Bishop of Worcester urges Government to work closely with leaders of persecuted Christian communities in Middle East

On 14th June 2016 Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty’s Government “what assessment they have made of reports of the public burning to death, in Mosul, by ISIS, of 19 women from Iraqi religious minorities.” The Bishop of Worcester, Rt Revd John Inge, asked a follow up question:

worcesterThe Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, at the wonderful parliamentary prayer breakfast in Westminster Hall that I attended this morning along with 750 others, including 150 parliamentarians, many of them from this House, we were addressed by Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK. He spoke movingly of the plight of Christians in the Middle East. While I acknowledge that the vast majority of those killed by ISIS are Muslims, will the Minister assure the House that the Government will work ever more closely with the leaders of the appallingly persecuted Christian community in the Middle East, such as Bishop Angaelos, and other religious leaders there in order to learn their perspective on what is happening? Continue reading “Bishop of Worcester urges Government to work closely with leaders of persecuted Christian communities in Middle East”

Bishop of Chester condemns “abhorrent” and “evil” Orlando attacks

On 13th June 2016 Government Minister Lord Ahmad repeated in the Lords a reply to an urgent question to the Home Secretary following the Orlando terror attack. The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a follow up question:  

ChesterThe Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, on behalf of those who speak from these Benches, I express our utter abhorrence at what has happened. Indeed, I endorse the Home Secretary’s unambiguous use of the word “evil” about those acts.

I wonder if the Minister could take a little further what the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, has just said about the importance of engaging with the leaders of faith communities to address how we can live in a way that fundamentally recognises the universal human rights in our society from which we all benefit. This is an attack on our civilisation. At root it is a hatred of our civilisation, and anyone who can get to the bottom of that with a united front against it, alongside all the security measures that need to be taken, will really make some progress. Continue reading “Bishop of Chester condemns “abhorrent” and “evil” Orlando attacks”

Bishop of St Albans’ Bill on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals Introduced to Lords

BettingBill2016On Monday 13th June 2016 the Betting Licences (Category B2 Gaming Machines) Bill [HL] was introduced to the House of Lords and had its formal First Reading.

The Bill “to make provision for licensing authorities to restrict the number of Category B2 gaming machines which may be authorised under a betting premises licence” was introduced by the Bishop of Bristol on behalf of its sponsor the Bishop of St Albans, read a first time and ordered to be printed.

A press release accompanying the First Reading was issued by the Bishop of St Albans and is reproduced below.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans’ Bill on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals Introduced to Lords”

Bishop of Gloucester asks Government about fostering arrangements for child refugees

Bishop of Gloucester 10On 13th June 2016 Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty’s Government “what arrangements are in place to fulfil their decision to welcome unaccompanied child refugees into the United Kingdom.” The Bishop of Gloucester, Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, are the Government working closely with Home for Good, which has several thousand potential foster carers who are willing to assist with welcoming these children at risk? Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks Government about fostering arrangements for child refugees”

Bishop of Rochester raises disproportionate use of stop and search against black people

On 13th June 2016 Baroness Meacher asked Her Majesty’s Government “whether they have any plans to review their drug policies in the light of the United Nations statements at the UN General Assembly Special Session on 19-21 April.” The Bishop of Rochester, Rt Revd James Langstaff, asked a follow up question:

RochesterThe Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I note the Minister’s disinclination to institute a review. None the less, I wonder whether he could assure the House that in some context or other, attention is being given to such matters as the information in a report by the charity Release published in 2013, which shows that black people were stopped and searched for drugs at more than six times the rate of white people, despite successive crime surveys showing that drug use in black communities is at a lower rate than in white communities? Continue reading “Bishop of Rochester raises disproportionate use of stop and search against black people”

Bishop of Derby supports bill on renters’ rights

Bishop of DerbyOn Friday 10th June  2016 the Bishop of Derby, the Rt Revd Alastair Redfern spoke during the debate on Baroness Grender’s Renters’ Rights Bill. The Bishop highlighted his concerns about vulnerable people and malpractice by some rental landlords and property management agencies. 

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I too wish to offer some thoughts about the importance of the issues raised by the Bill and the sense of direction in which it seeks to travel.

First, I note the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Palmer, regarding a definition of so-called “rogue” landlords. The Housing and Planning Act has introduced a database of rogue landlords and property agents, which is to be made available to local authorities so that they can check for compliance, but there is a question over whether tenants should have access to that kind of information. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby supports bill on renters’ rights”

Church of England Week in Westminster 6th-10th June 2016

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

This week the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Durham gave evidence on immigration and asylum support to MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee. In the Lords the Bishop of Derby spoke in a debate on FGM, during debate on Bills about arms’ brokers and renter’s rights, and asked a question on DfID funding in Burma.  Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster 6th-10th June 2016”

Bishop of Derby supports Bill to regulate arms brokers

DerbyOn the 10th June 2016 the Bishop of Derby, Rt Revd Alastair Redfern spoke during the Second Reading debate of Baroness Jolly’s Register of Arms Brokers Bill. The Bishop drew parallels with similar work he had undertaking in the area of  supply chain transparency during the passage of the Modern Slavery Act. 

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I rise to support the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, and to make three simple points about why this such a powerful and necessary case. First, it builds upon existing legislation about licensing and export control, so we have a set of criteria and an assessment process in place so that all companies involved are scrutinised and licensed. We are doing the work that would provide the register. So the principle of identifying and monitoring arms brokers is established.

Continue reading “Bishop of Derby supports Bill to regulate arms brokers”

Bishop of Derby highlights importance of local grassroots work in combating FGM

On 9th June 2016 Lord Berkeley of Knighton led a short debate to ask Her Majesty’s Government “what steps they intend to take in the light of NHS statistics showing that in 2015 over 1,000 cases of female genital mutilation were reported every three months and the lack of any successful prosecutions to date.” The Bishop of Derby, Rt Revd Alastair Redfern, spoke in the debate, highlighting the historic and cultural influences behind the practice and the work taking place at a local and grassroots level to reduce instances of FGM and support the law. 

Derby 191115cThe Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, for introducing this vital debate and making the point that we need to keep this subject in the public domain to raise awareness and challenge people.

I want to offer some perspectives from my experience in Derby, where I operate as a bishop at grassroots level, to try to help understand why we are in this position and how we might best tackle things. Your Lordships will know that FGM is a very ancient practice going back to at least the fifth century BC. It was mentioned by Herodotus, especially in Egypt and Ethiopia, all that time ago. I remind noble Lords that FGM was practised until the 1950s in western countries as part of dealing with what was then called “female deviancy”. Things such as hysteria, epilepsy and lesbianism were dealt with by this horrific practice as an enlightened medical approach to those conditions. We have to recognise that it is not only deeply embedded in ancient culture, but until quite recently in the west, we have been implicated in using this barbaric method for medical reasons. Continue reading “Bishop of Derby highlights importance of local grassroots work in combating FGM”

Home Affairs Select Committee hears from Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Durham – transcript

On Tuesday 7th June the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby and the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons. They were asked questions on the migrant crisis, asylum support, the EU and faith community relations. HASC160607

The full transcript is available below or can be watched here – The Works of the Immigration Directorates (Q1 2016)

Continue reading “Home Affairs Select Committee hears from Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of Durham – transcript”