Speeches – Page 83 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Gloucester speaks in debate marking the passing of Baroness Williams of Crosby

The Bishop of Gloucester took part in a debate to pay tribute to Baroness Williams of Crosby, who had recently passed away, on 14th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: I find myself rising again to give a tribute on behalf of the Lords spiritual from these Benches and wondering what I can add to all the wonderful things that have been said. However, as the first female Lord spiritual in this House, it is a privilege to pay tribute to an amazing person who, as we have heard, was something of a trailblazer for women in politics.

Bishop of Gloucester joins tributes to departing Clerk of Parliaments

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke during tributes to the departing Clerk of Parliaments, Ed Ollard, on 13th April 2021, thanking him for his service and welcoming the new Clerk, Simon Burton, to the role:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I am very glad that I do not have to answer those questions, because I do not know the answers. However, I want to add a few words from these Benches, paying tribute on behalf of the Lords spiritual. My colleagues and I have greatly benefited from Ed Ollard’s sound judgment, diligent support and practical guidance in his time as the Clerk of the Parliaments. We on these Benches are immensely grateful for his calm and steady stewardship during, as others have said, this very unpredictable time. Navigating a unique transition to a hybrid Parliament, the role of the Clerk of the Parliaments has been challenging. He has met it head on, and it is a testament to his adaptability that your Lordships’ House has functioned so well and effectively during this pandemic. We warmly welcome Simon Burton to the role and very much look forward to working with him, but today, we want to say a huge “thank you” to Ed Ollard and to wish him all the best for the future.

Hansard

Church Commissioners Written Questions

On 13th April 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Church of England: Farms

Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, other than in cases where a tenancy is replacing a previous tenancy let under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 how many tenancies have been let (a) for an initial fixed term of five years or less (b) for an initial fixed term of five years or more in each of the last five years, ending with 2020.

Bishop of London pays tribute to Duke of Edinburgh

The Bishop of London gave a speech in tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh on 12th September 2021:

The Lord Bishop of London [V]: My Lords, it is a privilege to follow so many distinguished noble and noble and gallant Lords, including my noble friend the most Reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury. They have all spoken so warmly, and I wish to add my tribute to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Noble Lords will know that it is my honour to be not just the Bishop of London but the Dean of Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal.

I would like to start with words from Alfred Tennyson:

“Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar

When I put out to sea”.

Archbishop of Canterbury pays tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh

On 12th April 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury joined in House of Lords tributes to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had recently passed away:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, it is a privilege to follow four such eloquent speeches from the Front Benches, and it is with great sadness and much sympathy that I convey from these Benches the condolences of the Lords spiritual especially to Her Majesty the Queen, but also to all her family on the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. In thousands of churches and homes around the nation and the world yesterday, as on every Sunday, prayers were said for the Queen. This weekend we have also thanked God for Prince Philip’s life of extraordinary service. There are some rare people who bring energy into a room. As we have already heard, the Duke of Edinburgh was very much one of those people. His presence lifted a gathering. He might have challenged and interrogated, but whatever he said he never bored anyone.

Bishop of Newcastle speaks about issues affecting housing market during debate on Archbishops’ Commission Coming Home Report

The Bishop of Newcastle gave a speech during the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on the Coming Home report from the Archbishops’ Commission, highlighting the issues in the housing stock in the North of England and the need for stable and secure homes:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, at a time when spirit-lifting is much needed, I can say with pleasure that my spirit has been lifted, as indeed has my heart, by this report from the Archbishop’s Commission. My heart and my spirit have been lifted because this report recognises that building homes and communities, not just houses, is of the deepest significance to the human dignity of every man, woman and child in this country and to the kind of society we aspire to build.

Coming Home Report: Bishop of Manchester speaks in debate on housing

The Bishop of Manchester took part in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on the Coming Home report from the Archbishops’ Council on 24th March 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I thank my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for sponsoring this debate. My personal interest and passion in tackling homelessness and creating good homes for the people of our nation go far beyond the interests contained in the official register, to which I draw your Lordships’ attention. Alongside those, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, has indicated, I now chair the board of governors of the Church Commissioners, as deputy to my most reverend friend. I gladly confirm to your Lordships that the board welcomes the report, and indeed I am member of the group set up by the Church charged with overseeing its implementation.

Today we have no Bill to scrutinise, no complex Marshalled List of amendments to work through; what we have is something that runs far deeper, something that should underpin and equip us for such future legislation on the matter of housing as is brought forward to your Lordships’ House to determine. The five values for housing that the Archbishops’ Commission has set before us—sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying—have been implicit in much of the work I have engaged in over the years. But now we have them encapsulated in a simple and memorable form. Not least, they recognise that a home is far more than walls, roofs, bricks, tiles, glass and mortar. A home is somewhere we can belong.

Archbishop of York speaks in debate on housing strategy and report from the Archbishops Commission on Housing

The Archbishop of York took part in a debate on housing strategy and the Archbishops’ Commission report on Housing, Church, and Community on 24th March 2021, stressing the need for a reset on how housing is approached:

The Lord Archbishop of York [V]: My Lords, it is always a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose work and witness in housing has been such an inspiration to many of us. I pay particular tribute to the work that he has done as a Church Commissioner in recent years. It is an honour to speak in this debate and support my dear brother, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose visionary leadership in this and other issues of social policy draws people of faith and good will together in developing a narrative of hope. I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, for his reference, as this is the first speech I have made since returning to the House of Lords as the 98th Archbishop of York.

We need to reset our compass. As we emerge from the horrors and sorrows of Covid, we have all become much more aware of our interdependence. Just as Covid cannot be dealt with anywhere until it is dealt with everywhere, so it is with other challenges facing our common life. When we cheered the NHS last summer, we were also cheering a set of ideas that are precious to our national life—namely, that we belong to each other. There are some things, like health, that are so basic that we cherish the fact that they are available to everyone at the point of need and regardless of one’s ability to pay. Should not this principle apply to other things as well, such as food on everyone’s table and a roof over everyone’s head?

Archbishop of Canterbury holds debate on Coming Home Report on Housing, Church, and Community

The Archbishop of Canterbury led a debate on the report Coming Home by the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church, and Community on 24th March 2021:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: That the Grand Committee takes note of the report Coming Home by the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community, and the case for setting out a long-term housing strategy.

My Lords, I am very grateful to the usual channels for permitting this debate and to all noble Lords who are taking part. I express my sadness at the beginning at the sudden death of Lord Greaves, whose voice in this area, as in so many others, especially those involving the day-to-day concerns of people, will be deeply missed.

The Archbishop’s annual debate is normally held every year, just before Christmas—although I am not sure that it counts as a Christmas present. Due to the pandemic and other issues, it has not happened for a couple of years. You may have thought you were spared but that is not so, for, like Jairus’s daughter, the debate is not dead but was only sleeping. And when better to resurrect it than just before Easter?

Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks at second reading

The Bishop of Durham spoke at the second reading of the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill on 19th March 2021, supporting the bill and emphasising the need to ensure affordable and ethically made school uniforms be made accessible to all:

The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: My Lords, I speak in my capacity as chair of the National Society, and thus lead bishop in the Church of England for education. In principle, uniform is a fantastic leveller: it can foster unity and provides an opportunity for students to worry less about the challenges of fitting in. It is therefore worrying to find that the cost of uniforms is instead causing division by highlighting disparities. Having poverty- aware uniform policies means that we can avoid worsening the disadvantages that a child in poverty is already faced with. We must return uniforms to being beneficial, which the Bill will do. The Bill has my support, as it would ensure that all families can afford uniforms.

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