Commission into participation, awareness and attitudes:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, it is a privilege to participate in this debate, although I am disappointed not to be in New York at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which was cancelled last week. This event was to celebrate the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, published 25 years ago, which saw countries agree to dedicate themselves unreservedly to addressing constraints and obstacles to gender equality, thus enhancing the empowerment of women and girls all over the world. There is still much to do. 
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I return to the provision available after victims and their children are able to move on from refuges. Substantial, important and fragile ground has been moved and gained through the provisions in this Bill. But the provision after victims leave refuges is very patchy indeed, offered in only one in seven local authorities. Can the Minister say when provision will be available everywhere, for all victims and survivors? 
On 9th and 10th March 2020 the Bishop of Salisbury, Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, received written answers to questions on illegal waste exports
On 9th March 2020 Baroness Sanderson of Welton asked the Government “what funding has been allocated for a public information campaign to accompany the Domestic Abuse Bill.” The Bishop of Gloucester, Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, asked a follow-up question:
On 9th March 2020 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received answers to two written questions, about gambling and bankruptcy, and gambling firms sponsoring football shirts
This week in Parliament the Bishop of Salisbury spoke in support of amendments on marriage support, during debates on the Government’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill. He also spoke in support of the BBC in a Lords debate, and asked Government for an independent review into the handling by Wiltshire Police of historic allegations against Sir Edward Heath.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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