Speeches – Page 7 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Oxford speaks in debate on report on the crimes of Daesh (ISIL)

The Bishop of Oxford spoke in a debate on a report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the crimes of Daesh on 10th September 2025, highlighting the ongoing issue of British citizens who were members of Daesh and the need to bring them to justice, and noting the need to care for the number of children detained with their parents who had been Daesh members:

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the Joint Committee on Human Rights on its detailed and courageous report, and the noble Lord, Lord Alton, on bringing this debate. With others, I am sorry that he cannot be with us today. I, too, received the graphic photographs of his serious injuries.

Universal Credit Bill: Bishop of Newcastle raises impact of bill on disadvantaged communities

The Bishop of Newcastle spoke at the second reading of the Universal Credit Bill on 22nd July 2025, expressing concern regarding the potential impact of the bill on those with disabilities and the need to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and ill health:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, I begin by offering my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Shawcross-Wolfson; I look forward to her maiden speech, and acknowledge the valedictory speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Bryan. I also thank Ministers for listening to concerns about the Bill when it was initially brought forward.

A functional social security system tackles poverty and supports people to live full lives. With that, the system needs to retain public confidence, expressing the best of our values. It must also strike a balance between supporting people who are able to work and ensuring that people who cannot work are protected and cherished for who they are. We need economic growth—that is not disputed; this is, after all, a money Bill—but I am concerned for those who are left behind or who do not fit the model of financial productivity at the rate that seems to be desired.

Bishop of Bristol calls for peacebuilding initiatives alongside Strategic Defense Review

The Bishop of Bristol made her final speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the Strategic Defence Review on 18th July 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, for bringing the SDR to debate to this House, and I look forward to continuing to hear this House’s wide-ranging expertise. I also look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord McCabe.

George Bell, formerly the Bishop of Chichester, thought deeply about the ethics of international relations and spoke, on occasions controversially, in this House about his conclusions. Speaking more generally of the Church in wartime—and I too believe that we are in a time of considerable risk of war—he asserted that the task of the Church, in its service and witness, was to be the Church, and often, that would be in practical endeavour within a whole-society response.

Last weekend the General Synod of the Church of England in York responded to the current international threat level very practically by providing new legislative arrangements to hold the records of military chaplains centrally, not locally. That will allow chaplains, regular or reservists, to be licensed to move much more rapidly into operation. I commend this new legislation to members of the Ecclesiastical Committee and to the whole House, as the Church seeks to support the aim of increasing agility in deployment.

Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Manchester moves amendment on Decent Homes Standard

On 15th July 2025, the Bishop of Manchester moved his amendment 105 to the Renters Rights Bill, and spoke in support of two further amendments:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: 105: Clause 101, page 134, line 11, leave out from “(homelessness)” to end of line 13

Member’s explanatory statement: This amendment would make the Decent homes standard apply to all homeless temporary accommodation provided under the Housing Act 1996.

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. My wife and I own one apartment; it is in the West Midlands, and it is let out. Nothing in this amendment or any others in this group would provide me with any advantage that I can foresee.

Amendment 105 seeks to extend the decent homes standard to temporary accommodation. As I said in Committee—and hence I can be extremely brief today—those in temporary accommodation are among the most vulnerable in our society. They are already battling against major disadvantages, and being placed in properties that fail the standard simply adds to their burden.

Bishop of Norwich calls for community-based approach to energy innovation

The Bishop of Norwich spoke in a debate on the National Policy Statement for Energy on 9th July 2025, stressing the need for a community-based approach to energy innovation:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his introduction, as there are many things within these documents to praise.

They set out a positive direction for future energy infrastructure, which broadly aligns with clean power by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Although I—and, I am sure, many others—welcome a whole-system approach to energy infrastructure planning, delivery has remained fragmented. Let us hope, to coin a phrase, that the wind might now change.

I have just come from the mass climate lobby outside, in Parliament Square. I am not usually someone who joins such events but, for me, it is vital for us to hear the Climate Coalition and the great many people who are raising this issue of climate change and nature loss, because it seems to be slipping down political agendas. Some of the coalition’s aims are to cut bills, back UK jobs and secure a greener, fairer future for all. Another is to restore nature to create a safer and healthier future. With these aims still fresh in my mind from the crowd outside, my remarks will address three areas: first, the cost of connection and district heating networks, especially for those organisations that create the warp and weft of community life; secondly, the capacity of the grid to receive the quantity of renewable energy that we need produced; and, thirdly, mitigating the impact of infrastructure projects on people, nature and landscapes.

