Category: Bills

Legislation before Parliament

House of Lords approves Church of England Channel Islands Measure

On 15th July 2020 the House of Lords approved a Motion to pass for Royal Assent the Church of England Channel Island Measure, which was introduced by the Bishop of Birmingham, Rt Revd David Urquhart. The full debate is below.

Channel Islands Measure

Motion to Direct

Moved by The Lord Bishop of Birmingham:

That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Channel Islands Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.

The Lord Bishop of Birmingham: My Lords, I shall give some brief historical and current background to the Channel Islands Measure, then outline its content.

Until the 16th century, the Channel Islands were part of the Church of France and the diocese of Coutances. In 1496, Henry VII obtained a papal bull transferring the islands to the English diocese of Salisbury, but it seems this was not put into effect. The islands finally became part of the Church of England in 1569, when they were transferred to the diocese of Winchester by Order in Council of Elizabeth I. Since then, the Church of England has been the established Church of the islands.​ Continue reading “House of Lords approves Church of England Channel Islands Measure”

Bishop of St Albans supports food security amendments to the Agriculture Bill

On 14th July the House of Lords considered the Government’s Agriculture Bill in Committee. The Rt Revd Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, spoke in the debate on amendments focusing on food security.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I support a number of amendments in this group, in particular those that touch on food security, such as Amendments 35 and 60. Food security is crucial, both for our protection and for the flourishing and survival of any nation. History teaches us that food shortages have always occurred. They are often caused by many different factors and occur at an alarming rate. One of the earliest historical examples of this is found in the Hebrew scriptures, in Genesis chapters 41 and 42, where we read of Jacob storing up grain in Egypt ready for the seven years of famine. Not only did his actions save the lives of many, but underlying this narrative is the message that food is also about political power:

“And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.”

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans supports food security amendments to the Agriculture Bill”

Commons passes Church of England Channel Islands Measure

On 14th July the House of Commons approved a Motion to give Royal Assent to the Church of England Channel Islands Measure. The Motion, taken in a Delegated Legislation Committee, was introduced by the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP.

Channel Islands Measure

Sixth Delegated Legislation Committee

[Graham Stringer in the Chair]

The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous): I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the Channel Islands Measure (HC 548).

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I am grateful to colleagues for turning up this morning; I hope that the Measure will not detain us for long. The Measure is very simple: it will transfer the Channel Islands from the diocese of Winchester to the diocese of Salisbury. The transfer will be achieved by an Order in Council. The reason for it is that back in 2008 there was a safeguarding incident on Jersey, and the handling of the matter led to a dispute between the Dean of Jersey and the Bishop of Winchester. In 2018 the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed a commission, chaired by the former Bishop of London, Lord Chartres, to consider and report on the relationship between the Channel Islands and the wider Church of England. Continue reading “Commons passes Church of England Channel Islands Measure”

Vote: Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill

On 29th June 2020 a vote was held in the House of Lords on an amendment to the Government’s Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill, during its Report Stage: Continue reading “Vote: Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill”

Votes: Fisheries Bill

On 22nd and 24th June 2020 votes were held on amendments to the Government’s Fisheries Bill, in which the Bishop of St Albans took part:

House of Lords Division Lobby

Continue reading “Votes: Fisheries Bill”

Coronavirus Bill: Bishop of Rochester praises spirit of collaboration in passing law

On 25th March 2020 the House of Lords passed the Government’s emergency Coronavirus Bill. It then rose for the Easter recess. The Lord Bishop of Rochester, Rt Revd James Langstaff, praised the spirit of collaboration in which all sides had worked to get the Bill through.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Bill: Bishop of Rochester praises spirit of collaboration in passing law”

Coronavirus Bill: Bishop of Rochester responds on church closures and care for vulnerable

On 24th March 2020 the House of Lords debated the emergency legislation from the Government to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. The Bishop of Rochester, Rt Revd James Langstaff, spoke in the debate, highlighting issues to do with church closures, funerals, and care of the vulnerable, including the homeless, and those in prison or immigration detention:

