Category: Bills

Legislation before Parliament

Second Church Estates Commissioner urges Government to resist liberalisation of Sunday trading rules

On 19th June 2014, the Second Church Estates Commissioners, the Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry MP, spoke during the weekly debate on the Business of the House. In his brief remarks, he called on the Government to resist amendments to the Deregulation Bill (debated 23rd June) that would deregulate Sunday trading. The Leader of the House of Commons gave assurances that the Government does not support a change in the Sunday trading rules.

14.01 CCQ BaldrySir Tony Baldry (Banbury): Next Monday, the House will debate the Report stage and Third Reading of the Deregulation Bill. My right hon. Friend will have noted that our hon. Friends the Members for Shipley (Philip Davies) and for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) have tabled a number of new clauses which, if passed, would completely deregulate Sunday trading. I must tell my right hon. Friend that any such move by the House would be seen by the Church of England—and, I am sure, by many other faith groups—as an act of bad faith on the part of Parliament. The present Sunday trading arrangements arose from a series of compromises that were agreed in the mid-1990s to strike a balance between keeping Sunday special and enabling more stores and shops to open on Sundays. I should welcome my right hon. Friend’s reassurance that if you, Mr Speaker, select any of the new clauses for debate, they will be resisted by the Government.

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How the church can help deliver community energy projects: Bishop of Derby speaks on the Infrastructure Bill

“We need to get people in their own backyards to understand, participate in and support this kind of culture change, without which our whole aspiration to deal with climate change issues will fall very far short” – Bishop of Derby, 18/6/14

Derby

The Government’s Infrastructure Bill was debated at its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 18th June 2014. During the debate, the Bishop of Derby, Rt Rev Alastair Redfern, focused on community energy provisions and, drawing on local examples, the role that churches can play as intermediary institutions. More details on the Bill, which also contains provisions on transport, planning and housing, can be found here.

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I, too, welcome the Infrastructure Bill and its joined-up thinking. A number of noble Lords have looked across the whole Bill and the large scale of it, but I shall look at only a specific area—that of community energy—and ask the Minister about how the Government can deliver on that. Continue reading “How the church can help deliver community energy projects: Bishop of Derby speaks on the Infrastructure Bill”

Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure passes in Lords – debate

11.12.15 Bishop of OxfordOn 13th May 2014 the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure was passed by the House of Lords. A transcript of the short debate, led by the Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, is below. More information about the measure can be found here.

 

Lord Newby: My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to acquaint the House that they, having been informed of the purport of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure, have consented to place their prerogative and interest, so far as they are affected by the Measure, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Measure.

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Vote – Immigration Bill

On 12th May 2014, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, took part in a division on the Government’s Immigration Bill, during the ‘ping pong’ stage of the Bill.

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

Labour Peer Baroness Smith of Basildon moved Motion B1, as an amendment to Motion B, to leave out from “House” to end and insert “do insist on its Amendment 18.” The amendment sought to refer the question of when and how the citizenship of a naturalised British citizen can be withdrawn to a Joint Select Committee. The amendment had originally been tabled by Lord Pannick and passed during Report Stage in the House of Lords.

The Bishop of Oxford voted ‘content’ with Baroness Smith’s motion. No bishop voted ‘not content.’

There were Contents: 193 / Not Contents: 286. Result: Government Win

(via Parliament.uk)

Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure passes in Commons – debate

14.05.12 DLC 1On 12th May 2014 the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure was passed by the House of Commons, after being scrutinised by MPs in a delegated legislation committee. A transcript of the debate, led by the Second Church Estates Commissioner Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry MP, is below. A video of the session can also be viewed on the UK Parliament website, here.

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Vote – Care Bill

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

On 7th May, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, took part in a division during the ‘ping-pong’ stage of the Government’s Care Bill.

Independent Social Democrat Peer Lord Owen moved Amendments 45E and 45F, which sought to introduce an independent Oversight Panel to advise the Secretary of State on matters relating to health and adult social care.

There were Contents: 165 / Not Contents: 259. Result: Government Win

The Bishop of Coventry voted ‘content’. No bishop voted ‘not content’.

(via Parliament.uk)

Archbishop of Canterbury welcomes Draft Modern Slavery Bill

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has welcomed the publication today of the report and draft Bill by the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Modern Slavery.

Archbishop Justin

The Rt Revd Alastair Redfern, Bishop of Derby, was a member of the Joint Select Committee, and the report can be read in full here. In March 2014, the Archbishop also gave his backing to the Global Freedom Network, an ecumenical initiative to combat modern slavery and human trafficking. You can read more about the Global Freedom Network here.

Archbishop Justin said: “I strongly welcome the report and draft Bill published today by the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Modern Slavery, which has cross-party support. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Committee’s members for their efforts, and I would like to extend particular thanks to my colleague Alastair Redfern, the Bishop of Derby, for his participation in the Committee’s work.

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Votes: Immigration Bill (trafficking, citizenship)

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

Bishops took part in two votes in the House of Lords on amendments to the Government’s Immigration Bill at its Report Stage on 7th April 2014. In both cases the amendments passed, meaning the Government was defeated. Continue reading “Votes: Immigration Bill (trafficking, citizenship)”

Bishop of Leicester urges greater consideration of child welfare in immigration cases

The Bishop of Leicester spoke during Report Stage of the Immigration Bill, speaking in favour of Baroness Lister’s Amendment 21. The amendment sought to reduce the threshold at which a child becomes a material factor in a parents’ immigration case from seven to four years. The amendment was not moved, with the Minister giving assurances that the Bill would not have a negative impact on the safeguarding or welfare of children in the United Kingdom.

LeicesterThe Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I want just to assure your Lordships that as the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, suggested, I support Amendment 21 in spirit. I also support it in practice. It seems that the arguments, from any understanding of child development, are clearly overwhelming. I speak as a former chair of the Children’s Society and as a member of the commission that published the A Good Childhood report on behalf of the Children’s Society some four or five years ago, which was based on the evidence of more than 20,000 children, many of them very young children. They made it very clear, even at the age of five or six, that friendships were an absolutely primary part of their understanding of their well-being. This is documented and spelt out in that report, as indeed it is in many other more academic reports. I would be happy to support this amendment as it stands or even if it is reduced to fewer years. On the basis of any understanding of child development, the argument for a cut-off period of four years seems overwhelming. I hope the Minister will be able to respond positively to the amendment.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: …The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, talked about her experience of losing friends at the age of four, and that was echoed by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leicester, but let us face it: many parents move with their children around the country or out of the country for work or other temporary purposes, and the family leaves to return home or move elsewhere. When a family comes to the United Kingdom for a temporary purpose, they cannot and should not expect to settle permanently in the UK, and should not be able to do so unless they meet the rules for doing so. It is essential that the public interest in controlling immigration and protecting the public be properly weighed in the balance, even when children are involved. We believe that Clause 18 strikes the right balance in this regard…

(via Parliament.uk)

Votes – Immigration Bill

Three bishops took part in two vote in the House of Lords yesterday (1st April 2014), on  amendments to the Government’s Immigration Bill, during its Report Stage.

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

Continue reading “Votes – Immigration Bill”