On 9th March 2026, the House of Lords debated the Crime and Policing Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Votes: Crime and Policing Bill
Category: Bills
Legislation before Parliament
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Archbishop of York raises potential adverse impact on vulnerable groups
The Archbishop of York asked a question during a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, querying the impact the bill would have on coercion of vulnerable people, particularly those struggling to access palliative care, on 27th February 2026:
The Lord Archbishop of York: I entirely accept that those who are proposing the Bill do not propose it for the reason of trying to save money. I also entirely accept the desire from everyone in this House for better-funded palliative care. However, I need something to be explained. Taken that palliative care is inadequate and underfunded, and taken that there are huge regional variations, what I do not understand is the noble and learned Lord’s confidence that this will not lead to coercion of vulnerable people in places where palliative care is not available and cannot be afforded, which will lead to unintended consequences. I entirely accept that he does not want those consequences either, but I ask him to give me some confidence, if he can, that this will not follow.
Continue reading “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Archbishop of York raises potential adverse impact on vulnerable groups”Votes: Tobacco and Vapes Bill
On 24th February 2026, the House of Lords debated the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Newcastle speaks to amendment on protection for those with learning disabilities
The Bishop of Newcastle spoke in support of an amendment aimed at providing additional protection for those with learning disabilities during a committee debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 6th February 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 108, to which the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Lincoln has added his name. He regrets that he cannot be in his place today, as he is interested in this amendment as lead bishop for the L’Arche community in the UK. With the Church of England, L’Arche strives to provide a positive and inclusive residential community in which adults with and without learning disabilities can live and grow together.
Continue reading “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Newcastle speaks to amendment on protection for those with learning disabilities”Votes: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
On 3rd February 2026, the House of Lords debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Lincoln speaks to amendments on decriminalisation of abortion
On 2nd February 2026, the Bishop of Lincoln spoke in a debate on amendments relating to the decriminalisation of abortion in the Crime and Policing Bill, highlighting the importance of supporting women and the need for a change in the way police investigations of terminations of pregnancies are carried out, while reiterating opposition to full decriminalisation on the grounds of the sanctity of life:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am one of those old men. I am also a single man, so I have no children of my own, but I am regularly in contact with very young families through baptism. Only last Thursday, I was in hospital in an acute cardiac unit for babies, anointing a two week-old baby who had just had open-heart surgery. So I know quite a lot about babies through a very long ministry. I also offer my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Winston, for a television series that he oversaw about seeing a pregnancy from conception to delivery some years ago. That series reinforced my conviction about the sanctity of life.
Continue reading “Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Lincoln speaks to amendments on decriminalisation of abortion”Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Hereford highlights importance of nuanced understanding of artificial intelligence
The Bishop of Hereford spoke during a committee debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 30th January 2026, pointing out a distinction between AI tools and artificial intelligence generally in regards to an amendment proposed by Baroness Coffey, which would stipulate that “(4) Artificial intelligence must not be used to carry out any functions in any section or schedule of this Act.”
The Lord Bishop of Hereford: I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, for raising a very important issue in this amendment. However, I am concerned that, as it stands, as the noble Baroness said, this amendment is too blunt an instrument. It is important that we distinguish between AI tools and the more dangerous artificial general intelligence, or superintelligence. The use of AI in medical diagnostics in patient care is already commonplace. AI tools are currently used to read scans and X-rays and will frequently perform as well as, if not better than, clinicians. To exclude the use of AI altogether might deprive patients who are considering assisted dying of valuable diagnostic assistance and care at a very vulnerable time.
Continue reading “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Hereford highlights importance of nuanced understanding of artificial intelligence”Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Newcastle points out lack of safeguards in online processes
The Bishop of Newcastle spoke during the committee debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 30th January 2026, highlighting the lack of adequate safeguards in any online-only process for facilitating assisted dying:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, taken together, the amendments in this group highlight the importance of contact with people at the hardest time in their lives—a time when we must be most vulnerable, clinically and personally. This must not be a process in which anyone is made to feel rushed or that can be completed entirely online.
Continue reading “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Newcastle points out lack of safeguards in online processes”Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Southwark calls for royal commission on dying well
The Bishop of Southwark spoke following a government statement preceding the committee debate on the bill, asking that, should the bill fall, a royal commission on dying well be considered:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I too wish to speak in good faith. That is what all our Committee consideration has been about, in almost every speech I have heard and listened to—and I have made an effort to attend a good number of sittings. I am very grateful to the Government Chief Whip for what he has said. I am also very grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for saying on the “Today” programme that he now anticipates that the Bill will fall. So my question is: if and when it does, please will the need for a royal commission on dying well be factored into consideration?
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Portsmouth speaks to amendments on schools with a religious character
The Bishop of Portsmouth spoke to amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill regarding impacts on schools with religious designations on 28th January 2026, particularly in the case of multi-academy trusts and lines of communication between religious bodies and their schools:
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 193A, 193B and 193C and declare my interest as chair of the National Society for Education. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, for her support of Amendments 193A and 193B. I will address these two first and together.
These two amendments are about good communication. They would require the chief inspector to include the relevant religious body along with the academy proprietor and the Secretary of State when a report is circulated at the conclusion of an inspection of a multi-academy trust that contains a school with a religious foundation. For example, in the case of the Church of England, the relevant body would be the Diocesan Board of Education.
Continue reading “Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Portsmouth speaks to amendments on schools with a religious character”
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