Category: Speech

Speeches delivered – Lords and Commons

Bishop of Lincoln raises issues of job retention and carbon emissions during debate on food imports and exports

The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in a debate on import and export of food and agricultural products from the EU on 2nd May 2024, raising examples from his diocese and the issue of carbon prodigality in imports:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am grateful for this time to say two things about Lincolnshire. One is that 24% of jobs there depend on the food chain, so are deeply impacted by our import and export arrangements. One of the things that has been brought to my attention is that the Grimsby Fish Dock receives its fish from Iceland over the weekend, for auction and distribution on Monday and Tuesday. Will there be enough environmental health officers on duty over the weekend to ensure that these auctions and distribution can take place under these new rules?

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Lincoln supports amendments on duty of candour for public bodies dealing with major incidents

On 30th April 2024, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in support of an amendment tabled by Lord Ponsonby, which “would require public authorities, public servants and officials to act in the public interest and with transparency, candour and frankness when carrying out their duties in relation to major incidents”, referencing the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and stressing the importance of candour in responses from public bodies:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I support the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby. My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester is also a strong supporter of this amendment, which he has signed, and he regrets that he cannot be in his place today to speak to it himself.

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Bishop of Lincoln speaks in debate on combatting child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in debate on child poverty on 29th April 2024, highlighting the importance of effective infrastructure for housing and employment, and the experiences of children and families in rural communities:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for securing this debate and for his passion and his challenge. Like the noble Lord, I come from a poor London Irish family, but from south of the river, if that is allowed. We have heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, about the causes of child poverty and that they are systemic, and about the potential for changing them—not by exceptionalism, as may have applied in our cases.

As the Bishop of Lincoln, I am very conscious that in greater Lincolnshire I see vibrant resilient communities but, in the midst of a commendable spirit, there are considerable challenges. The effects of deep poverty feel widespread and tangible in a way that I have not seen since I began as a priest in the mid-1980s. Damp, low-quality accommodation, particularly in the private rented sector, has an impact felt particularly by children at crucial stages of their development. In response to this, the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community set out five values for good housing: it should be safe, sociable, sustainable, satisfying and secure. Failure to deliver this only serves to entrench child poverty.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about possibility of establishing limited safe route to the UK for persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan

The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on the use of UK aid to support minorities in Pakistan on 25th April 2024, highlighting the cases of Christians facing persecution in the country and the possibility of establishing a route for small numbers of Pakistani Christians to seek asylum  in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for securing this debate, and I commend his tireless campaigning over the years for the UK to defend and support the rights of minorities in Pakistan. I will focus on two specific issues raised with me by members of the large Pakistani heritage community in Leicester: first, the plight of Christians forced to work as gutter cleaners with no personal protective equipment; and, secondly, the need for a small, safe and legal route for persecuted minorities to come to the UK.

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Bishop of Guildford speaks on freedom of religion and belief and persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan

On 25th April 2024, the Bishop of Guildford spoke in a debate on the use of UK aid to support minorities in Pakistan, touching on the topics of freedom of religion and belief and the persecution of religious minorities:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I am privileged to be the first of a trio of Bishops speaking in this debate.

For the past eight years or so, the diocese of Guildford has partnered with the diocese of Sialkot in the Majha region of Punjab. Sialkot is probably best known for the production of medical equipment and World Cup footballs. The diocese also includes the Mirpur district, which has strong connections to the British-Pakistani community—not least in Woking, just a few miles from where I live, which boasts the oldest purpose-built mosque in the UK. I was privileged to visit Sialkot and Mirpur in 2019; Mirpur had just suffered two devastating earthquakes. I am a vice-chair of the Pakistani Minorities APPG.

I am hugely grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for initiating the debate and for his tireless championing of freedom of religion or belief over so many years. I fully support the suggestion that religious minorities should be explicitly included in the list of marginalised communities when it comes to the provision of UK aid.

