Legislation before Parliament
On 10th February 2015, three bishops took part in a division on the Recall of MPs Bill, during the bill’s Report Stage:
Amendment 1
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town moved amendment 1, in clause 1, page 1, line 10, at end to insert: “( ) In this Act the signing of a recall petition constitutes a public act and the information of each person who signs a recall petition will be accessible in a marked electoral register, if requested.” Continue reading “Recall of MPs Bill – Division”
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I will speak briefly on this. I think that it is a mistake to play off these conditions against each other, as if you were to ditch one and get a quid pro quo strength in another. Continue reading “Recall of MPs Bill – Bishop of Chester speaks on amendments”
On 3rd and 5th February 2015, three bishops took part in divisions on the Government’s Deregulation Bill, during its Report Stage.
On 5th February 2015, the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon John Sentamu, spoke during the Third Reading of the Government’s Pension Schemes Bill. He spoke in favour of an amendment relating to the provision of pension guidance. Following assurances from the Minister, the amendment was withdrawn.
The Archbishop of York: My Lords, if the Minister is assuring us that there will be information online and people will be able to understand everything, why cannot this amendment be put on the statute book so that there is a duty on the Treasury to inform people about this issue? For me the provision is so simply worded that I do not understand why it cannot be on the statute book. Continue reading “Archbishop of York speaks in debate on Pension Schemes Bill”
On 28th January 2015, the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, took part in the debate on amendments to the Government’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, during its Committee Stage. Speaking during the debate on the duties of higher education institutions under the Bill, the Bishop raised the point that places of religious instruction and education did not appear to fall under the remit of the Bill. Following the debate, the amendments were withdrawn.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: I will speak very briefly as we come to the end of this debate. As I was listening to it, I realised that there is a whole area to which we have not referred but which is entirely relevant; that is, religious institutions and places of religious instruction and education. Those are missing from the Bill. The application of the Bill to universities will have very uncertain benefits and be extremely impractical to apply in as much as universities are independent institutions. They do not always appear so to the heads of those institutions when they deal with Governments but they are independent institutions. That is a really important feature. Most of the authorities listed here are not independent in that way, although other educational establishments are included. Continue reading “Bishop of Chester takes part in debate on Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill”
On Wednesday 28th January 2015 the Fourth Delegated Legislation Committee of the House of Commons met to consider three Church Measures relating to simplification of the faculty process, management of church pensions and management of parish property. The committee approved all the Measures which now proceed to the floor of the House of Commons to receive final approval and be sent for Royal Assent
On 23rd January 2015, the Bishop of Derby, the Rt Revd Alastair Redfern, took part in the Second Reading debate of the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill. The Bill is a Private Members’ Bill which was introduced in the House of Commons by Liberal Democrat MP Michael Moore. The Bishop argued that enshrining the 0.7% GNI contribution in law was a statement of the UK’s values, and showed a committment to the development of all states and the flourishing of all people.
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the Government and the leaders of all the major parties on, at a time of amazing austerity and financial challenge, this bold commitment to a generous settlement in our public finances for the support of those in developing countries, especially the poorest of the poor. As we have heard, the 0.7% is an international target and therefore a very important sign that we play our part in an international community in a responsible way. Many activists, and church members in particular, are concerned for us to make that witness to global citizenship, and see this as an important issue. We have heard that it is important for us to be able to plan and be efficient and effective in the deployment of these resources. We have also heard that it creates more stable and peaceful societies, and gives us better communities with which to trade. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby supports Bill to enshrine UK aid commitment in law”
On the 22nd January the Bishop of Derby Lead a debate on a Church of England Measure reforming the Church Pensions system. The House of Lords considered and approved the Measure which will now move to the House of Commons.
Moved by The Lord Bishop of Derby
That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Church of England Pensions (Amendment) Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, this very short Measure makes a single change to the Church of England Pensions Measure 1997. It extends by a further seven years the period during which the Church Commissioners have power to use the capital of their general fund in order to fund their historic pension obligations. The Pensions Measure 1997 conferred the original power on the commissioners to spend capital in order to support their responsibility to pay pensions for clergy service before 1998. The original power came to an end in 2004, and has been extended twice since then, on each occasion for seven years. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby takes Church of England Measure on Pensions through the House of Lords”
On the 22nd January 2015 the Bishop of Derby lead a debate on a Church of England Measure reforming the way a Parochial Church Council can manage their properties. The House considered the Motion and passed the Measure which will now move for consideration in the House of Commons.
That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Ecclesiastical Property Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, this Measure makes a modest change to the statutory framework for land and property held on permanent trusts by parochial church councils. At present, legal title to all PCC land is vested in the “diocesan authority”—usually the diocesan board of finance—which holds it as trustee for the PCC, by virtue of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956. The diocesan authority’s consent is required to all kinds of transactions, with the exception of leases for a year or less. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby takes Church of England Measure on PCC Property through House of Lords”
On 22nd January 2015 the Bishop of Derby lead the debate in the House of Lords on a Church of England Measure. The House considered a Measure which was presented for Royal Assent on the subject of simplifying the faculty process. The Measure was accepted by the House and now proceeds to the House of Commons for consideration.
Moved by The Lord Bishop of Derby
That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction (Amendment) Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby takes Church of England Measure through House of Lords on Simplifying Faculty Process”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.