Category: Bills

Legislation before Parliament

Votes: Children and Social Work Bill

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

On 8th November 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Children and Social Work Bill at its Report Stage. Bishops took part in two votes on amendments to the Bill: one from Crossbench Peer Lord Ramsbotham to remove Clause 29 pertaining to the disclosure and publication of information and one from Labour’s Lord Watson of Invergowrie on behalf of Lord Dubs, pertaining to safeguarding unaccompanied refugee children. Lord Watson wished to remove the amendment after the Government pledged to make provision via other means, though some peers opposed the withdrawal, and the House divided. See here also.

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Children and Social Work Bill: Bishop of Leeds welcomes Government commitment on child refugees

BpLeeds2On 8th November 2016, the House of Lords considered the Government’s Children and Social Work Bill at its Report Stage. They debated an amendment co-sponsored by the Bishop of Durham and Lord Dubs on the welfare and protection of unaccompanied migrant children. Lord Watson of Invergowrie moved the amendment on behalf of Lord Dubs and the Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, spoke on behalf of the Bishop of Durham. The Bishop welcomed the Government’s commitment to publishing a strategy to implement the substance of the amendment. In her response, Baroness Williams of Trafford, Minister of State for the Home Office, paid tribute to the work of the Church:

The Bishop of Leeds My Lords, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham is unable to be here and sends his apologies, but he wishes to add his voice to those that warmly welcome the Government’s commitment to publish the strategy to ensure the safety and welfare of unaccompanied children coming from Europe and beyond.

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Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill

On 2nd November 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at its Third Reading. The Bishop of Truro, Rt Revd Tim Thornton,  took part in a vote on an amendment to the Bill tabled by Crossbench Peer Baroness Hollins about the unlawful interception of telephone call:

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Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill

On 31st October 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at its Third Reading. The Bishops of Chester and Truro took part in a vote on an amendment to the Bill tabled by Crossbench Peer Baroness Sheila Hollins about the unlawful interception of telephone calls. Continue reading “Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill”

Bishop of Portsmouth supports National Citizen Service Bill

portsmouth241016On 25th October 2016, the Government’s National Citizen Service Bill was debated at Second Reading in the House of Lords. The Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt Revd Christopher Foster, supported the Bill, and talked about the desirability of widening access to the National Citizen Service.

The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth My Lords, I too welcome and support this Bill, not only because of the impact, actual and potential, on building the confidence and contribution of participants but also for its intention to both formalise and improve the accountability and functioning of the NCS. It may seem obvious for us to support a scheme with such clear aims to encourage young people to engage with their communities and take responsibility for their transformation, and one that claims some positive impact on community cohesion.
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Votes: Bus Services Bill

On 24th October 2016 the House of Lords debated the Government’s Bus Services Bill at its Report Stage. The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, took part in a vote on an amendment to the Bill tabled by Labour Peer Lord Kennedy of Southwark to remove Clause 21 , which sought to prohibit local authorities from forming companies to provide local bus services. Continue reading “Votes: Bus Services Bill”

Bishop of Bristol supports Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill

“Not only children but adolescents and adults with Down’s syndrome live valued and valuable lives, contributing greatly to the welfare of those around them. All of this is undermined by the continued existence on our statute book of a law that, in effect, states that Down’s syndrome is a ground for abortion.” – Bishop of Bristol, 21/10/16

Bristol160226 cOn the 21st October 2016 Conservative Peer Lord Shinkwin led a debate on the Second Reading of his Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill. The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, spoke in support of the Bill.

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, for introducing this Bill. I understand that its focus is the principle of disability equality, not some underhand attempt to limit women’s access to abortion services. Noble Lords will, of course, have a variety of opinions on the ethics of abortion, but that is not, in principle, the focus of the Bill. It needs to be said that, in general, historically and indeed today, churches and other faith groups have always maintained a cautious approach to how the rights of women and the rights of the unborn child can somehow be maintained without, we hope, falling in to those who reside at the extremes of arguments around ethics on both sides of this debate. Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol supports Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill”

Bishop of Birmingham supports Bill to reduce size of the House of Lords

On the 21st October 2016 Conservative Peer Lord Elton introduced the ‘House of Lords Bill’ –  a Private Member’s Bill to reduce the size of the House of Lords. The Bishop of Birmingham, Rt Revd David Urquhart, spoke in support. A number of other Peers made reference to the Lords Spiritual and extracts of their remarks can be found after the Bishop’s speech, below. 

birmingham-211016cThe Lord Bishop of Birmingham: My Lords, I am resisting the temptation to tear up my notes and respond to the noble Lord’s last quote. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Elton, for again bringing before us this important matter. It is widely agreed in many places that as weseek to be effective as a House, the size of the House is of great concern. Of course, as has already been said by the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, recent changes have attempted to alleviate the size of the House—we have adopted retirement provisions—yet they have not been sufficient to alleviate the flow of new Members. The statistics have already been referred to.

From this Bench, the Lords spiritual have spoken consistently over the past few years in support of reform aimed at addressing the size of the House—and we do so again, keeping in mind the aim of the House to improve the core functions of our scrutiny of legislation and government proposals from the other House, and of offering expertise and independence, which have already been referred to. Continue reading “Bishop of Birmingham supports Bill to reduce size of the House of Lords”

Votes – Investigatory Powers Bill

On 19th October 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill during its Report stage. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, took part in a vote on an amendment tabled by the Liberal Democrats. Introducing the amendment, Lord Paddick said “it seeks to remove internet connection records from the type of communications data that can be acquired in bulk.” Continue reading “Votes – Investigatory Powers Bill”

Investigatory Powers Bill – Bishop of Chester speaks on amendment on bulk retention of internet connection records

On 19th October 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at its Report Stage. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke during debate on a Liberal Democrat amendment. Introducing the amendment Lord Paddick said “it seeks to remove internet connection records from the type of communications data that can be acquired in bulk.” 

14.03 Bishop of ChesterThe Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I am sure we do not want to prolong this debate. As I said on Monday, I was a member of the pre-legislative scrutiny group. You might wonder why a Bishop was invited to be part of that exercise, but I think it was because of this point—the ethics of interference with privacy. I am sorry that the discussion so far has almost become too polarised, because the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, is making a serious point, which I demonstrate by quoting David Anderson in his evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Continue reading “Investigatory Powers Bill – Bishop of Chester speaks on amendment on bulk retention of internet connection records”