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Bishop of Derby raises issue of gambling related harms impacting children and families

The Bishop of Derby spoke in a debate on gambling advertising on 25th April 2024, with particular emphasis on the impact of gambling related harms on children and families:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I echo the thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Foster, for securing this debate and for his work, alongside the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans and others, on Peers for Gambling Reform, campaigning tirelessly over the past several years. While the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans cannot be in his place today to add his voice, I am sure I echo the sentiments of all Members when I say that we look forward to welcoming him back very soon to add weight to this conversation.

We have heard this afternoon that the link between problem gambling and serious harm is well documented. There are not only financial impacts of gambling addiction, which may on its own drive individuals with large gambling debts to theft, fraud or other forms of criminal activity, but also impacts on relationships, work, school and serious harm to both physical and mental health. Public Health England identified problem gamblers as at greater risk of dying from any cause and significantly increased risk of dying from suicide, as we have so eloquently just heard.

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Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendment on compensation for charities

On 24th April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill in Committee. The Bishop of Manchester moved his amendment 28 to the bill, and made a speech in support of the amendment, which “would provide that, where the freeholder in the case of a lease extension or freehold enfranchisement is a charity which had owned the freehold interest since before the passing of the Bill, marriage and hope value are payable.”

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, while I thoroughly enjoyed that previous group, I hope this one will not prove quite so wide-ranging. In tabling these amendments, my aim is to deal with an issue that in the charity world is specific to a small number of bodies but would severely impact the work that they do. First, I am a leaseholder myself, as it happens, as set out in the register of interests. I have been through the process of extending my lease; my flat is not in London, and it was quite a simple and cheap process. Secondly, although I am no longer on the board of governors of the Church Commissioners, it is the body that pays my stipend, owns my home and covers my working expenses, so I declare that interest too.

The commissioners are directly affected by the proposals in the Bill. They would indeed benefit from my amendments but, as has already been mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Truscott, in the previous group, that charity is large enough to withstand the adverse impact. Smaller charities would struggle much harder to maintain their work, and it is their case I seek to plead today.

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports amendment aimed at protecting migrant victims of domestic abuse

During a debate on the Victims and Prisoners Bill on 23rd April 2024, the Bishop of Gloucester spoke in support of amendment 79 to the bill, which would aim to introduce protection for migrant victims of domestic violence:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, from listening to this debate, I am struck again and again by how so much of what we are saying was said in this House during the passage of the Domestic Abuse Bill. We need to listen to and be aware of that. I hope the Minister will reflect on that.

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Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on protecting marine environments and worker mobility

The Bishop of Norwich spoke in a committee debate on the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill on 23rd April 2024, supporting amendments on safeguarding marine protected areas, and the establishment of skills passports to aid in worker mobility to new industries:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I rise to support all the amendments in this group but I will focus my comments on Amendment 10 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, and Amendment 2 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, to which I have added my name in support. I would also value hearing the rest of this debate.

On Amendment 10, I reiterate the question I asked at Second Reading: what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to safeguard marine protected areas, and why are they not taking the IUCN’s recommendations seriously by excluding MPAs from extraction in the Bill?

I will not rehearse the valuable arguments that the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, has already made on whether we have a robust regulatory framework on MPAs. From the evidence she has provided, I am greatly concerned about whether that is the case. Certainly, the new Rosebank field overlaps with the Faroe-Shetland MPA—a fragile ecosystem and marine environment. Excluding MPAs from the licensing rounds altogether would ensure their protection and that is why I support Amendment 10.

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendments on support services for victims of crime

On 23rd April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support for his amendments 60, 64, and 70 to be the bill, which focus on establishing support services for victims of crime:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I will speak to my Amendments 60, 64 and 70, which echo amendments on support services for victims that I tabled in Committee. I am grateful to the Minister for his responses at that stage and for his kindness in meeting me and representatives of Refuge and Women’s Aid in the interim. In light of those conversations, it is not my intention to press any of these amendments to a Division today. However, I hope that, in this debate and in the Minister’s response to it, we can clarify a little further how His Majesty’s Government will seek to ensure that victims across the country have access to quality support services provided by organisations that hold their confidence and understand their specific circumstances. As we are now on Report, I will not repeat the detailed arguments of Committee, but I think their force still stands.

Amendment 60 places a duty on the Secretary of State to define in statutory guidance

“the full breadth of specialist community-based support domestic abuse services”.

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