On 12th September 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons Reasons and Amendments to the Energy Bill. Votes were held on motions relating to amendments, in which bishops took part:
Votes: Energy Bill
Category: Bills
Legislation before Parliament
Votes: Procurement Bill
On 11th September 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments and reasons to the Procurement Bill. Votes were hold on motions relating to amendments, in which a Bishop took part:
Votes: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
On 11th September 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments and reasons to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Votes were held on motions relating to Commons amendments, in which a Bishop took part:
Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience
On 6th September 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in a committee debate on a report from the Children and Families Act 2014 Committee: A Failure of implementation, referencing the findings of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and the need to safeguard children as being at the heart of Christian teaching:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for securing this debate, and the whole Children and Families Act Committee for its work on this excellent report and for highlighting all the issues.
Our experiences of childhood and family life shape who we are and who we become. When children and families flourish, society flourishes. This is not a new understanding: in the little we hear of Jesus as a child, the gospel writer Luke highlights how he grew physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. His childhood shaped his adult ministry.
Continue reading “Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience”Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendments on housing
On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of amendment 201, which would require the government to update the definition of affordable housing, recalling the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2021 debate on housing and stressing the need for a bipartisan approach to ensure consistent housebuilding policy over time:
My Lords, the noble Baronesses, Lady Hayman and Lady Bennett, and the noble Lord, Lord Stunell, have all spoken eloquently on Amendment 201, which I support. I thank them for tabling it.
The independent Archbishops’ Commission on Housing reported in March 2021, and your Lordships’ House may recall the debate that the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury secured on 24 March 2021, on the subject of housing. I simply wish to highlight a few points from that which I believe are relevant to the debate on this amendment.
Continue reading “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendments on housing”Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on health and wellbeing
On 4th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the fifth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in the debate, in support of an amendment in the name of the Bishop of London and other peers which would introduce a duty to reduce health inequalities and improve well-being into the bill:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I also rise to speak to Amendment 198 in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Willis of Summertown, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, whom it is an honour to follow this evening, the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, who sends her apologies that she cannot be here to take part in this debate.
The urgent need to address declining health in the United Kingdom, as well as the widening health inequalities associated with this, cannot be overstated. We have heard many times about the staggering difference in healthy life expectancy, which was already up to 19 years before the pandemic. We must not become numb to such statistics or the reality that underlies them. Amendment 198 is about using the opportunity that this Bill provides to reform the planning system and thereby enable practical action by local authorities to tackle these disparities.
Continue reading “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on health and wellbeing”Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
On 4th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
On 18th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the Report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Illegal Migration Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury speaks on motion to ensure scrutiny of government migration policy
On 17th July 2023, during the final day of debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke on his motion J1, which would aim to ensure that government policy on migration is considered and debated by the House of Commons and the House of Lords in the future. The motion was not taken to a vote:
The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I will speak very briefly to Motion J1. The amendment put forward under Motion J1 aims to ensure that, not only now but in the future, the Government’s policy is examined. As the Minister said, the current Government’s concentration is on international co-operation and working, although with some hesitation at times, with groups such as the UNHCR and others internationally. The amendment would ensure that that strategy—the way the Government are working—and the context in which migration is being considered are brought in front of both Houses, simply for a debate, with an analysis of the situation by the Government.
The Minister has said very clearly that he does not wish this to happen on the grounds that it is being done now, but this Bill is not about today. It will shortly be an Act, and when it is an Act it will last years—it may last many years. Who knows what will happen in elections in the future, whether they are next year, in 10 years or whenever? We cannot guarantee what kind of Government there will be at that time. That is why we have Acts of Parliament and a system of law which requires changes in the case that people wish to change the way in which this country operates.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Archbishop of Canterbury speaks on motion to ensure scrutiny of government migration policy”
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