Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of St Albans – Underage Marriage (Written Answer)

On 16th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received an answer to a written question on under-age marriages.

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect girls who come to the United Kingdom already in under-age marriages. [HL3558]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash): Local authorities, with the help of other organisations as appropriate, have a duty to make enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. A belief that a girl may have been involved in an under-age marriage should lead to such an assessment.

Where a local authority encounters concerns about a child’s welfare that constitute, or may constitute, an offence against a child, social workers should discuss the case with the police at the earliest opportunity. Offences may have been committed by the girl’s parents, or by her ‘husband’. Legislation that came into force earlier in 2014 means that forced marriage is now a criminal offence. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans – Underage Marriage (Written Answer)”

Archbishop of York speaks and votes during Report Stage of Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill

On 15th December 2014, the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon. John Sentamu, spoke during the Report Stage of the Government’s Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill. He asked the Minister whether the legislation was the right tool for encouraging social action and volunteering in communities. He also voted in a division of the House, on Lord Lloyd’s amendment to remove Clause 2 (“Social Action”) from the Bill. The amendment was not accepted.

Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York: My Lords, I am puzzled. Will the noble Lord tell us whether it is ever worthy to use a statute as a means of giving assurance? I thought that a statute was to state the law, not to assure somebody somewhere. That would be okay. It would be an amazing way of—you know what I mean. Continue reading “Archbishop of York speaks and votes during Report Stage of Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill”

Archbishop of York highlights risks to financial stability of higher education system

On 15th December 2014, Lord Sharkey asked Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Higher Education Commission’s report Too Good to Fail: The Financial Sustainability of Higher Education in England. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. and the Rt Hon. John Sentamu, asked a supplementary question:

Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York: My Lords, will the noble Baroness tell us how, in the light of this report, she hopes to mitigate the risks to financial sustainability? Those are very big risks. Can she tell us how she will mitigate them? Forget the canoes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My Lords, the Government have asked HEFCE to monitor this situation, particularly in the light of the cap being lifted in 2016. That is a very important point.

(via Parliament.uk)

Bishop of Southwark Introduced to Lords

On 15th December 2014 the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, was Introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat. Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark Introduced to Lords”

Marriage and Cohabitation Rights – Bishop of Sheffield speaks on Bill

On 12th December 2014 the House of Lords debated the Cohabitation Rights Bill, a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames. The Bishop of Sheffield, Rt Rev Steven Croft spoke in the debate, celebrating the commitment made by couples entering marriage or civil partnership and advising caution over conferring similar rights to cohabiting couples in the way the Bill proposes. His speech is reproduced in full below.14.03.27 Bishop of Sheffield Continue reading “Marriage and Cohabitation Rights – Bishop of Sheffield speaks on Bill”

Church of England Week in Westminster, 8th – 12th December 2014

Welcome to the Church of England’s weekly round-up of activity in Parliament.

Westminster-abbeyThis week, bishops in the House of Lords spoke in debates about the Childcare Payments Bill, the Modern Slavery Bill, economic leadership for cities, female genital mutilation, global development goals and the Cohabitation Rights Bill.

They also asked questions about British nationals abroad, domestic violence, child poverty, mesothelioma research funding, forced marriage and hunger in Britain.

Bishops also voted on amendments to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, during the ping-pong stage of the Bill’s consideration.

In the House of Commons, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry MP, answered questions about  the maintenance of cathedrals, church repairs, bat damage in churches and general election hustings Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster, 8th – 12th December 2014”

Bishop of Sheffield calls for creative communication of post-2015 development goals

“The threat of climate change, the desire for sustainable growth, digital communications and the movements of peoples have all contributed to this sense of one world and the desire for a good globalisation. It is a vision profoundly rooted in the Judaeo-Christian vision of the world: a family of diverse nations, cherishing peace, seeking justice, nurturing wisdom and looking for the flourishing of all.”

14.03.27 Bishop of SheffieldOn 11th December 2014, Labour Peer Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale led a take-note debate in the House of Lords on the case for establishing new global development goals in 2015. The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Steven Croft, took part in the debate. He paid tribute to the Government’s role in the continuing international dialogue and noted the significant achievements made through the Millennium Development Goals. He challenged all stakeholders in the post-2015 process to think creatively about how best to communicate these successes, in order to engage more people in the process. He noted that the Church, through the Anglican Communion is a key partner in international development. He commended the work of Christian Aid on the process and highlighted four key priorities identified by the agency – tackling climate change, a stand-along goal on gender justice, increased capacity to respond to natural disasters, and a focus on global inequality and a fairer global economic system.
Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield calls for creative communication of post-2015 development goals”

Bishop of St Albans calls for stronger enforcement and culture change to tackle lack of FGM prosecutions

“…as well as hoping to get prosecutions, we need to work really hard on changing culture. Law is a blunt instrument. We have loads of laws on drugs and substance abuse and we try to enforce them, but, in that and other areas, we need to keep trying to get behind the issue which is causing the problem in the first place.”

Bishop of St AlbansOn 11th December 2014, Labour Peer Baroness Rendell of Babergh led a debate in the House of Lords to ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage prosecutions of offenders under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, spoke in the debate. He welcomed the Government’s Action Plan on FGM and the cross-party consensus on dealing with the issue. He noted that efforts had been made to strengthen the law on FGM through the Serious Crime Bill, but cautioned that existing legislation needed to be better enforced, if prosecution rates were to rise. He also called for a renewed effort to understand and challenge the cultural underpinnings of the practice, in order to see lasting change.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans calls for stronger enforcement and culture change to tackle lack of FGM prosecutions”

Bishop of Sheffield speaks in debate on economic leadership for cities

“Sheffield Cathedral has recently celebrated its centenary, together with the centenary of the diocese I serve. This has been marked by a £3 million reordering of the medieval church to make it truly a place for all people and contributing to building confidence across the whole region.”

14.03.27 Bishop of SheffieldOn 11th December 2014, Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Shipley led a take-note debate in the House of Lords on the case for enabling economic leadership for cities. The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Steven Croft, spoke in the debate. He highlighted the importance of local democracy in enabling economic flourishing, noting the recent commitment by the Sheffield City Council to become the ‘fairest city in Britain.’ He highlighted the importance of community integration, investment in infrastructure and a broad engagement with local democracy as key attributes of a flourishing local economy and called on the Government and future governments to prioritise strategies to improve local democracy. Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield speaks in debate on economic leadership for cities”

Bishop of St Albans calls on Government to take up recommendations of hunger report

Bishop of St AlbansOn 11th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Food Poverty’s recent report, Feeding Britain. A full transcript of the exchange is reproduced below:
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, this report is a serious contribution to an important and wide-ranging debate, which recognises the multiple factors behind demand for emergency food assistance. As a country, we have enough food to go round. We agree that it is wrong that anyone should go hungry at the same time as surplus food is going to waste. There is a moral argument, as well as a sustainability one, to ensure that we make the best use of our resources.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans calls on Government to take up recommendations of hunger report”