Nationality and Borders Bill 2022: Bishop of Bristol speaks in support of amendments on modern slavery and protection of overseas domestic workers

On 8th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its report stage. The Bishop of Worcester spoke in support of amendments to the bill that would remove certain clauses relating to victims of modern slavery, and moved an amendment intended to protect overseas domestic workers:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I support the amendments in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, to remove Clauses 57, 58 and 62 from the Bill, to which I have added my name. I too congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, on her appointment and give thanks for all the work she does, even when we do not always entirely agree across these Benches.

As we have heard, Clauses 57 and 58 would make it appreciably more difficult for people to be recognised as victims of modern slavery and receive support. In Committee, the Minister responded to my concerns about these clauses by saying that, far from deterring victims, this will

“encourage genuine victims to come forward”.—[Official Report, 10/2/22; col. 1843.]

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Votes: Nationality and Borders Bill

On 8th March 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill in its third day of the Report stage. Votes were held on several amendments, in which Bishops took part.

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Nationality and Borders Bill 2022: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments

On 8th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its 3rd day of reports. The Bishop of Durham tabled amendments to the bill and spoke in support of other amendments:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I support Amendment 64A, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, to which I have added my name. 

I declare my interests in relation to both RAMP and Reset as set out in the register. I am very grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Neuberger and Lady Lister, and the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, for outlining all the arguments for why this amendment is the right route to take. On Amendment 64, I hear the words about safeguarding but it is a dangerous route to take.

The needs of children have been starkly left unaddressed in so many areas of the Bill. The policies proposed to determine the age of the child are particularly concerning. The child and their best interests, rather than deterrence, must be the starting point in designing these policies. I support the amendment because it is imperative that such assessments are up to standard and based on scientific evidence. We should be seeing help for local authorities to improve their practice through multiagency working so that social workers conduct these assessments and that they are better supported with appropriate funding and training. Making the process stricter will lead to more children being treated as adults. This is extremely concerning given that they will then be placed alone in adult accommodation, with no support or safeguarding.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about admission of refugees from Ukraine

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about problems with admissions during a debate on Ukrainian refugees on 8th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, the Government have rightly praised the generosity of the people of the United Kingdom, but there seems to be a systemic problem in allowing that generosity to be exercised. Can the Minister say something about the systemic issues and address an associated matter: how can we guarantee that the information we are given is accurate, given what has happened in Calais, for example? We keep hearing from the Government that we are leading the way, but we are patently not.

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Votes: Health and Care Bill

On 7th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Health and Care Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on amendments in which Bishops took part.

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Health and Care Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendment to provide for a review on social prescribing

On 7th March 2022, the House of Lords debated the Health and Care Bill in the third day of the report stage. The Bishop of Durham, on behalf of the Lord Bishop of London, spoke in support of amendment 114, tabled by Lord Howarth of Newport, that would introduce a new clause on creative health into the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendment 114 in the absence of my right reverend friend the Bishop of London, who is having to self-isolate due to having tested positive for Covid—which seems to be a bit of a theme of the first two amendments.

Members of the House will know that my noble friend is very involved, and was very involved in Committee, in speaking about health inequalities. Today, we want to share and highlight the strength of social prescribing and especially the role of faith organisations in helping to deliver this. There is evidence from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing and the National Academy for Social Prescribing. But everyone who sits on these Benches would be able to tell you stories of where faith communities and local charities aid and assist with health improvements through activities which happen through them. Through cultural, creative, art, nature—all sorts of—interventions, people find health relief and are moved forward in improving their health.

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Bishop of Durham asks about listening to voices of refugees

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on how the government planned to incorporate refugee voices into creating a resettlement system on 7th March 2022, during a debate on the outcome of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in 2019:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, it was my privilege to speak at the resettlement conference that happened before the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in 2019. One of the key lessons that came out of both events was to listen to the voices of refugees in helping to create the system, so that it is more effective. Could the Minister tell us how the voices of refugees in this country are being listened to in order to make the Ukraine system as effective as possible?

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Bishop of Durham asks about the cost of living

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 7th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are planning to take to address the high cost of living, even after the rate of inflation has reduced.

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Bishop of Durham asks about household support fund, cold weather and winter fuel payments

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 7th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government how many people have so far requested assistance from the Household Support Fund.

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): Any requests for assistance from Household Support Fund will have been directed to Local Authorities, who are running the schemes in their local area.

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Bishop of Durham asks about sanctions imposed on Burundi

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer to a question on 7th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to revisit the sanctions imposed on Burundi after the lifting of sanctions by the EU and United States of America.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): We note that the US Government revoked its Burundi sanctions regime in November 2021 and that in February 2022 the EU lifted its suspension on direct financial assistance to the Government of Burundi.

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