Tag: Bristol

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 Bristol asks Government about regulation of the drone market in the UK

Bristol160226 cOn 27th April 2016 the Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Michael Hill, received a written answer to a question on whether the Government will regulate the private drone market in the UK.

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need to regulate or license the private drone market in the UK. [HL7729] Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol asks Government about regulation of the drone market in the UK”

Divisions: Immigration Bill

On 21st March the House of Lords considered the Government’s Immigration Bill at Report Stage. A number of votes were held on amendments, in which several bishops took part: Continue reading “Divisions: Immigration Bill”

NHS (Charitable Trusts etc) Bill – Bishop of Bristol supports

On 26th February 2016 the House of Lords debated at Second Reading the NHS (Charitable Trusts Etc) Bill – a Private Member’s Bill from Baroness Massey of Darwen. The Bill’s provisions include securing continuation of funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital from the royalties of JM Barrie (the author of Peter Pan). The Bishop of Bristol supported the Bill.

Bristol160226 cThe Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I am grateful for this opportunity to speak in the gap. For reasons I do not fully understand, my name was missed off the list. I am pleased to stand on behalf of these Benches to say how warmly we support the Bill. I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, on her introduction of the Bill, and her ability to take some of the detail of the legislation and, to quote Garrison Keillor, put the hay where the goats can get it. I am most grateful to her for that.

I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for his remarkable, spontaneous, interesting and engaging maiden speech. I wonder quite what volume he might muster when his throat recovers.

As I said, I am glad to speak in favour of the Bill. I am in favour both of the principle behind it and of its practical application, as many in your Lordships’ House have said, in relation to Great Ormond Street Hospital, which is a remarkable hospital. Continue reading “NHS (Charitable Trusts etc) Bill – Bishop of Bristol supports”

Trade Union Bill: Bishop of Bristol raises concerns about proposals on facility time

Bishop of Bristol June 2015On 23rd February 2016 the House of Lords considered the Government’s Trade Union Bill during its committee stage. The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, intervened during a speech by Lord King on clause 12. The clause, and clause 13 that followed, related to facility time and check off. The intervention is below and the full debate on the clause can be read here. Continue reading “Trade Union Bill: Bishop of Bristol raises concerns about proposals on facility time”

Bishop of Bristol asks about case for airport expansion

On 14th December a statement from the Secretary of State for Transport on Airport Expansion was repeated in the House of Lords. The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Mike Hill, asked a follow-up question.

Bishop of Bristol June 2015The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, can the Minister comment on the remarks made by the chief executive officer of International Airlines Group, who said that as far as the airlines are concerned there is basically no business case at all for the extension of Gatwick? Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol asks about case for airport expansion”

Online Safety Bill – Bishop of Bristol supports aims and amendments

On 11th December 2015 the House of Lords considered in Committee the Online Safety Bill which had been tabled by Baroness Howe. The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill supported the Bill and spoke favourably to an amendment, later withdrawn, by Lord Morrow on filtering of adult content and age verification policies. 

Bishop of Bristol June 2015The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I do not want to add too much to the way that the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, has framed his amendment today, but his point is worthy of serious scrutiny, simply because children living in households that are not serviced by the big four ISPs surely require the same level of protection as those in homes whose services are provided by the big four ISPs. Everyone in your Lordships’ House agrees that every child matters; I think that it is not at all controversial to say that.

It is a little confusing that the Prime Minister should seem so robust in his statement in the other place on 28 October, suggesting that the Government wanted to introduce legislation, yet the Minister—unless I misunderstand her—seems very happy to continue with a kind of voluntary regulation. I am not quite sure how that squares up. The point—and the noble Lord, Lord Morrow, makes it well—is that whatever we come up with cannot apply only to some children; surely it must apply to them all. Continue reading “Online Safety Bill – Bishop of Bristol supports aims and amendments”

Bishop of Bristol calls for greater priority on standards and funding for residential care

On 10th December 2015 the House of Lords debated a motion from  Baroness Wheeler “That this House takes note of the quality and viability of the residential care sector in the light of the Government’s decision to delay the implementation of the care cost cap.” The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, spoke in the debate, calling for Government to give more priority to residential care standards and funding.

Bishop of Bristol June 2015The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I join other Members of your Lordships’ House in thanking the noble Baroness for securing this debate. I admired her high-paced delivery of a lot of information without losing any clarity. Like the noble Baroness, I hope that this will not become a debate where we just trade statistics across the House, because in the end, as the noble Lord, Lord Filkin, has just drawn our attention to, this is about people and their lives, and therefore it is a matter that should be, and is, of great concern to us all.

If I stand in my bathroom and look out across the fields in north Bristol, I see the shell of Winterbourne View standing there as a testimony of what can go wrong with residential care when the business model is bust and the whole thing falls apart. It pains me to look at that building day by day. Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol calls for greater priority on standards and funding for residential care”

Bishop of Bristol asks Government about bureaucratic delays in settling Syrian refugees

On 7th December 2015 Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty’s Government “what progress they have made to implement the Prime Minister’s pledge to settle 1,000 Syrian refugees by Christmas.” The Bishop of Bristol, Rt Revd Mike Hill, asked a follow up question:

Bishop of Bristol June 2015

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I return to a question I previously hinted at, and in the light of the rather high profile reportage of the plan of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury to house refugees in a cottage in the grounds of Lambeth Palace. Given that we understand there is some necessary bureaucracy associated with the proper placement of refugees, have we got the balance right? It is not just a question about the Archbishop, but about the good will shown by a good many people, which seems to be turned back by unnecessary bureaucracy.

Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol asks Government about bureaucratic delays in settling Syrian refugees”