Tag: Chelmsford

Bishop of Chelmsford condemns hate crime, calls for better religious literacy

On 29th June 2016 Lord Ahmed repeated to the House of Lords a Government statement made in the House of Commons about hate crime. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, asked a follow up question about religious literacy and education.Chelmsford 251115

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, perhaps I may ask the Minister two specific questions about religious literacy and religious education. First, I welcome the Statement and the responses from the other Front Benches, and of course to express my own great dismay at the incidents that we have experienced in recent days. As I said in the House on Monday, the diocese where I serve includes some of the most multicultural parts of this country. I have heard many disturbing stories, and even more of them here today.

My first question relates to religious education. We have discovered in recent days something that is already there within us and that has been stirred up and legitimised by some of the debate, yet religious education has less of a place in the national curriculum than it used to. I wonder whether this is another opportunity for the Government to look again at the place of religious education in schools.

My second question is about religious literacy. I serve on this House’s Select Committee on Communications. We have recently completed a report on the renewal of the BBC charter. Religious broadcasting has almost disappeared from public service broadcasting, and the BBC no longer has a commissioning editor for religious broadcasting. Surely this is a time when we need to do more about this. It is a very practical matter that the Government could address. Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford condemns hate crime, calls for better religious literacy”

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about Free Speech in Universities

Chelmsford 251115On the 27th June 2016, Lord Leigh of Hurley asked the Government “what steps they are taking to counter anti-Semitism on university campuses in the United Kingdom.” The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, asked a supplementary question: Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about Free Speech in Universities”

Bishop of Chelmsford calls for action to counter fear and race hatred after EU referendum

Chelmsford 251115On 27th June 2016, Baroness Stowell of Beeston repeated a statement on the result of the EU Referendum, made by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, asked a follow up question:

Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, some commentators have said that the result of the referendum was a resounding victory for Brexit. I am not sure that I see it that way: 52 to 48 is, to my mind, a rather narrow victory. Where there is no overwhelming consensus, there is an overwhelming need to take account of the views of others. Nobody likes a bad winner. There has been too much hyperbole and spite in this debate. Yes, one side did win, the result is clear and we have to act on it. Those who advocated leave obviously need to take the lead in the negotiations that will take place. But we urgently need the sort of wise leadership that can build consensus. We need some sort of national Government—a coalition of good will where we can work together.

I serve the diocese of Chelmsford, which is, “east London in and Essex out”. Yesterday I spoke to a head teacher who said that the children were frightened when they went to school on Friday and that she had seen an increase in race hatred and intolerance. What plans are there to address the lack of unity in our nation and to counter the fear and race hatred that is on the rise? Can we ensure that those who lost this vote, as well as those who won, can be part of the planning going forward? Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford calls for action to counter fear and race hatred after EU referendum”

Bishop of Chelmsford says BBC services need to reflect religious and community life of the nation

On 21st April 2016 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Best, Chair of the Lords Communications Committee, “That this House takes note of the report from the Communications Committee BBC Charter Review: Reith not Revolution (1st Report, HL Paper 96).” The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, who is a member of the Committee spoke in the debate:

Chelmsford 251115The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I too speak as a member of the Select Committee that produced this report. I must declare an interest as a co-chair of the multi-faith standing conference of the BBC on religion and ethics, and related to that work I want to talk about the place of faith in public service broadcasting, and indeed to speak for all the faith communities in these islands.

It has been said that if a mission statement is more than two or three words long, it either means that the organisation does not really know its purpose, or even if it does, no one else will. Let me give a few examples: glasnost, girl power, flower power, New Labour and the big society; I will not go on. Consequently, if a mission statement is going to work, it has to be pithy and memorable. Lord Reith’s “inform, educate and entertain” does the job, and has done it very effectively for a long time—everyone knows it.When the last charter renewal process landed the BBC with six rather wordy and worthy public purposes, it was not necessarily doing it a favour. Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford says BBC services need to reflect religious and community life of the nation”

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”

Immigration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendment on asylum for victims of genocide

On 21st March the House of Lords considered the Government’s Immigration Bill at Report Stage. Lord Alton tabled an amendment seeking to secure automatic asylum rights for members of groups subject to genocide and which gave power to the UK Supreme Court to determine whether a genocide had occured. The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, spoke in support of the amendment, and Lord Keen of Elie responded on behalf of the Government. In a subsequent vote the amendment was not passed, by 111 votes to 148. .

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Continue reading “Immigration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendment on asylum for victims of genocide”

Immigration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendment to provide for unaccompanied refugee children

14.06.09 Chelmsford 2On 21st March the House of Lords considered the Government’s Immigration Bill at Report Stage. Labour Peer Lord Dubs tabled an amendment to require the Secretary of State to make arrangements for relocating 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children to the UK, from other countries in Europe. The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, co-sponsored the amendment, speaking and voting in support.  In the subsequent Division the amendment was agreed by 306 votes to 204.
Continue reading “Immigration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports amendment to provide for unaccompanied refugee children”

Bishop of Chelmsford supports Bill to raise age of criminal responsibility

On 29th January 2016 the House of Lords debated at Second Reading the Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill – a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Dholakia. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, spoke in the debate, supporting the objective of the Bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years. The Bill was given a Second Reading and proceeded to its next parliamentary stage.

Chelmsford 251115The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, in rising to support the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia—and, indeed, pledging the support of the church to this campaign—I need to declare an interest: I was a child once and got into some scrapes. Now I am a parent and in the work I do hardly a week goes by when I am not in schools. Indeed, last year I had the sad but very moving honour of opening a garden of remembrance in the diocese where I serve in east London for young people who were the victims of, indeed had been killed by, knife crime. So I do not underestimate the seriousness of the crimes that we are talking about, nor the fact that children and young people do commit them. Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford supports Bill to raise age of criminal responsibility”

Lord’s Prayer Cinema Advert Ban – Bishop of Chelmsford asks question in Lords

On 25th November 2015 the Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell asked a question of Government about the decision by Digital Cinema Media not to accept an advertisement from the Church of England featuring the reading of the Lord’s Prayer. The video can be seen on the website justpray.uk A full transcript of the exchange and those that followed, is below.

 

Chelmsford 251115The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religious and non-religious organisations to express their beliefs in the public sphere, in the light of the decision by Digital Cinema Media not to accept advertisements from the Church of England.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con): My Lords, freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is fundamental to democratic society. Open discussion of faith issues has the benefit of bringing communities together, thereby giving rise to greater understand among faith groups. In this case, the decision not to accept the advertisement was by an independent media organisation. The Government made clear that they do not agree with that decision and urged the cinema to look again.

Continue reading “Lord’s Prayer Cinema Advert Ban – Bishop of Chelmsford asks question in Lords”

Visas for Overseas Church Representatives – Bishop of Chelmsford Question

On 22nd September 2014 the Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, received an answer to a question on the issuing of visas to representatives of overseas churches.
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Home Office – Entry Clearances
Asked by the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford on 01 September 2014 (HL1763):
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the criteria for giving visas to overseas church representatives in cases where all fares and expenses are guaranteed by a United Kingdom church body.

Continue reading “Visas for Overseas Church Representatives – Bishop of Chelmsford Question”

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