Speeches – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Derby takes part in end of year tributes

The Bishop of Derby joined in end of year tributes to the staff of the House of Lords and those who have retired in 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I shall not detain the House long, but on behalf of these Benches I echo the appreciative comments that we have just heard from the Front Benches about all those who have retired, or are about to retire, as colleagues, working alongside us here. It is a real privilege to have the final opportunity on behalf of us all in your Lordships’ House to thank those who work with us, both front of house and behind the scenes, for their outstanding care and service in keeping this House and our work here running smoothly.

As we near the end of this year’s journey through Advent and approach Christmas, I know that all Members will join me in wishing not just each other but all our colleagues here a restorative recess. I pray that they may know the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ child this Christmas. Happy Christmas, and a good New Year when it comes.

Hansard

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on ocean pollution

The Bishop of Norwich spoke in support of amendments to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill aimed at responding to risks of plastic pollution in oceans and protection of deep seabed environments on 16th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I support Amendments 6, 8 and 10. I pay tribute to the Minister for the commitment that she is giving to the Bill. It is absolutely right that we align ourselves with the treaty and are able to be participants at the first Conference of the Parties. I thank her for the thoroughness with which she is going through it.

Crime and Policing Bill: Bishop of Manchester raises point on safeguarding in private tutoring

The Bishop of Manchester raised a point on the inclusion of private music tuition under safeguarding regulations during a debate on the Crime and Policing Bill on 15th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, one area that is of great concern to me is private music tuition. I have had some pretty horrendous safeguarding cases to deal with in churches, where a church musician who has committed some serious offences has gone on to privately tutor underage pupils. That particular form of tuition—which is very often done privately, arranged by parents who see an advertisement on the internet or in a newspaper—needs to be included.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports amendments on prisons and prisoners

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in support of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill focusing on healthcare for those in prison and safeguarding of prisoners under the bill on 12th December 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will speak to these amendments because I want to make a new point. A very vulnerable population that we must continue to remember is the prison population. Although we will deal with the prison population more fully in the group coming up, we must remember that this Bill currently does not exclude prisoners from being eligible. That means we must consider how each issue is likely to play out in a prison setting.

As we have heard extensively, these amendments deal with two main issues: first, access to primary care; and, secondly, how well that primary care physician knows the details of your medical history. The first is very closely related to inequalities and making sure that those who have worse access to care are not more likely to choose assisted dying. The prison population are therefore a key group that must be considered, since their health and access to healthcare are worse than that of the general population. That is evidenced by the recently published report by the Chief Medical Officer.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on impact of bill in border regions

On 12th December 2025, Bishop of Norwich spoke in support of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill focused on ensuring training and resources given to GPs would also apply to Scotland in the event of the bill passing, and consideration of those living on the Scottish border:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I support Amendments 17 and 309A, proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Beith, and so ably explained by the noble Baroness, Lady Fraser. I declare an interest, in that my wife is a GP and a medical examiner—so the Bill has had much discussion at home.

Having spent 10 years living in Northumberland, and having friends who live along the Scottish border, I know that many of those living sufficiently close to the border have chosen very deliberately to be registered with a Scottish GP because they then receive free prescriptions. This raises a number of questions for the noble and learned Lord.

Bishop of Leicester speaks in debate on the UK’s demographic future

The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on a report from the Common Good Foundation and Centre for Policy Studies on the UK’s demographic future on 11th December 2025, pointing out the impact of poverty and and inequality on social cohesion:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, for his work in bringing together this report and giving us the opportunity to debate it. I add my thanks to him for his fascinating speech today and his wider contribution to this House, and I wish him well for the future.

The authors of this report raise various thorny policy problems, each of which demands careful negotiation so as to manage conflicting trade-offs. It would be easy to brush them aside in favour of more electorally popular concerns or to oversimplify them to stoke division. I want to put on record first my support for an open debate on questions such as, “What is a reasonable level of population growth?” It may be an uncomfortable question, but what are we here for if not to model healthy, mature debates on uncomfortable questions?

I want to focus my remarks on the chapter on social cohesion by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali. While I would differ from Dr Nazir-Ali on a few of his points, I welcome his overall thrust: calling for more attention to be paid to the fabric of our society and how it is affected by the demographic shifts noted in the report.

