On 16th April Baroness Evans of Bowes Park repeated a statement from the Prime Minister on the UK’s military action in Syria. The Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, responded to the statement:
The Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, it was very good to hear that assurance from the Leader of the House on the commitment to a long-term diplomatic solution. I Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry speaks on military intervention in Syria”
On 16th April the Earl of Courtown repeated a statement that had been made by the Home Secretary on the issue of the Windrush generation and their immigration status. The Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, spoke in response:
The Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, I have written to the Prime Minister about this matter, as have a number of other Bishops. It has given us a great deal of concern and is a deeply distressing matter. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry on “depth of hurt” caused by treatment of Windrush generation”
On 16th April 2018 the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence published its report (which can be read here). The Bishop of Oxford, Rt Revd Steve Croft, was a member of the Committee and published the following blog on his website about the report:
THE ONLY WAY IS ETHICS
Developing Artificial Intelligence in the UK
For the past year, I’ve been a member of the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. The Committee of 13 members received 223 pieces of written evidence and took oral sessions from 57 witnesses over 22 sessions between October and December. It has been a fascinating process. Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford on Developing Artificial Intelligence in the UK”
On the 12th April the Bishop of St Albans the Rt Revd Alan Smith received an answer to his question about forced marriage.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans questions Government about Forced Marriages”
On the 12th April the Bishop of Ely, the Rt Revd Stephen Conway received a written answer to his question about teacher recruitment in rural areas.
Continue reading “Bishop of Ely questions Government about teacher recruitment in rural areas”
On the 9th April 2018 the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, received written answers to three questions about Syria:
The Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to ensure that there is no reduction in the level of UK funding to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Syria, and (2) to aid the relief effort in neighbouring countries in 2018–19. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark receives written answers to questions on Syria”
On 6th April 2018 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received a written answer to three questions about the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans:
(i) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings civil servants and ministers have had with stakeholders about the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures; and what were the (1) dates, (2) locations, and (3) attendees, of each of those meetings.
(ii) To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether all submissions to the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures will be published alongside the review.
(iii) To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned small-scale qualitative research to assess the appropriate stakes for category B2 gaming machines. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about the Consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures”
The following letter, expressing concern about the consequences of the two-child limit policy for children and families was signed by sixty bishops (including nineteen Lords Spiritual) and representatives from other denominations and faiths. It appeared in The Times newspaper on 6th April 2018.
The publication of the letter coincided with the release of a report from the End Child Poverty Coalition assessing the impact of the policy, which was introduced in April 2017. The accompanying press release from the Coalition can be accessed here, and the Church of England’s media notice is available here.
The Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, published a blog on the Church of England’s website on the same day, the full text of which is also reproduced below.
Two-child limit on Universal Credit
Sir, Today the “two-child limit” policy, which restricts tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in a family, has been in place for a year. The policy is making it harder for parents to achieve a stable and resilient family life. By 2021, 640,000 families will have been affected. Most are low-earning working families, most have three children and some will have made decisions about family size when they were able to support children through earnings alone, but later claimed tax credits or universal credit after bereavement, redundancy, separation, disability, illness or simply low pay. Continue reading “Bishops highlight consequences of the two-child limit in letter to The Times and blog post”
On the 29 March 2018 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP answered a written question from the Rt Hon Tim Farron MP about the Church Commissioners extractive industries policy and ethical investment.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative”
On 27th March 2018 Lord Bassam of Brighton asked Her Majesty’s Government “what further measures, if any, they plan to take to increase the supply of council housing stock to replace homes for rent lost through right-to-buy sales”. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow-up question:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: May I push the Minister a little more on the whole question of rural housing? Only 12% of the rural housing stock is social housing, compared with 19% in urban areas. How exactly are Her Majesty’s Government going to increase the level of rural social housing over the coming years? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about social housing supply in rural areas”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.