Skills and Post-16 Education Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks on need for reform of skills and incentives for workers

On 15th June 2021, the House of Lords debated the Skills and Post 16 Education Bill in its second reading. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, highlighting several areas of the bill for attention, including incentives for workers influenced by the pandemic:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I strongly endorse the previous speech, particularly as it notes the crazy distinction between vocational and academic study. On these Benches, we welcome the commitment from the Government to the further education and skills sector as set out in the Bill. It is particularly pleasing to see that the Bill builds on the practical reforms outlined in the Skills for Jobs White Paper. In this context, I also strongly commend to the House the Church of England’s new vision for further education report, published at the end of April, which also recognises the key role that FE plays in driving individual, community and societal transformation.

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Bishop of Leeds raises inconsistency of covid rules on singing in churches

On 15th June 2021 the House of Lords heard a repeat of a Government statement on covid-19 rules.

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, regardless of matters of hindsight, does the Minister agree that prolonging the restrictions might be justified for certain reasons? I do not demur from that, but the prolonging of inconsistencies is a serious impediment to public adherence to the rules. You do not have to look very far to see where the discipline broke down a long time ago. For example—this is not special pleading; it is just at the forefront of my mind—you can sing in a pub but not in a church. This is what brings the rules into disrepute, and therefore people do not agree with them.

Secondly, can the Minister say something in response to Michael Gove’s reported comments about acceptable death rates? We have learned to live with acceptable death rates from flu and other seasonal diseases. Will the Government do some work on what might be an acceptable death rate from Covid in future and be up-front with the country as to what that might be? I think we can take it.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about alleged use of white phosphorus on civilians during conflict in Tigray

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on allegations that white phosphorus had been used on civilians in Tigray, Ethiopia during a discussion on the ongoing conflict in the region on 15th June 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: I wonder if the Minister would comment on whether Her Majesty’s Government have been able to validate allegations that white phosphorus was used against civilians in Tigray, despite the categorical denial of the Ethiopian Government.

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Bishop of St Albans asks for survey of gambling habits in former members of the Armed Forces

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the impact of problem gambling in the Armed Forces on 15th June 2021, during a debate on support for members of the Armed Forces in their transition to Civilian Life:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in the UK it is estimated that former Armed Forces personnel are eight times more likely to develop gambling problems than civilians. They suffer from higher rates of mental health issues and alcohol problems, factors which may feed into the higher rate of problem gambling. Will Her Majesty’s Government commit to surveying the gambling habits of serving personnel so that we can better provide for our military as they transition to civilian life?

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Bishop of Leeds asks about public confidence in the law following collapse of trial in the Hillsborough disaster case

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on public confidence in the law and the justice system following a Commons Urgent Statement on the collapse of a trial associated with the Hillsborough disaster:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, what have the Government learned about the process of justice and public confidence in law, when a trial can collapse one day and a defence counsel stands in the street outside the court and maintains unequivocally that this proves that there has not been a cover-up, yet almost the next day the police admit such cover-ups and compensation is duly paid?

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con, Ministry of Justice): My Lords, as Prime Minister David Cameron said when he made the apology in the other place, the families

“suffered a double injustice: the injustice of the … events”

themselves,

“the failure of the state to protect”

them

“and the indefensible wait to get to the truth;”

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Bishop of Leeds asks about discussion of constitutional reform

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about discussions of constitutional reform on 14th June 2021, stressing the need for cross-party and cross-society participation in these talks, particularly with regard to the union:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I am not sure whether I heard reference to federalism there. Does the Minister agree that, because of the nature of the debate and the threats to the union, we need to get ahead of the game in relation to the union and its associated constitutional arrangements, and that this is urgent? Will the Government ensure that such discussions are cross-party and cross-society when they do take place?

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Bishop of St Albans calls for greater recognition of the importance of rural economies and agriculture to food security

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on a recent Food, Poverty, Health and the Environment Committee report on 10th June 2021, highlighting the intersection between food security, health outcomes, and overall inequality, and the importance of agriculture and rural economies in levelling-up food production :

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I warmly welcome the former Archbishop of York, the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Sentamu, on behalf of these Benches and the whole House. It is a great privilege to follow him in today’s debate, on his return to the House, and I am sure that his wisdom, compassion, and insight, will be valuable as we move forward in this new parliamentary session.

Hungry for Change outlines the challenges in health and production underlying our food system. Like others, I pay tribute to Marcus Rashford for his campaign last summer in extending the national voucher scheme. I also wish him and the entire English football team good fortune for their opening Euro 2021 match against Croatia this Sunday.

Food poverty remains a serious issue here in the UK, one which has been exacerbated by the economic hardships endured by low-income individuals during the Covid crisis. The Department for Work and Pensions HBAI statistics for 2020 identify 5 million people, including 1.7 million children, as experiencing food insecurity, and half of them had very low food security. 

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Votes: Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development etc.) (England) (Amendment) Order 2021

On 10th June 2021, the House of Lords voted on two deferred motions relating to an amendment to the Town and Country Planning Order. A Bishop took part in both votes:

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Bishop of Worcester asks about cuts to international development aid

On 10th June 2021, the Bishop of Worcester spoke in a discussion on Overseas Development Aid, expressing disappointment at the recent cuts to the programme and calling for the matter to be debated in Parliament:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I salute the commitment of the Minister to development, which is much appreciated. However, I was disappointed to hear him say again that we remain among the largest givers in the G7. Surely, that is not the point. The point is that a manifesto commitment of which the Conservative Party could be proud has been broken. The argument marshalled for breaking that promise is the fiscal situation, but it is surely a matter of priorities. Eye-watering amounts of money have been spent on other things; this is a relatively small part of UK expenditure. Furthermore, is that spending not in our own interests? Jesus tells us to love our neighbour as ourself. The implication is that by loving our neighbours we will actually love ourselves better. At the moment, we need to commit more to overseas aid and fighting this terrible pandemic, which, as we all know, is global and not confined just to this country. Other countries are suffering much worse. Surely this matter should be debated by Parliament soon.

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Bishop of Carlisle asks about support for young carers

On 10th June 2021, during a discussion on support for carers, the Bishop of Carlisle raised the issue of young carers and the impact of caring responsibilities on education:

The Lord Bishop of Carlisle: My Lords, I declare an interest as co-chair of the Archbishops’ commission on social care. Given that there are 750,000 young carers in England and that some 27% of them regularly miss school because of their caring responsibilities, can the Minister tell us whether Her Majesty’s Government have any plans to identify these children and offer them extra support, not least in the wake of the added disruption to their education that has been caused by the pandemic?

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