Bills – Page 5 – The Church of England in Parliament

Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Manchester raises issue of women’s safety on public transport

The Bishop of Manchester spoke in a debate on amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill on 7th January 2026, highlighting the issue of safety at night on public transport for women and girls:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful for this short debate. I would like to widen it a little beyond railways. I am blessed in living in Greater Manchester at the heart of a major Metrolink tram network, which has many similarities to the railways. There are often very few staff late at night, particularly on the trams, and women and girls are especially vulnerable on those occasions. This Bill, if it is not just about the rail network, may be the better Bill to cover these issues and ensure that women and girls are safe and protected from violence on our whole public transport network.

Hansard

Votes: Sentencing Bill

On 6th January 2026, the House of Lords debated the Sentencing Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the Bill, in which Bishops took part:

Division 2:

The Bishop of Chester and the Bishop of Gloucester took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by Lord Keen of Elie:

Lord Keen of Elie moved amendment 25, in clause 1, page 3, line 10, at end to insert—
“(i) the offender has been convicted of a sexual offence, within the meaning of section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, or
(j) the offender has been convicted of an offence which constitutes domestic abuse within the meaning of section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”

The amendment was disagreed. Content: 180 / Not Content: 219

The Bishop of Chester and the Bishop of Gloucester voted Not Content.

Hansard

Sentencing Bill: Bishop of Gloucester tables amendment defining the purpose of imprisonment

During a debate on the Sentencing Bill on 6th January 2025, the Bishop of Gloucester tabled her amendment to the bill, inserting a new clause which “would define the purposes of imprisonment in law and require the courts and the Secretary of State to have regard to the purposes of imprisonment:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: After Clause 4, insert the following new Clause—

“Purposes of imprisonment(1) Where a court is imposing sentence the court must have regard to the purposes of imprisonment.(2) The Secretary of State must have regard to the purposes of imprisonment when exercising the Secretary of State’s duties under this Act.

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) the purposes of imprisonment are—(a) the incapacitation of prisoners in order to restrict their ability to re-offend in the community,(b) the rehabilitation of prisoners under safe and decent conditions to reduce re-offending,(c) the deterrence of prisoners and others from committing further offences, and(d) the just punishment of prisoners, including provision to achieve justice for the victims of crime.”Member’s explanatory statement

This new clause would define the purposes of imprisonment in law and require the courts and the Secretary of State to have regard to the purposes of imprisonment.

My Lords, I am bringing back this amendment on Report as I do not think it was adequately addressed in Committee. Amendment 52, in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, would define in law the purposes of imprisonment and require the courts and the Secretary of State to have regard to the purposes of imprisonment.

Votes: Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill

On 5th January 2026, the House of Lords debated the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on ocean pollution

The Bishop of Norwich spoke in support of amendments to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill aimed at responding to risks of plastic pollution in oceans and protection of deep seabed environments on 16th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I support Amendments 6, 8 and 10. I pay tribute to the Minister for the commitment that she is giving to the Bill. It is absolutely right that we align ourselves with the treaty and are able to be participants at the first Conference of the Parties. I thank her for the thoroughness with which she is going through it.

Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Manchester raises point on safeguarding in private tutoring

The Bishop of Manchester raised a point on the inclusion of private music tuition under safeguarding regulations during a debate on the Crime and Policing Bill on 15th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, one area that is of great concern to me is private music tuition. I have had some pretty horrendous safeguarding cases to deal with in churches, where a church musician who has committed some serious offences has gone on to privately tutor underage pupils. That particular form of tuition—which is very often done privately, arranged by parents who see an advertisement on the internet or in a newspaper—needs to be included.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports amendments on prisons and prisoners

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in support of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill focusing on healthcare for those in prison and safeguarding of prisoners under the bill on 12th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will speak to these amendments because I want to make a new point. A very vulnerable population that we must continue to remember is the prison population. Although we will deal with the prison population more fully in the group coming up, we must remember that this Bill currently does not exclude prisoners from being eligible. That means we must consider how each issue is likely to play out in a prison setting.

As we have heard extensively, these amendments deal with two main issues: first, access to primary care; and, secondly, how well that primary care physician knows the details of your medical history. The first is very closely related to inequalities and making sure that those who have worse access to care are not more likely to choose assisted dying. The prison population are therefore a key group that must be considered, since their health and access to healthcare are worse than that of the general population. That is evidenced by the recently published report by the Chief Medical Officer.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on impact of bill in border regions

On 12th December 2025, Bishop of Norwich spoke in support of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill focused on ensuring training and resources given to GPs would also apply to Scotland in the event of the bill passing, and consideration of those living on the Scottish border:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I support Amendments 17 and 309A, proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Beith, and so ably explained by the noble Baroness, Lady Fraser. I declare an interest, in that my wife is a GP and a medical examiner—so the Bill has had much discussion at home.

Having spent 10 years living in Northumberland, and having friends who live along the Scottish border, I know that many of those living sufficiently close to the border have chosen very deliberately to be registered with a Scottish GP because they then receive free prescriptions. This raises a number of questions for the noble and learned Lord.

Votes: Employment Rights Bill

On 10th December 2025, the House of Lords debated Commons Reasons and Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Bishop of Winchester moves that Abuse Redress and Armed Forces Chaplaincy Measures receive Royal Assent

On 9th December 2025, the Bishop of Winchester moved that two church measures, the Abuse Redress Measure and the Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure, be sent to the King for Royal Assent:

The Lord Bishop of Winchester: That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure be presented to His Majesty for the Royal Assent.

My Lords, I shall speak also to the Abuse Redress Measure, which is also in my name on the Order Paper.

The Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure is in one sense just a tidying up of a small area of ecclesiastical law, but in a wider and more important way it is enabling and supportive of the essential work carried out by Church of England chaplains to His Majesty’s forces, to whom I am sure we all want to pay tribute. For over a century, forces chaplains have been issued with licences by the Archbishop of Canterbury, giving them ecclesiastical authority to exercise ministry in that role. However, recent work by the provincial registrars has identified a gap in the relevant statutory and canonical provision in this area.

Without this Measure, each Armed Forces chaplain would also need to obtain a licence or permission to officiate from the bishop of each diocese in which the chaplain is to exercise ministry. Not only would that give rise to a significant burden on bishops and their offices but, more significantly, it would cause problems for the Armed Forces, not least because chaplains need to be able to move with and minister to military personnel wherever they are currently serving, and sometimes to do so at some speed. It is impractical for them to seek a further authority to exercise ministry each time the service men and women they minister to move to a different part of the country. This Measure addresses that in a straightforward way by inserting a new section headed “Armed Forces chaplains” in the Extra-Parochial Ministry Measure 1967.

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