Two bishops took part in a vote in the House of Lords yesterday (24th March), on an amendment to the Government’s Defence Reform Bill, during its Report Stage.
Votes – Defence Reform Bill
Tag: Chester
Votes – Offender Rehabilitation Bill / Antisocial Behaviour etc Bill
Bishops took part in two votes in the House of Lords yesterday (11th March), on amendments to two separate Government Bills, which were at the final stages of their parliamentary progress.
Continue reading “Votes – Offender Rehabilitation Bill / Antisocial Behaviour etc Bill”
Women in the Church: Bishop of Chester’s speech in Lords debate on International Women’s Day
The Bishop of Chester spoke during the International Women’s Day debate on the contribution of women in the economic life of the United Kingdom and worldwide. He updated the House on the progress being made by the Church of England to allow the consecration of women as bishops, and used the example of this process to examine the challenges faced by many women in the economy to be accepted in their own right. He also spoke of the role of women in the wider life of the church.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, the noble Baroness could well have said, “Bishops’ Benches: 26 men, no women”, but I am glad that she did not, although I am sure that others will. I rise with an appropriate hesitancy as the first male speaker in a debate in which only 22% of the speakers will be men. The majority of those listening are also women, which is a pity. However, I look forward to the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Palumbo, whom I can only describe as a fellow Daniel in the lion’s den on this occasion.
Indeed, those who inhabit these Benches might be seen as somewhat handicapped in advocating the fuller involvement of women in the wider life of our society. As we are regularly reminded, ours are the only Benches from which women are currently excluded. I hope that I can say something today about that and about the wider significance of the struggles of the church over the full involvement of women in its life. Continue reading “Women in the Church: Bishop of Chester’s speech in Lords debate on International Women’s Day”
Vocational Education: Bishop of Chester Responds to Government Announcement
The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster responded to the Government statement on a new vocational qualifications reform plan. The Bishop welcomed the need to reform vocational education and expressed a concern that continued narrowing of curricula, he also urged the Government to ensure the soft skills needed by employers were also valued.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I warmly welcome the Statement in its intention. Clearly there needs to be a greater focus on vocational qualifications in FE but the danger is that the move towards focusing ends up with narrowness. I think that was the concern expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Young, in his response. Indeed, we just heard of the need to learn about life as well as a particular skill. Continue reading “Vocational Education: Bishop of Chester Responds to Government Announcement”
Academy Chains & Inspection: Bishop of Chester Question
Baroness Hughes of Stretford asked Her Majesty’s Government, following the decision to remove 10 academies from the E-ACT Academy chain, what action they are taking to ensure that other chains are managing schools satisfactorily.
The Bishop of Chester asked a supplementary question.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I should like to return to the issue of inspection. In as much as the multichain bodies are involved in the governance of all the academies in their chain, and Ofsted inspects governance, why does Ofsted not also inspect the chains themselves?
Lord Nash: Ofsted looks at the support that chains are giving to their schools, and we have a very tight grip on the governance of all the chains. We have been in discussions with 50 chains to strengthen their governance arrangements
(via Parliament.uk)
Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill – Report Stage Amendments
The Government’s Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill had its Report Stage in the House of Lords on 4th March 2014. The Bishop of Chester spoke to Amendment 1 and Amendment 7. He and the Bishop of Peterborough took part in a Division on Amendment 1. The Bishop’s speeches are below, with links to respective sections of Hansard on the Uk Parliament website where the speeches can be seen in the context of the debate.
Amendment 1 – Licensing of gambling companies
(via Parliament.uk)
Amendment One (Baroness Howe of Idlicote) sought to “give the Gambling Commission a discretionary power to block financial transactions between people living in the UK and online gambling websites that have not secured a UK Gambling Commission licence”.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I want to associate myself fully with the remarks just made by the noble Lord, Lord Browne, and with the powerful and comprehensive speech made by the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, in introducing the amendment. Continue reading “Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill – Report Stage Amendments”
Cost of Family Breakdown: Bishop of Chester Question to Government
The Bishop of Chester asked Her Majesty’s Government: what is their estimate of the cost of family and relationship breakdown to the welfare budget.
After the Minister’s reply, he followed up with a supplementary question.
Lord Freud: My Lords, I am unable to give an official figure. A number of organisations have produced estimates—for example, the Relationships Foundation, at £45 billion-odd—but there is no consensus. The social security spend on lone parents and collecting child maintenance is just under £9 billion, but we must acknowledge that there are wider societal costs. Government have an important role to play in supporting families and working to ensure stable futures for children.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, if the figure of £45 billion or £46 billion given by the Relationships Foundation is even remotely accurate, that illustrates the cost of family and relational breakdown, which cashes out at about £1,500 each year for each taxpayer in our country. What more do the Government propose to do to support and strengthen family life and relationships in our country, which must somewhere include supporting the institution of marriage? Continue reading “Cost of Family Breakdown: Bishop of Chester Question to Government”
Bishop of Chester Pays Tribute to Reading Clerk
The House of Lords marked the retirement of its Reading Clerk with tributes paid by each of the benches. The Bishop of Chester spoke on behalf of the Lords Spiritual.
Moved by The Lord Speaker: That this House do approve the appointment by the Lord Speaker, pursuant to the Clerk of the Parliaments Act 1824, of Mr Simon Peter Burton to be Reading Clerk on the retirement of Mr Rhodri Havard Walters.
The Lord Bishop of Chester:
My Lords, I want to associate these Benches with all the remarks made so far. I think that Rhodri Walters introduced more than 200 Members into the House, including the rare distinction of introducing the Archbishop of Canterbury twice—first as Bishop of Durham and then as Archbishop of Canterbury. He may have been able to deal with the Letters Patent in his sleep, except that when a Bishop comes along he is liable to trip up the Reading Clerk as it is a different form of words.
Perfectionist that Rhodri was, three or four weeks ago, when the first of the current flood of new Bishops arrived, he said to me, with a fallen face, “I don’t think I have got it quite right”. I do not think that anyone else had noticed anything other than perfection because he was a perfectionist—a perfectionist in the parliamentary choir and in every aspect of his life. There was always a particular resonance between the Bishops and Rhodri because he is used to looking after bishops as he is a church warden of one of the parishes here in London. As a good church warden, he forgave us our sins when we did not do exactly as we were told.
(via Parliament.uk)
Introduction of the Bishop of Durham
On 3rd March 2014 Paul Roger Butler, Lord Bishop of Durham, was introduced and took the oath, supported by the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Chester, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct.
Photos: Taking the Oath in the Chamber, holding the New Testament; Bishops’ Robing Room, being congratulated on his introduction by his predecessor as Bishop of Durham, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop of Chester receives answer to question on electricity market (Written Question)
The Lord Bishop of Chester asked Her Majesty’s Government what amount and proportion of the United Kingdom’s electricity requirement in 2013 was met by inputs through interconnectors with other countries; and how much electricity the United Kingdom exported during 2013.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma) (Con): The table below shows UK imports and exports of electricity, in GWh, January 2013 to September 2013. Data for 2013 as a whole will be available on 28th March 2014.
| Imports and Exports in the UK for January-September 2013 in GWh | |
| Imports | 13,084 |
| Exports | 2,065 |
| Net Imports | 11,019 |
| -as % of electricity supply | 4.00% |
| Electricity Supplied | 275,523 |
Source: Energy Trends table 5.2 available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-section-5-energy-trends
(via parliament.uk)
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