Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answer on 10th June 2026:
The Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce heat-related deaths during heat waves in the UK.
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about safety measures during heatwaves”
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for care leavers following a government statement on reform of children’s social care on 8th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, from these Benches, I also warmly welcome what is in the strategy. Enabling children in care to sustain or make long-lasting relationships is absolutely crucial. When it comes to the lifelong relationship ceremonies, we on these Benches are certainly very interested in looking at what can be done to effect that. My question has come out of the work I did on my Private Member’s Bill for care leavers in the last Session. So many care leavers need to move from one local authority area to another, perhaps to maintain those relationships or to rebuild a relationship with a sibling, yet what traditionally happens is that the authority they have left washes its hands of them and the authority they land in considers it has no responsibility because they were never in care in that authority. What will the Government do to ensure that, where young people move from one authority area to another after they have just left care, they do not fall through the net any longer?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester responds to government statement on children’s social care”
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the housing needs of young people with mental health concerns and other issues in need of support, during a discussion on affordable housing for young people on 8th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, young people under 35 who require support for their housing get only the shared accommodation rate of benefits, yet they are often disproportionately the people who have mental health concerns or other issues. Does the Minister agree that this needs looking into to ensure that the most vulnerable young people are not the ones who are pushed to the bottom of the housing situation?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about housing and mental health”
The Bishop of Winchester received the following written answer on 5th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Winchester asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to facilitate (1) humanitarian aid delivery, and (2) the safe passage of civilians, in South Kivu’s Hauts Plateaux in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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The Bishop of Hereford spoke in a Grand Committee debate on the possibility of a cross-sector AI regulation bill on 4th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Hereford: I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, on securing this debate. Given the pace of AI development, it could not be more timely. As Pope Leo said in his recent encyclical:
“Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Hereford takes part in debate on regulation of artificial intelligence”
The Bishop of Hereford asked a question on impact of AI in the job market on 4th June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Hereford: My Lords, I want to ask the Minister about the issue of AI in this context. I speak with some personal experience, in that my son’s partner has recently been made redundant as the result of an AI system that she herself developed. It is inevitable that AI systems will grow, unchecked and unregulated, and will continue to reduce entry-level jobs across a range of sectors. What projections have the Government made of this, and what action do they plan to take to ensure that a healthy entry-level job market will remain for young people?
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On 3rd June 2026, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on government commitments to tackling knife crime and expressed solidarity with the Sikh community in response to a government statement on the recent unrest following the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, my thoughts and prayers are also with the family and friends of Henry Nowak in their grief and suffering. Like many others, I echo the courageous words of Henry’s father in his powerful call that his son’s death should not,
“be used to create further division, hatred or tension”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester urges government to tackle knife crime and misinformation following unrest over recent murder”The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Social Housing Bill on 1st June 206, noting the need for secure and high-quality social housing to combat child poverty and help build communities:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always daunting to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, on a matter to do with housing. I begin by declaring my interest: I am the chair of the Church Housing Association, a recently formed, not-for-profit social housing provider that we are seeking to build, literally and metaphorically, on the five core values that were set out in the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s commission on housing, Coming Home, which was debated in your Lordships’ House a few years ago. Those values—that social housing should be safe, secure, sustainable, sociable and satisfying—provide a set of tests against which any proposed legislation could be measured, hence I warmly welcome the Bill. It will make social housing better.
Housing is a fundamental human right. It is a foundation for other core rights, including things such as health, dignity, sanitation and sometimes the right to life itself. The Bill rightly addresses the concern that there is not enough stock in this country to house those in need.
Continue reading “Social Housing Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks at second reading”The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the possibility of increasing overseas aid to mitigate harm to minority and disenfranchised communities in the Middle East, following a government statement on the economic response to the war in Iran on 1st June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, as this debate has continued, I have become increasingly concerned that the phrase “Middle East” in the title is referring to somewhere between Nottinghamshire in the north and Northamptonshire in the south. The Middle East to me is a series of countries where war is currently raging and people are suffering incredible consequences—I am thinking, for example, of Afghan refugees in Iran, who are one of the most vulnerable groups there, and many other Iranian citizens, and thinking of some of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Is this not the time, as well as looking after our own people, for the Government and Treasury to think about increasing our overseas aid to mitigate some of the severe harm that is being done to some minority communities or oppressed communities in different parts of the Middle East?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about overseas aid”The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for the mental health of trans people during a discussion on the implementation of Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers on 1st June 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, alongside other faith leaders, I am increasingly coming across trans people—men and women, often young and quite fragile—who are increasingly frightened. They are frightened about participating in public life and about being challenged. Some are even frightened about going to the doctor. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the mental health of trans people, and how will they support them with these changes?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester highlights concerns for mental health of trans people following supreme court judgement”
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