Bills – Page 8 – The Church of England in Parliament

Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports legislation and raises need for equality in housing access

The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 25th June 2025, welcoming the legislation and the expansion of social housing in the UK, and raising the needs of rural and minority communities in relation to housing and land development:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always a great privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose wisdom on housing is quite unparalleled. I draw attention to my own interests in social housing, as set out in the register, and to the fact that a number of provisions in the Bill might impact on the interests of the Church Commissioners for England, who pay my stipend and own the house I live in.

I welcome the Bill. We desperately need a rapid expansion in the building of social homes, ideally at social rents. Enactment of the measures here included can be part of the architecture—please excuse the pun—we need if we are going to underpin the ambition for a mixed economy for housing, one which will live up to the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing’s values of homes that are safe and sustainable.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Lincoln moves safeguarding amendments on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester

The Bishop of Lincoln moved two amendments in place of the Bishop of Manchester on lifelong safeguarding for children in care during a debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 19th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln:

146B: Clause 21, page 39, line 21, at end insert—

(e) to have due regard to the need to remove or minimise the disadvantages suffered by looked-after children and relevant young persons.”Member’s explanatory statement

The amendment seeks to expand and strengthen Clause 21 by replacing the light-touch duty to be “alert to” their needs with a stronger requirement for public bodies to have “due regard” to eliminating disadvantage and to take reasonable steps to mitigate any harmful effects of their policies. The amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, lifelong safeguard for anyone who has ever been in care.

My Lords, I move the amendments in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester. In relation to Amendment 146B, 120 councils around the country have already committed themselves voluntarily to embrace the “due regard” implementation, but this amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, legislative and lifelong safeguard across government for anyone who has ever been in care.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on safeguarding children’s rights

On 17th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the bill that would ensure safeguards and limits on deprivation of liberty for children:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I have added my name to a number of the amendments in this group; I could probably have added it to all of them. Like other noble Lords, I am very grateful for the work of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, which has been quoted several times. I am ignoring all the careful facts and figures I had prepared for this evening, because most of them have already been given by other noble Lords, and it is a principle here that we do not repeat what has already been said. Rather, I would like to speak to the broad principles and the moral case, and to be brief.

Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports legislation

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in support of the Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL], a private member’s bill tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett, at committee on 13th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I am pleased to support the Private Member’s Bill of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, on asylum support and her Amendments 1 and 2, which would enable the Government to extend the move-on period according to their plans and timetable. The Bill is extraordinarily well timed, with the move-on period pilot coming to a close and the Government having recently published their White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System. As the Government reduce the backlog of asylum applications and speed up the process times of applications, I suggest that this Bill does not impede but rather supports the Government as they seek to build a well-managed asylum system with integration back at its heart.

At Second Reading, I spoke of why 28 days was simply not enough time for an individual with newly granted refugee status to locate new accommodation, try to find employment and navigate a welfare system. This should now be regarded as indisputable, given that an individual cannot even access universal credit before five weeks have passed, that the majority of landlords will not even let a property before a first payment has come in and that setting up a bank account is proving difficult with an e-visa alone. On this latter point, I hope that the Government will consider issuing guidance to banking services.

Votes: Holocaust Memorial Bill

On 11th June, the House of Lords debated the Holocaust Memorial Bill. Votes were held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

Holocaust Memorial Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on building of learning centre

On 11th June 2025, the Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of an amendment to the Holocaust Memorial Bill tabled by Lord Russell of Liverpool, which would stipulate that: “No Learning Centre should be constructed underground in order that a Learning Centre be constructed of adequate size in line with the recommendation of the 2015 Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report and in order to avoid detriment to Victoria Tower Gardens.”

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I support Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, as it encapsulates my concern. I intend to speak briefly. During the debate on ping-pong on the data Bill on 2 June, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, referred to some pre-ministerial training administered in the days before he and colleagues entered government, which included a former senior civil servant saying:

“Whatever happens, it is never too late to avoid making a bad decision”.—[Official Report, 2/6/25; col. 498.]

Votes: Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

On 11th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill. Votes were held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendment on bereavement policies in schools

On 9th June 2025, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill tabled by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, which would establish a requirement for schools to have bereavement policies to support children affected by loss:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful for the Bill as an opportunity to address a number of what we call adverse childhood experiences. I suspect that, given the lateness of the hour, we are not going to reach some of my amendments on care leavers that are scheduled for later. This group, particularly Amendment 171, deals with children who have experienced bereavement. Not much has been said about that in this short debate, so I will say a few words.

Votes: Data (Use and Access) Bill

On 4th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Data (Use and Access Bill). Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Votes: Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill

On 4th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a bishop took part:

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