Bishop of Manchester pays tribute to Black Rod on her retirement

On 9th July 2025, the Bishop of Manchester spoke during tributes to Black Rod upon her retirement, wishing her well and raising the value of her work over her years in the position:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, as Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, I offer our heartfelt thanks to Sarah for the way she has welcomed and worked with those of us on these Benches over the past seven and a half years. As others have noted, although I will not repeat it, she has held office at a point of great change, from overseeing the response to the pandemic—during which I arrived here in a very pared-down Introduction—and keeping the Palace operational throughout, to managing those major royal events under two monarchs.

As the first ever Lady Usher of the Black Rod, Sarah’s very title embodies the process of change—a very welcome one. I am not sure that there was a viable alternative. While we on these Benches now have women Members who remain styled “Lord Bishop”, to have had to refer to Sarah as “Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod” may have provoked the kinds of arguments over sex and gender that have more recently occupied the time and energy of the Supreme Court; I am so glad that we were spared that.

Still-Birth (Definition) Bill: Bishop of Guildford welcomes legislation

On 4th July 2025, the Bishop of Guildford spoke at the second reading of the Still-Birth (Definition) Bill [HL], a private members bill tabled by Baroness Benjamin, supporting the bill and welcoming its principles behind it:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I will speak in support of the principles of this Bill, and I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, for having brought it to the House. One of the best traits in human nature is using the difficult experiences that we ourselves encounter to speak up for others facing similar situations. I applaud the noble Baroness for using her experience and her voice in this way, and especially for the achievement of the introduction of certificates of loss last year.

During my time as a vicar in south-west London, another inspiring woman from within my then congregation came to me with the idea of starting a listening service for women who had miscarried or were facing difficult or unintended pregnancies. This was partly born out of her own experience and partly out of the fact that she lived around the corner from a large BPAS abortion clinic, where a constant trickle of women, sometimes accompanied by their partners or their mums and sometimes quite alone, would make their way to the front door, often in considerable distress, with very little time or opportunity to think through what was for some a desperately difficult decision. It was not long before my congregation member had assembled a small group of other people—about six in all—who were enthused by the vision. They undertook substantial training, not least given the extreme sensitivity of what they would be doing and the need to ensure that they were both professional and non-directive in their approach.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports legislation and raises need for equality in housing access

The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 25th June 2025, welcoming the legislation and the expansion of social housing in the UK, and raising the needs of rural and minority communities in relation to housing and land development:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always a great privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose wisdom on housing is quite unparalleled. I draw attention to my own interests in social housing, as set out in the register, and to the fact that a number of provisions in the Bill might impact on the interests of the Church Commissioners for England, who pay my stipend and own the house I live in.

I welcome the Bill. We desperately need a rapid expansion in the building of social homes, ideally at social rents. Enactment of the measures here included can be part of the architecture—please excuse the pun—we need if we are going to underpin the ambition for a mixed economy for housing, one which will live up to the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing’s values of homes that are safe and sustainable.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Lincoln moves safeguarding amendments on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester

The Bishop of Lincoln moved two amendments in place of the Bishop of Manchester on lifelong safeguarding for children in care during a debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 19th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln:

146B: Clause 21, page 39, line 21, at end insert—

(e) to have due regard to the need to remove or minimise the disadvantages suffered by looked-after children and relevant young persons.”Member’s explanatory statement

The amendment seeks to expand and strengthen Clause 21 by replacing the light-touch duty to be “alert to” their needs with a stronger requirement for public bodies to have “due regard” to eliminating disadvantage and to take reasonable steps to mitigate any harmful effects of their policies. The amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, lifelong safeguard for anyone who has ever been in care.

My Lords, I move the amendments in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester. In relation to Amendment 146B, 120 councils around the country have already committed themselves voluntarily to embrace the “due regard” implementation, but this amendment intends to create a legally enforceable, legislative and lifelong safeguard across government for anyone who has ever been in care.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on safeguarding children’s rights

On 17th June 2025, the House of Lords debated the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the bill that would ensure safeguards and limits on deprivation of liberty for children:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I have added my name to a number of the amendments in this group; I could probably have added it to all of them. Like other noble Lords, I am very grateful for the work of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, which has been quoted several times. I am ignoring all the careful facts and figures I had prepared for this evening, because most of them have already been given by other noble Lords, and it is a principle here that we do not repeat what has already been said. Rather, I would like to speak to the broad principles and the moral case, and to be brief.

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