Social Housing Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks at second reading

The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Social Housing Bill on 1st June 206, noting the need for secure and high-quality social housing to combat child poverty and help build communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always daunting to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, on a matter to do with housing. I begin by declaring my interest: I am the chair of the Church Housing Association, a recently formed, not-for-profit social housing provider that we are seeking to build, literally and metaphorically, on the five core values that were set out in the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s commission on housing, Coming Home, which was debated in your Lordships’ House a few years ago. Those values—that social housing should be safe, secure, sustainable, sociable and satisfying—provide a set of tests against which any proposed legislation could be measured, hence I warmly welcome the Bill. It will make social housing better.

Housing is a fundamental human right. It is a foundation for other core rights, including things such as health, dignity, sanitation and sometimes the right to life itself. The Bill rightly addresses the concern that there is not enough stock in this country to house those in need.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about affordable housing in rural areas

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 1st June 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the provision of sufficient affordable housing in rural areas to enable young people to remain in the villages where they live and work, ensuring the long-term viability of those communities.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about process for supporting asylum seekers

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 1st June 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to resettle refugees through community sponsorship and humanitarian programmes.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about housing supply and housebuilding

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 21st May 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support SME builders in order to diversify the housebuilding sector.

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Chelmsford raises issue of affordable housing

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in the King’s Speech debate on 20th May 2026 on the topic of housing, urging government action to tackle the crisis in housing affordability:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, as the Church of England’s lead bishop for housing, I commend the measures in the gracious Speech that will improve different parts of our housing system.

The housing affordability crisis threatens to unravel the unwritten social contract: that if you get a decent education and then work hard, you should be able to earn enough to save for a deposit, buy a home, get married, start a family and provide stability for your children until they can do likewise. While these proposed Bills are important and worth while, I urge the Government to use this forthcoming legislation to address the most acute part of the housing crisis: the affordability of homes, whether for rent or for purchase.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about government housing targets

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 16th March 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of labour shortages, planning and regulatory rules, and any viability challenges, on the delivery of their target to build 1.5 million homes.

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Bishop of Manchester asks about affordable housing

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for community land trusts and social housing initiatives during a discussion on the government’s new homes target on 8th January 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful for the answers that we have had, particularly around social rent and affordable rent. Does the Minister agree that we also need to make space for things such as community land trusts and other community-led social housing initiatives, which can often provide accommodation in particular niches and communities that is much more sensitive to the needs of local communities? They may not be volume builders, but I would urge that they have a vital part to play.

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about need for affordable housing to combat child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 1st September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the Children’s Commissioner, Growing up in a low-income family: Children’s experiences, published on 8 July; and (2) the recommendation that children in low-income households be prioritised for access to new homes under the Affordable Homes Programme.

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Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports legislation and raises need for equality in housing access

The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 25th June 2025, welcoming the legislation and the expansion of social housing in the UK, and raising the needs of rural and minority communities in relation to housing and land development:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always a great privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose wisdom on housing is quite unparalleled. I draw attention to my own interests in social housing, as set out in the register, and to the fact that a number of provisions in the Bill might impact on the interests of the Church Commissioners for England, who pay my stipend and own the house I live in.

I welcome the Bill. We desperately need a rapid expansion in the building of social homes, ideally at social rents. Enactment of the measures here included can be part of the architecture—please excuse the pun—we need if we are going to underpin the ambition for a mixed economy for housing, one which will live up to the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing’s values of homes that are safe and sustainable.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about redefining affordable housing to match local incomes

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st May 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to redefine affordable housing according to local incomes instead of market rates.

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