 

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, in these days I have been reflecting on the words of the Hebrew psalmist who, at the time of his people’s exile, articulated the question:

“How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

In many ways we are entering into a strange land, and indeed in some ways a land of exile: a land in which we are exiled from many of our normal patterns of living, in which people of faith are not able to attend their places of worship and in which many people find themselves having to live life in entirely new ways.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Bill: Bishop of Rochester responds on church closures and care for vulnerable”

Coronavirus Bill: Andrew Selous supports new clause on postponing General Synod elections

On 23rd March 2020 the House of Commons considered the emergency legislation from Government to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the Bill provided powers to delay scheduled elections for devolved and regional assemblies and other bodies. A new clause to extend that provision to the General Synod of the Church of England had been tabled by the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, and was accepted by Government.  Andrew spoke about it during the Committee stage of the Bill in the Commons:

Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con): I will not detain the House long. I rise to speak to new clause 1, which I understand has been agreed in advance with the Government, and I will move it at the end of this evening’s proceedings.

New clause 1 is very straightforward. It enables the elections to the General Synod of the Church of England to be postponed. Quite recently, we postponed all the elections that we in the House are involved in—the mayoral, local government and police and crime commissioner elections—but the General Synod is the National Assembly of the Church of England, and it is a Church that is episcopally led and synodically governed. The General Synod is a devolved body of this Parliament. It is the first devolved body of the Westminster Parliament and has been since 1919. Synods last five years, just as Westminster Parliaments do. The last one was elected in summer 2015 and therefore would expire this summer.

Continue reading “Coronavirus Bill: Andrew Selous supports new clause on postponing General Synod elections”

Divorce etc Bill – Bishop of Carlisle supports amendments on information about relationship support and child wellbeing for divorcing couples

On 17th March 2020 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Divorce and Dissolution and Separation Bill at its Report Stage. The Bishop of Carlisle Rt Revd James Newcome, spoke in support of two amendments. Both amendments were opposed by Government and were not put to  vote after debate:

The Lord Bishop of Carlisle: My Lords, much of what I might wish to say about Amendments 5 and 13* has already been mentioned, so I will not repeat it. However, from these Benches I would like to express my warm support for the main thrust of both amendments and briefly reiterate three points.

First, in both amendments, those applying for a divorce are not compelled to do anything, but they are presented with information that might make a difference not only to what they do but to the way in which they do it.​ Continue reading “Divorce etc Bill – Bishop of Carlisle supports amendments on information about relationship support and child wellbeing for divorcing couples”

Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill: Bishop of Salisbury supports amendments on relationship support

On 3rd March 2020 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill at its Committee Stage. The Bishop of Salisbury, Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, supported two amendments on relationship support, to ensure that divorcing couples had access to information about support and mediation to enable them to consider alternative ways forward before being issued with a final divorce order, and that this resource is funded. One of the amendments was put by the former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries of Pentregarth. The amendments were resisted by Government on grounds that they did not consider the Bill to be the right vehicle for tackling the wider issues that lead to relationship breakdown. The amendments were debated before being withdrawn.

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: My Lords, I rise in support of Amendments 3 and 21 and to provide a brace of bishops. I want to observe the seriousness ​and the quality of this debate as we as a House navigate the support of marriage as an institution and of couples in keeping their vows while recognising that marriages break down and trying to provide adequately for those circumstances. If the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, is right that support for the relationship support services sometimes depends on the whim of a Minister or Prime Minister, one might hope that the present occupant of 10 Downing Street would take a particular interest in these matters.

On average, the Church of England conducts about 1,000 weddings a week. We have experience of conducting, preparing people for and supporting them in marriages. Quite often, couples that I have prepared say that they want to get married in church because they know that they are standing and making their vows in a solemn and serious place that has significance in the community and before God. They want the support of the community gathered around them.

Continue reading “Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill: Bishop of Salisbury supports amendments on relationship support”