Bishop of Durham highlights workload faced by children’s social workers

Bp Durham June 2015 bOn 7th November 2016, Lord Laming asked the Government “what steps they are taking to ensure that children in local authority care are placed in a location close to their extended family and current school.” The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, asked a supplementary question.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: Does the Minister agree that children’s social workers do a fantastically good job, but one of the difficulties they face is their sheer workload, which means that their monitoring of children in care is not as adequate as it is should be? Continue reading “Bishop of Durham highlights workload faced by children’s social workers”

Church of England Week in Westminster, 31st October – 4th November

Welcome to the Church of England’s weekly round-up of activity in Parliament.

Westminster-abbeyThis week bishops in the House of Lords asked questions about educational support for disabled young people, spoke on the challenges facing universities of EU withdrawal and took part in votes on the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill. In the House of Commons the Second Church Estates Commissioner answered a written question on church land in Peterborough.
Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster, 31st October – 4th November”

Bishop of Portsmouth highlights uncertainties for Higher Education of EU withdrawal

On 3rd November 2016 the House of Lords debated a motion from Labour Peer Lord Soley “that this House takes note of the potential impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on funding for universities and scientific research.” The Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt Revd Christopher Foster, spoke in the debate:

portsmouth241016The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, the range of risks faced by the HE sector covers student recruitment, staff recruitment, research funding and course portfolios, as we have already heard. The potential impact—positive from some perspectives, albeit limited and very provisional at this stage, and the range of likely negative impacts—varies between universities.

My background covers different sorts of universities: Hertfordshire and Portsmouth, Oxford and Cambridge, and Durham and Manchester. I studied in three, taught economics in two, was a chaplain in another and have been a governor in two. I draw your Lordships’ attention to my entries in the register of interests.

In such very varied universities, the present excruciating uncertainty following the Brexit vote is having a significant impact in a range of areas.

Continue reading “Bishop of Portsmouth highlights uncertainties for Higher Education of EU withdrawal”

Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill

On 2nd November 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at its Third Reading. The Bishop of Truro, Rt Revd Tim Thornton,  took part in a vote on an amendment to the Bill tabled by Crossbench Peer Baroness Hollins about the unlawful interception of telephone call:

Continue reading “Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill”

Church Commissioners Written Answer: Disposal of Land

Caroline SpelmanOn 1st November 2016 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question from Stewart Jackson MP about progress towards disposing of Church land in Peterborough.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Answer: Disposal of Land”

Bishop of Ely asks Government about educational support for disabled young people

Ely 2On 31st October 2016, the Bishop of Ely, the Rt Rev Stephen Conway, received a written answer from Lord Nash (Department for Education), to a question about educational support and careers advice provided to disabled young people.

Lord Bishop of Ely: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that schools, further education colleges and universities are able to provide specialist careers advice and support for disabled young people. Continue reading “Bishop of Ely asks Government about educational support for disabled young people”

Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill

On 31st October 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Investigatory Powers Bill at its Third Reading. The Bishops of Chester and Truro took part in a vote on an amendment to the Bill tabled by Crossbench Peer Baroness Sheila Hollins about the unlawful interception of telephone calls. Continue reading “Votes: Investigatory Powers Bill”

Church of England Week in Westminster, 24th-28th October 2016

Welcome to the Church of England’s weekly round-up of activity in Parliament.

Westminster-abbeyThis week bishops in the House of Lords asked questions about the safety of child refugees in Calais, exiting the EU, rural fuel poverty and the impact on schools of rising business rates on solar panels. Bishops spoke in debates on social mobility, anti-Semitism at universities and rural broadband. They also took part in debates and votes on the Government’s National Citizen Service Bill and Bus Services Bill.
Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster, 24th-28th October 2016”

Bishop of Portsmouth says social mobility needs to be about more than helping people to ‘just manage’.

“It is hard, and sometimes impossible, to seek a new or better job or to support your children in their education if your daily preoccupation has to be with getting by.” – Bishop of Portsmouth, 27/10/16 

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On 27th October 2016 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Holmes of Richmond “To move that this House takes note of Her Majesty’s Government’s plans to promote social mobility.” The Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt Revd Christopher Foster, took part in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, in these few minutes I should like to set the concern and aspirations for social mobility—already so well introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, and other noble Lords—in the context of the challenges faced by many people, some in my own diocese, who face the daily grind and trial of simply getting by for the day or, at best, the week. The Prime Minister has referred to the need to focus on “just managing” families, and I agree with her, but surely the task is to help make it possible for them to do better than just manage, enabling their energy to be taken up not just in dealing with the everyday challenges but in improving life chances for themselves and their families, including social mobility. Continue reading “Bishop of Portsmouth says social mobility needs to be about more than helping people to ‘just manage’.”

Bishop of Winchester calls for universities to confront and combat anti-Semitism

On 27th October 2016 the House of Lords held a short debate on a question from Baroness Deech, “to ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they propose to take to combat anti-Semitism, in particular in universities.” The Bishop of Winchester, Rt Revd Tim Dakin, spoke in the debate:

Bishop of WinchesterThe Lord Bishop of Winchester: My Lords, I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, for initiating this debate.

Despite there being Jewish societies in over 60 universities, a study in 2011 found that half of all Jewish students in the UK attend only eight universities. Safety in numbers seems to be key, as Nottingham, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester all boast Jewish societies with over 1,000 members. None the less, we know that Jewish staff and students experience anti-Semitism in a significant number of higher education institutions today. As the recent Universities UK task force report on hate crime makes clear, anti-Semitism is a practice for which there is no place in universities, nor in the Church or society at large. Continue reading “Bishop of Winchester calls for universities to confront and combat anti-Semitism”