On 13th September 2021, the House of Lords debated the Environment Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Environment Bill
Bishop of Blackburn tables question on gambling in the military on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans
On 13th September 2021, the Bishop of Blackburn tabled a question on gambling disorders in the military on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to legislate (1) to require annual medical screening questions related to gambling disorder in the military, and (2) to annually assess the prevalence of gambling disorder among members of the armed forces.
The Lord Bishop of Blackburn: My Lords, with the leave of the House, I ask the Question standing on the Order Paper in the name of my colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans.
Continue reading “Bishop of Blackburn tables question on gambling in the military on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans”Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Maintenance and Repairs
On 13th September 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:
Alexander Stafford MP (Con, Rother Valley): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what most recent financial estimates the Church of England holds on the outstanding cost of fabric repairs to its parish churches.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Maintenance and Repairs”Education (Assemblies) Bill: Bishop of Oxford urges against removal of collective worship in schools
On 10th September 2021, the House of Lords debated the Education (Assemblies) Bill at its second reading. The Bishop of Oxford spoke in response to the bill, welcoming the debate on the topic, but opposing the proposed removal of the requirement for collective worship in schools:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I warmly welcome this debate. As others have said, it is very timely that it is raised. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, for her careful introduction, and other noble Lords and noble Baronesses who have spoken, particularly my distinguished predecessor but one, the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, with whom I think I am about to disagree.
Worship and spirituality are a vital part of what it means to be human, and it is absolutely right, for all the reasons that have been given, that it be carefully reviewed and, possibly, that some changes should be introduced. But my reason for in conscience finding this Bill difficult goes back to my experience of leading assemblies as a local parish priest many years ago in Halifax. I put a great deal of time and energy into rehearsing the parable of the good Samaritan and the stories of Joseph and Moses, only for the otherwise extremely good and gifted head teacher of the school to reinterpret my assembly with the phrase, “Of course, what the vicar really means is don’t run in the corridors, and pick up the litter in the playground.” It is the reduction, without a serious faith tradition, of the fantastic values that are being articulated, to simple practical motifs which I fear is the danger of a Bill like this.
Continue reading “Education (Assemblies) Bill: Bishop of Oxford urges against removal of collective worship in schools”Status of Workers Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports greater protection for workers
On 10th September 2021, the House of Lords debated the Status of Workers Bill in its second reading. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in support of the bill, which would seek to introduce greater protection for workers classified as “contractors” in the gig economy:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, on tabling this Private Member’s Bill. It echoes the Judaeo-Christian teaching that workers deserve proper remuneration, and I support it.
I recognise that there are many advantages in having a flexible labour market which allows for individuals to tailor their work to their lifestyles. However, I and I know many others take issue with those times when employers curtail other people’s rights in an exploitative manor to reduce benefits costs. The Taylor review’s suggestion of replacing the category of working with a more positively defined “dependent contractor” was a positive step in preventing companies from unscrupulously categorising an employee as a worker while elevating the bogus self-employed into this category along with the increased rights it affords and the national insurance contributions that would accompany it.
Continue reading “Status of Workers Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports greater protection for workers”Bishop of Gloucester raises issues of food poverty in debate on universal credit uplift
The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in a debate on the proposed removal of the universal credit uplift on 9th September 2021, with reference to the impact such a decision would have on levels of food poverty in the UK:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for introducing this important debate, and I declare my interest as a trustee of Feeding Britain. I will focus my time on the impact that withdrawing the £20 uplift will have on food poverty. More than 500 anti-poverty workers, volunteers and supporters within the Feeding Britain network have signed a petition calling on the Government not to remove the increase, and that petition will be delivered to No. 10 in about an hour.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester raises issues of food poverty in debate on universal credit uplift”Bishop of Oxford speaks in debate on ethics and standards in public life
On 9th September 2021, the Bishop of Oxford spoke in a debate on ethics and standards in public life, emphasising the need for support, education and training in order to for those in public life to meet standards:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, it is a great privilege to take part in this debate and to follow the noble Lords who have spoken. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, for his leadership and introduction. I learned a great deal from the noble Lord while Bishop of Sheffield.
I suggest that improving standards in public life is a three-cornered stool. One leg of that stool is being neglected in the public conversation. It is right that we have the highest possible principles and standards. The Nolan principles have stood the test of time and I support their application to people and their extension to areas of technology. They are the first important leg. The second leg is the way in which we hold one another to account on those principles, which is where I guess that the majority of this debate will be focused. Others are better qualified to speak on this than me. Those ways need to be thorough and consistent with the Nolan principles.
There is an important third leg to this stool, which I want to call formation and support. How do we intentionally grow a community of diverse public servants who are ethically formed and equipped, and have the inner capacity to be honest, open, objective, accountable and selfless? How do we form boards and cultures which are able to work in those ways? They do not simply happen. How do we offer ongoing support and learning to those who exercise high public office and have to cope with greater and greater complexity, pressure and temptation?
Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford speaks in debate on ethics and standards in public life”Bishop of Oxford asks about timeline for government support and information on net-zero building
The Bishop of Oxford asked a question on the government’s planned timeline for introducing support and information for those working to help buildings meet net-zero targets on 9th September 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer. As your Lordships may be aware, the Church of England has declared a climate emergency and is aiming for net zero by 2030. In the diocese of Oxford, we are stewards of 470 parsonages and many other buildings. We have a lot of work to do, and a lot of investment is required to bring those buildings to net zero. Two things are preventing us making progress; we clearly need to spread the work over a decade. The first is knowing the Government’s plans for home heating and the second is the help and support that will be available from government for those changes. The system needs to be simple and sustainable and to carry confidence. When will we know the way forward?
Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford asks about timeline for government support and information on net-zero building”Environment Bill: Bishop of Oxford supports amendments centering environmental impact
On 8th September 2021, the House of Lords debated the Environment Bill in the second day of the report stage. The Bishop of Oxford spoke in support of two amendments intended to ensure that future decision making in this area would have regard to environmental principles first and foremost, and a further amendment ensuring the independence of the Office for Environmental Protection:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I shall speak in favour of Amendments 19 and 20, and passionately so.
Many members of your Lordships’ House have spoken of the urgency of the crisis before us; just yesterday, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch issued a powerful joint statement. They appealed to those with “far-reaching responsibilities”—including ourselves—to
“make short-term sacrifices to safeguard all our futures; become leaders in the transition to just and sustainable economies.”
There can be no exceptions.
Continue reading “Environment Bill: Bishop of Oxford supports amendments centering environmental impact”Votes: Environment Bill
On 8th September 2021, the House of Lords debated the Environment Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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