On 5th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the third day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Illegal Migration Bill
Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendments reinstating right of appeal against age assessments
On 5th July 2023, during a report-stage debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham tabled amendments which would reinstate the right of appeal against age assessments in respect of putative children who would otherwise be subject to removal under the bill:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendments 156A and 161. Due to a technicality, Amendments 156 and 157 were not formally withdrawn, but they will be withdrawn, so it is Amendment 156A which is under consideration. I note my interests as a trustee of Reset and with the RAMP project, as laid out in the register.
I thank the usual channels for changing business on Monday so that this item was first today rather than last on Monday. We noted previously that, both during the Nationality and Borders Bill and during this Bill, age assessments have been talked about at 2 am and just after midnight. I am truly grateful to the usual channels for hearing my plea about not being last on the agenda again.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendments reinstating right of appeal against age assessments”Bishop of Exeter asks about resolution to doctors’ strikes
The Bishop of Exeter tabled a question on what progress the government had made towards resolving strikes by NHS doctors on 5th July 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards resolving the strikes by doctors in the NHS.
Lord Markham (Con): My Lords, the Government have been clear that we want to resolve the strikes by doctors. We negotiated in good faith with the BMA’s junior doctors committee in May. The Government stand ready to meet junior doctors again if they move from their unreasonable ask of a 35% pay rise this year. We also want to open negotiations with consultants. We encourage unions to come to the negotiating table rather than proceeding with strike action.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about resolution to doctors’ strikes”Bishop of Ely asks government to engage with Archbishop’s office and church contacts on laws criminalising homosexuality in Uganda
On 5th July 2023, the Bishop of Ely asked that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office utilise contacts available within the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office and the wider church to engage with people in Uganda on the country’s recent institution of the death penalty for homosexuality:
The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reference to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter to the Archbishop of Uganda, and for hearing us, as Bishops, say how much we deplore what has been decided by the Archbishop of Uganda in support of this ignoble law. In the light of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop’s intervention, and all that has been said about engaging with civil society, will the FCDO engage with the Archbishop’s office and make use of the Church’s contacts to offset some of the very conservative religious engagement from other countries in Uganda and engage with people on the ground in Uganda to seek to change this abhorrent law?
Continue reading “Bishop of Ely asks government to engage with Archbishop’s office and church contacts on laws criminalising homosexuality in Uganda”Bishop of St Albans asks about average ambulance response times
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th July 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what was the average ambulance response time in (1) NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, and (2) NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, and (d) 2022.
Lord Markham (Con): Ambulance response times by Integrated Care Board (ICB) area are not centrally collected.
Church Commissioners Written Answers: Gender Pay Gap
On 5th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:
Cat Smith MP (Lab, Lancaster and Fleetwood): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church has taken to close the gender pay gap.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Answers: Gender Pay Gap”Bishop of Exeter asks about investment in social care
The Bishop of Exeter asked a question on the need for investment in the social care workforce on 4th July 2023, following a government statement on the NHS workforce plan:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, we on these Benches very much welcome this workforce plan, in particular the expansion of places for training with a range of clinicians and the shift of gaze towards community care and prevention. Our anxiety very much mirrors that of the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, and the noble Lord, Lord Allan of Hallam. We notice that page 23 of the report says:
“This Plan is predicated on access to social care services remaining broadly in line with current levels or improving”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about investment in social care”Votes: National Security Bill
On 4th July 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments and reasons for the National Security Bill. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill
On 4th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Bishop of Sheffield welcomes plans to tackle homelessness
On 4th July 2023, the Bishop of Sheffield tabled a question on government steps to tackle homelessness following the launch of the Prince of Wales’ Homewards initiative:
The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle homelessness following the launch of the Prince of Wales’s Homewards initiative.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): We welcome the Prince of Wales’s Homewards initiative and his interest and support in tackling homelessness. The Government have made the unprecedented commitment to end rough sleeping. In September 2022 we published our cross-government strategy, setting out how we were investing £2 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield welcomes plans to tackle homelessness”
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