Bishop of Winchester moves that Abuse Redress and Armed Forces Chaplaincy Measures receive Royal Assent

On 9th December 2025, the Bishop of Winchester moved that two church measures, the Abuse Redress Measure and the Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure, be sent to the King for Royal Assent:

The Lord Bishop of Winchester: That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure be presented to His Majesty for the Royal Assent.

My Lords, I shall speak also to the Abuse Redress Measure, which is also in my name on the Order Paper.

The Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure is in one sense just a tidying up of a small area of ecclesiastical law, but in a wider and more important way it is enabling and supportive of the essential work carried out by Church of England chaplains to His Majesty’s forces, to whom I am sure we all want to pay tribute. For over a century, forces chaplains have been issued with licences by the Archbishop of Canterbury, giving them ecclesiastical authority to exercise ministry in that role. However, recent work by the provincial registrars has identified a gap in the relevant statutory and canonical provision in this area.

Without this Measure, each Armed Forces chaplain would also need to obtain a licence or permission to officiate from the bishop of each diocese in which the chaplain is to exercise ministry. Not only would that give rise to a significant burden on bishops and their offices but, more significantly, it would cause problems for the Armed Forces, not least because chaplains need to be able to move with and minister to military personnel wherever they are currently serving, and sometimes to do so at some speed. It is impractical for them to seek a further authority to exercise ministry each time the service men and women they minister to move to a different part of the country. This Measure addresses that in a straightforward way by inserting a new section headed “Armed Forces chaplains” in the Extra-Parochial Ministry Measure 1967.

Terminally ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bishop of Leicester supports amendment on role of children’s voices

The Bishop of Leicester spoke during a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill) on 5th December 2025, supporting amendments regarding the bill’s impact on children and young people:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I too rise to support this amendment with some caution, noting that these are deep waters. I hope that noble Lords will forgive me for pointing out the blindingly obvious: as I look around your Lordships’ Committee, I do not see any 18 to 25 year-olds on these Benches, and the voices of children and young people are vital in such a debate.

Bishop of Manchester speaks in debate on Autumn Budget

The Bishop of Manchester took part in a debate on the autumn Budget on 4th December 2025, welcoming plans to end the two-child limit and reduction in household energy bills, and calling for further support for clergy and maintenance of places of worship:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I congratulate my right reverend friend the Bishop of Portsmouth on his excellent maiden speech. Not least as our lead Bishop on education, I believe he will have an immediate and valuable contribution to make to the remaining stages of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. He and I first met as opponents on the cricket field many years ago; I am sure he will build as long and solid an innings here in your Lordships’ House as ever he did at the wicket.

I also join many noble Lords in adding my deepest thanks to the Government for bringing the two-child limit to an end. I never felt it right or just to push a child into poverty simply for having too many sisters or brothers; it makes even less sense when we badly need a birth rate that will provide Britain with tomorrow’s workforce without having to rely on migration to fill the labour market gaps. I look forward to seeing the wider child poverty strategy.

2025 Budget: Bishop of Portsmouth makes maiden speech

The Bishop of Portsmouth made his maiden speech on 4th December 2025 during a debate on the Autumn Budget, focusing on children and education:

The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: I thank the Minister for his opening speech in this debate on the Budget. In this maiden speech, I want to thank all noble Lords for their warm welcome to the House, and to thank the doorkeepers and parliamentary staff for their unfailing kindness, good humour and patience with lost Bishops, and for the support they gave in the run-up to my introduction in late October.

As Bishop of Portsmouth, I lead a vibrant, confident community of communities. The Anglican diocese of Portsmouth lives from a generous, grounded and corrigible faith, a commitment to collaboration and partnership, and a vision of the common good which includes everyone. Wonderfully, in my view, the motto for the city of Portsmouth is “Heaven’s Light Our Guide”.

Working in partnership with neighbours within the wider Christian community, and with the faith communities and voluntary and statutory sectors, the communities I lead are resolved to serve the people, neighbourhoods and communities of East Hampshire, the city of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, to find what is good and to strengthen it, and to work with others for the flourishing of everyone.

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