On 13th July 2023, during a report stage debate on amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, the Government Minister Baroness Scott introduced an amendment to the Bill to give clarity in the law on the question of the ability of local authorities to issue grants to parish churches and places of worship. The Bishop of Bristol had called for this at the earlier Committee stage, introducing her own amendment, which was not accepted at the time. The Minister’s amendment recognises the need for the changes, and is made in response to the arguments advanced by the Bishop and others at Committee. There was a short debate on the amendment, which the House agreed without a vote.
Continue reading “Levelling-up & Regeneration Bill: Government amends Bill in response to call from Bishop to clarify local authorities grant-making powers to places of worship”Category: Bills
Legislation before Parliament
Illegal Migration Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury presses amendment urging government to establish plan for tackling refugee crises and human trafficking
On 12th July 2023, the Archbishop of Canterbury moved his motion Y1 in response to a Commons amendment to the Illegal Migration Bill. Motion Y1 would retain the Archbishop’s amendment to the bill that would require a government commitment to the development of a 10 year strategy for tackling refugee crises and human trafficking:
The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bellamy, and to the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, for what he said. Like him, I will be brief.
Immigration and asylum, as the long series of debates on this Bill has shown, is an extraordinarily divisive issue. Speaking as someone who has been deeply embedded in east Kent for more than a decade now, I know from experience the extent to which communities are divided and individuals are torn between their desire to do what they know is right and care for those arriving, and their apprehension about the impact on local communities. One understands both those feelings very well.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury presses amendment urging government to establish plan for tackling refugee crises and human trafficking”Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables motions to limit detention of children and ensure safe accommodation
During a debate on Commons Amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill on 12th July 2023, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of his motion K1, which would include an amendment to limit the amount of time a child could be kept in detention under the bill, and his motion N2, on safe accommodation for unaccompanied children:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, for his support for my Motion K1, even though I suspect we would both prefer his stronger Motion. I also welcome the government amendments that would allow an unaccompanied child to seek bail after eight days if they have been detained for removal.
I struggle to see why similar rules should not apply to all children. Hence, Motion K1 seeks to rectify the unreasoned omission of children who are with their families. It proposes a 24-hour extension to the current statutory 72-hour time limit for detention of children with families. Hence, the detention of these children would not be indefinite but be for no more than 96 hours or, if a Minister personally approved it, for no more than seven days. This seems a fair and reasonable change and I urge the Government to seriously reflect on it. I really cannot see that it is morally justified not to have equal provisions for children with families and those who are alone; one child is not different from another.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables motions to limit detention of children and ensure safe accommodation”Votes: Illegal Migration Bill
On 12th July 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill. Votes were held on these amendments, in which Bishops took part:
Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables motion to maintain safeguards for unaccompanied children
On 12th July 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of motion A1, moved by Baroness Chakrabarti, to insert a new clause into the bill which would stipulate that the UK must abide by international obligations, and in support of his motion U1, which would propose that removal of putative children should be delayed until judicial review of disputed age assessments had been completed:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support Motion A1 but will speak more particularly to Motion U1 in my name, to which the noble Baroness just referred. It proposes that if an age-assessment judicial review is in progress, removal should be delayed until its completion. I welcome comments from Ministers that those subject to an age dispute will be accommodated in an age-appropriate setting here in the UK, but can the Minister confirm that will be the case in a third country? Will Rwanda, for example, be informed that a young person is subject to an age dispute, and will the Rwandan Government then be required by the UK to keep that person separate from other adult residents and to supervise them properly as a child until the courts have made a judgment?
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables motion to maintain safeguards for unaccompanied children”Votes: Online Safety Bill
On 12th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Online Safety Bill in the report stage. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports inclusion of missions on child poverty and health inequalities
On 11th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the first day of the report stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of two amendments to the bill:
- Amendment 4, tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett, which would include a mission to reduce childhood poverty in the levelling-up missions
- Amendment 7, tabled by Baroness Finlay and supported by the Bishop of London, which would include a mission to address health disparities in the bill
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 4, to which I have put my name and which I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for leading on, and to Amendment 7, to which my right reverend friend the Bishop of London has added her name. She sends her apologies that she cannot be present today.
I draw attention, as has been done already, to the latest research on the number of children living in poverty in the UK. I highlight particularly that in 2021-22 in my part of England, the north-east, more than one in three children were living below the poverty line. The number of children living in poverty in the region has seen an increase of 26% since 2014-15—the steepest rise of anywhere in the country during this period.
Continue reading “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports inclusion of missions on child poverty and health inequalities”Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
On 11th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the first day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Online Safety Bill
On 10th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Online Safety Bill in the second day of the report stage. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Online Safety Bill: Bishop of Oxford supports amendments on definition of online harms
On 10th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Online Safety Bill in the second day of the report stage. The Bishop of Oxford spoke in support of a group of amendments to the bill stipulating that online harms can arise from functionality and design of services as well as from content:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, as often, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baronesses, Lady Harding and Lady Kidron, and to support this group of amendments, especially those to which I put my name. I thank the Minister and the Secretary of State for the many amendments they are introducing, including in the last group, on which I was not able to speak for similar reasons to other noble Lords. I especially note Amendment 1, which makes safety by design the object of the Bill and makes implicit the amendments that we are speaking to this afternoon, each of which is consistent with that object of safety by design running through the Bill.
Continue reading “Online Safety Bill: Bishop of Oxford supports amendments on definition of online harms”
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