Bishop of Carlisle on Her Majesty the Queen’s faithfulness

The Bishop of Carlisle received asked the following question on 18th July 2022, in response to a question from Lord Farmer about whether Her Majesty the Queen might be given the additional title ‘the Faithful’ :

The Lord Bishop of Carlisle: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Farmer. I declare my interest as Clerk of the Closet, an office of service to the Crown dating back to the 15th century. At her coronation, the Queen first gave her allegiance to God before anyone came forward to give their allegiance to her.

Does the Minister agree that the generous, hospitable and open interpretation by Her Majesty of that duty to people of all faiths and none, over so many years, is not only a foundation stone of our constitution but a reason to feel all the more thankful for the lifelong service Her Majesty has given?

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Bishop of St Albans asks a question regarding mental health care for gambling addiction

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked her Majesty’s Government how many people were subject to a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) as part of a (1) community, or (2) suspended, sentence order due to a serious gambling addiction for each year since their introduction in 2005.

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Bishop of St Albans asks a question on healthcare recruitment data

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 27 June (HL1046), what plans they have to record data on the number of health care professionals who were hired from countries graded as red by the World Health Organisation.

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Bishop of St Albans speaks in support of Climate and Ecology bill

On 15th July 2022, the Climate and Ecology Bill, a Private Member’s Bill, was considered at Second Reading in the House of Lords. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate – his speech is below, along with contributions from other peers:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, for this Bill. I know he has made many contributions about diversity in the past. I seem to remember that red squirrels are something we have discussed on a number of occasions, and I am glad he still works on that.

This debate is taking place at a crucial moment in our country’s battle against climate change. Despite the circumstances that have led to a change of Prime Minister, there was at least genuine confidence in the urgency and seriousness with which he was approaching the issue of climate change—he spoke out on a number of occasions. Therefore, it seems all the more extraordinary that, in the current events going on, we are hearing virtually nothing from candidates who want to be the next Prime Minister about this vital area. It is as if the only thing that matters is taxation. Taxation is important for all sorts of reasons, but where are the prophetic voices speaking about where we must be for the sake of vital future generations?

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Bishop of Ely supports Healthy Homes Bill

On 15th July 2022, the house debated the Healthy Homes Bill at its second reading. The Bishop of Ely spoke in the debate on this Private Member’s Bill. His speech is below, along with contributions from other peers:

The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak in the Second Reading of this very important Bill. The lead Bishop on housing, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford, is sadly unable to be with us. However, she has asked me also to pass on her gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for his work in bringing the Healthy Homes Bill forward.

In his book Reimagining Britain, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote that we need to reimagine housing. He said:

“Reimagined core values and practices in any housing development will be linked to health in many forms. Good communities build financial, physical, mental, spiritual and relational health.”

As the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, said, this is about linking not just housing and health but education. In my time as Bishop of Ely, when we have built church schools on crowded new housing estates I have always insisted on having space in front of the schools so that, rather than doubling the cramp that people feel, we have pram plazas rather than pram wars.

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Bishop of St Albans warns of ‘tinkering with human rights convention’ in debate on the Human Rights Act

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the 1998 Human Rights Act, on 14th July 2022:

My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, for securing this debate, and for setting out so clearly many of the great benefits that have been achieved through the Human Rights Act. I will not repeat or elaborate any of those here, and perhaps save a moment or two in so doing.

As neither a legal nor constitutional expert, I am not going to delve into the technical side of the matter, but it is clear to me that this is a discussion not simply about the importance of the Human Rights Act 1998 but about many of the concerns—already raised from different Benches in this House—that noble Lords have with the proposed British Bill of Rights. Before I mention some of my concerns, I commend the introduction of the right to a trial by jury in the updated Bill of Rights Bill. But aside from this one welcome measure, it strikes me that there is a very real danger that the new Bill of Rights may remove levels of accountability from government, particularly in areas such as immigration, which I have an interest in.

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Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on security challenges and China

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on security challenges relating to China, on 14th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I have spoken on numerous occasions about the ongoing tragedy in Xinjiang province. I have also spoken on various occasions about the worrying issues of surveillance and hacking of businesses and individuals in this country. It is very helpful to hear other noble Lords picking up on some of them. However, in the very limited time I have, I want to make a few comments building on some of those made by the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, about China’s relationship with the Commonwealth. In particular, I want to focus on the soft power which maintains strong international bonds, bolsters our influence in the world and commends our western culture, rooted in an understanding which draws on Christian tradition.

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Bishop of St Albans asks questions about support for those facing cost of fire safety remedial work

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer to four questions on 14th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: asked Her Majesty’s Government:

what plans they have to provide low-interest long term loans to non-qualifying buy-to-lent landlords with more than two leasehold properties who are unable to afford fire safety remedial costs.

what assessment they have made of the number of non-qualifying buy-to-let landlords with two or more leasehold properties who will go bankrupt due to being unable to afford fire safety remedial work.

what assessment they have made of the number of non-qualifying buy-to-let landlords with more than two leasehold properties who (1) are unable to sell their properties, and (2) are unable to afford the fire safety remedial work.

what assistance they plan to provide to non-qualifying buy-to-let landlords with more than two leasehold properties who (1) are unable to sell their properties, and (2) are unable to afford the fire safety remedial work.

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Bishop of Coventry asks Government about policy on humanitarian resettlement of Guantanamo Bay detainees

The Bishop of Coventry received the following written answer on 13th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the humanitarian resettlement of Guantanamo Bay detainees, including by signalling support for countries willing to receive those detainees cleared for transfer.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about increasing community advice services to low income households

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 13th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an impact assessment of increasing the numbers of face-to-face advice services covering (1) household finances, and (2) benefit entitlement, in community centres that provide food to households on low incomes.

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