Category: Bills

Legislation before Parliament

Bishop of Durham speaks about the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill

On 20th January 2015 the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendment 2 in the name of Lord Rosser to the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill 2014-15 during the Bills committee stage. The amendment relates to inserting a sunset clause into the Bill which would be reviewed by Parliament after a two-year period. Following Lord Bates’s response from the Government to the amendment Lord Rosser decided to withdraw his amendment.

14.06.10 Bishop of Durham 4The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, it is worth reminding ourselves of the speed of change in the world that has led to this legislation. If these proposals had been before us even 18 months ago, I suspect that we would not even have entertained them. Therefore, the speed of change that has brought them about demands that we say that we do not wish to forgo our existing liberties, some of which would be restricted by this Act, without having recourse, in two or three years’ time, to a serious look at whether the measures are working. So I fully support the idea of a sunset clause. I am prepared to accept that two years may be rather too brief, given all the circumstances and the likelihood that we are going to live with this for some time. I would, however, encourage the House to support these amendments in some form, since I believe that the removal of our liberties that is encompassed in these clauses is so serious that we should not put them into permanent place.

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MPs Pass the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill – debate transcript

Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill

House of Commons, 19th January 2015

 

Westminster-abbey3.37 pm

Allocation of Time

The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons (Tom Brake):

I beg to move,

That the following provisions shall apply to the proceedings on the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill–

Timetable

1.- (1) Proceedings on Second Reading, in Committee, on consideration and on Third Reading shall be completed at this day’s sitting…..

The motion applies to the proceedings on the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill. The motion timetables all stages of the Bill, guaranteeing six hours debate, with up to four hours on Second Reading and a further two hours for Committee and remaining stages.

This is a short, single-issue Bill that the Government have introduced in response to the recent decision by the Church of England to allow women to be consecrated as bishops. The provisions will fast-track female diocesan bishops in the House of Lords, as current legislation will otherwise mean it would be many years before female bishops could take seats on the Lords Spiritual Benches.

More will be said about the detail of the provisions and the necessity for this legislation when we come to debating the Bill itself. This is an important Bill, strongly supported by both the Government and the Church, and it has broad support across the House. It is a tightly focused Bill with only one substantive clause, and it is for that reason that the motion allocates six hours for debate. I commend the motion to the House. Continue reading “MPs Pass the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill – debate transcript”

Bishop of Chester takes part in debate on Recall of MPs Bill

On 19th January 2015, the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, took part in the debate on the Government’s Recall of MPs Bill, during the second day of its Committee Stage. He spoke three times during the debate on Lord Hamilton of Epsom’s amendment, which sought to raise the threshold at which a petition against an MP would trigger the recall process, from 10 per cent to 20 per cent. The amendment was withdrawn at the end of the debate.

14.03 Bishop of ChesterThe Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I think that only these Benches could participate in these petitions since we have a right to vote in general elections, although there is a convention among us that we do not. I think that the last person who did so was Archbishop Runcie, who simply could not resist voting against Mrs Thatcher. He was found out and promised not to do it again, so there is a convention that we do not do it but we could. Continue reading “Bishop of Chester takes part in debate on Recall of MPs Bill”

Divisions – Assisted Dying Bill

On 16th January 2015, a number of bishops took part in divisions in the House of Lords, during the Committee Stage of Lord Falconer of Thoroton’s Assisted Dying Bill.

House of Lords Division Lobby
House of Lords Division Lobby

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Bishops take part in Committee Stage of Assisted Dying Bill

On 16th January 2015, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Revd James Newcome, and the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke during the Committee Stage of Lord Falconer of Thoroton’s Assisted Dying Bill. Subjects debated included the terminology used in the text and title of the Bill, and clarifications of the relationship between patients and the medical practitioners required to treat them. The debate on the Bill was suspended at the end of the day. The Bill is unlikely to make further progress during the current Parliament. There were also two divisions on the Bill, and more details can be found here.

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Bishop of Durham speaks during debate on Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill

On 13th January 2015, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, spoke during the Second Reading debate of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill. In his remarks, the Bishop praised the collaborative working between the Department for Communities and Local Government and local community projects aimed at community cohesion and the prevention of radicalisation. He noted that prevention was most effective when tackled at the long-term grass-roots level. He urged caution over the implementation of parts of the legislation that deal with placing obligations on public institutions, at the risk of creating climates of fear and suspicion within these institutions.

14.06.10 Bishop of Durham 5The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I share with every other reasonable person a horror of the evil actions and effects of terrorism, grief for the suffering caused by terrorist acts and a heartfelt concern for those whose lives are lost or wounded through it. Events in Paris last week clearly illustrated this to us all. However, those events also highlight the need to ensure that we keep a global awareness and perspective, as the fresh Boko Haram attacks in Baga and its surrounding villages last Friday show us. Here, around 2,000 were killed. As we consider counterterrorism and security here in our land, we must stay aware of the global nature of the issues. Continue reading “Bishop of Durham speaks during debate on Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill”

MPs to debate Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill on 19th January

On 8th January 2015 the Leader of the House of Commons told MPs that the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill would have all stages debated in the Commons on the 19th January. The Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry MP, welcomed the news.

The First Secretary of State and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr William Hague) [extract]:..The provisional business for the week commencing 19 January will include:

Monday 19 January—Consideration of an allocation of time motion, followed by all stages of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill…

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The Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill

The Government introduced the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill in the House of Commons on Thursday 18th December 2014. Information on the Bill and links to statements on its introduction are below.Red Benches Continue reading “The Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill”

Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill welcomed in the Commons

At Questions to the Leader of the House of Commons on 18th December 2014, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Sir Tony Baldry MP, welcomed the introduction by Government of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill:

14.01 CCQ BaldrySir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): May I welcome the publication today of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill, which will provide the opportunity to fast-track into the House of Lords women consecrated as diocesan bishops? Continue reading “Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill welcomed in the Commons”

Archbishop of York speaks and votes during Report Stage of Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill

On 15th December 2014, the Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon. John Sentamu, spoke during the Report Stage of the Government’s Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill. He asked the Minister whether the legislation was the right tool for encouraging social action and volunteering in communities. He also voted in a division of the House, on Lord Lloyd’s amendment to remove Clause 2 (“Social Action”) from the Bill. The amendment was not accepted.

Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York: My Lords, I am puzzled. Will the noble Lord tell us whether it is ever worthy to use a statute as a means of giving assurance? I thought that a statute was to state the law, not to assure somebody somewhere. That would be okay. It would be an amazing way of—you know what I mean. Continue reading “Archbishop of York speaks and votes during Report Stage of Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill”