Tag: Chelmsford

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about future of Iran

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the future of Iran on 2nd March 2026 following a government statement on US and Israeli strikes on the country and subsequent conflict in the Middle East:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, some of your Lordships will know of my personal interest in this topic, having experienced at first hand something of the brutality of the Iranian regime. While I certainly would not lament the end of that regime, I share the concern of those who express it that this war is neither legal nor necessary, and that peace is best secured by returning to the negotiating table—which incidentally seemed to be showing some signs of working. Does the noble Baroness agree that while the Islamic republic will certainly have been weakened by these strikes, the regime’s survival instinct is not to be underestimated? Does she agree that while Iranians must decide their own future, western Governments should be cautious about asking protesters to further degrade that regime’s capacity by protesting on the streets, when we know that the Iranian security service will likely use that as a pretext for intensified repression? A bloody descent into a Syrian-style civil war is in no one’s interest and is surely best avoided.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about recent protests in Iran

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 12th February 2026:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • whether they plan to take further action against the government of Iran, including sanctions and other measures, in response to human rights abuses against protestors by the security forces.
  •  what steps they are taking to encourage the government of Iran to restore internet access and international communications to allow people to search for missing family members after recent protests.
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Votes: Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill

On 11th November, the House of Lords debated the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which bishops took part:

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Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford tables amendment on ‘good character’ requirement

On 11th November 2025, the Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford tabled her amendment to the Border Security, Immigration and Asylum Bill which would “ensure the good character requirement is not applied contrary to the UK’s international legal obligations across a number of instruments. It also ensures that an assessment of good character may not take into account a person’s irregular entry or arrival to the UK if they were a child, and it may only be taken into account to the extent specified in guidance published and in force at the time of an adult’s irregular entry or arrival.”

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I declare my interests as per the register. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord German, and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for their support as signatories and for their guidance, especially as this is the first amendment that I have sponsored to a piece of legislation. My thanks go also to the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for rightly explaining in my absence in Committee that I have tabled this amendment because I am passionate about the issues it raises: namely, how best to include, not preclude, those with a legal right to be here—those friends, neighbours and colleagues whom we live, work and worship alongside.

The Government’s change to the good character guidance, enacted through secondary legislation with retrospective implementation, in effect makes the “how” of a person’s travel to the UK a determining factor in their character assessment, not the “why” of the reason behind their travel in pursuit of sanctuary. This is a fundamental cultural shift and introduces a factor that bears no correlation to someone’s moral character, their worth and value or the contribution they might make to British society.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about online immigration systems

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 13th October 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 12 February (HL4531), whether the management information related to the “no recourse to public funds” condition is not available on the Atlas system for each leave to remain record.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about potential debate on implications of whole-genome sequencing of infants

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the opportunity for the House to debate the implications of whole genome-sequencing on 18th September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: When will the House have the opportunity to debate this policy for whole-genome sequencing with all its details, given that it has such weighty and far-reaching implications for healthcare, prevention and a number of ethical issues, as we have already heard?

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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendments on bullying and children with imprisoned parents

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in favour of two amendments to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 16th September 2025, first on introducing a duty on schools to record incidences of racism or interfaith bullying, and secondly on the commissioning of a report on improving educational attainment for children with a parent in prison:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I speak in support of Amendment 464 knowing that, had my right reverend friend the Bishop of Lincoln been in his place, he would very much have wanted to contribute to the debate. If passed, this amendment would introduce a duty on schools to record and report any incidents of racism or faith-based bullying on school premises. 

It would also help diocesan boards of education in collating and monitoring such cases and better assisting those church schools which might benefit from support.

In preparing for this speech, I spoke to our own director of education in Chelmsford diocese, whose team oversees 139 church schools. She told me that this proposed amendment had the potential to help the board of education strengthen anti-bullying and inclusive practices in partnership with schools.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about family reunion asylum applications

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the effect of the pause in family reunion asylum applications on the level of channel crossings by migrants on 16th September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, Home Office analysis of the factors that influence where people claim asylum highlights that the presence of family exerts a particularly strong effect on decisions on the ultimate country of destination. Given this finding, what assessment have the Government made of how the pause in family reunion applications might impact the level of channel crossings?

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about employment waiting periods for asylum seekers

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 23rd June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce the waiting period before an asylum seeker with an outstanding asylum claim can access jobs on the Shortage Occupation List or the Immigration Salary List to six months.

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Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports legislation

The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in support of the Asylum Support (Prescribed Period) Bill [HL], a private member’s bill tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett, at committee on 13th June 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I am pleased to support the Private Member’s Bill of the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, on asylum support and her Amendments 1 and 2, which would enable the Government to extend the move-on period according to their plans and timetable. The Bill is extraordinarily well timed, with the move-on period pilot coming to a close and the Government having recently published their White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System. As the Government reduce the backlog of asylum applications and speed up the process times of applications, I suggest that this Bill does not impede but rather supports the Government as they seek to build a well-managed asylum system with integration back at its heart.

At Second Reading, I spoke of why 28 days was simply not enough time for an individual with newly granted refugee status to locate new accommodation, try to find employment and navigate a welfare system. This should now be regarded as indisputable, given that an individual cannot even access universal credit before five weeks have passed, that the majority of landlords will not even let a property before a first payment has come in and that setting up a bank account is proving difficult with an e-visa alone. On this latter point, I hope that the Government will consider issuing guidance to banking services.

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