The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 24th March 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government:
On 19th March 2025, the Bishop of Norwich spoke in favour of amendments to the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill regarding support for families of service members:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shinkwin, and the reflections that he has offered the Committee. I rise to support Amendments 8 and 9. I am grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Minto, and the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, for outlining their thinking around this issue because it goes to the heart of how we as a nation care for and see the well-being of our Armed Forces and their families, as part of the whole package that we offer to them.
As I think noble Lords know, I speak as the father of a member of the Armed Forces. It is often said that a parent is only as happy as their least happy child. On one level, I can imagine that it is also true that a member of His Majesty’s Armed Forces is only as happy as their least happy family member. So there is a pastoral duty here—one that is supported by many in the Armed Forces, including welfare organisations and our military chaplains—but both these amendments would help us really state the pastoral support that we as a nation feel is important for not only our Armed Forces personnel but their children, their families and their dependants.
Continue reading “Armed Forces Commissioner Bill: Bishop of Norwich supports amendments on families of service members”
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 4th February 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will consider child maintenance as part of their forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about child maintenance”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 3rd February 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what (1) practical, and (2) mental health, support is offered to parents struggling to pay child maintenance.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about support for parents struggling to pay child maintenance”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 27th January 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the review of calculations of child maintenance.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about child maintenance and domestic violence”The Bishop of Oxford spoke in a debate on proposals to ban the use of smartphones in schools on 28th November 2024, raising examples of the impact of phone use in schools on behaviour, concentration and mental health:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, it is an honour to take part in this debate. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, on her excellent introduction. I too look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Cass.
The diocese of Oxford, where I serve, has 285 church schools. We share in the education of over 60,000 children through these schools and the network of multi-academy trusts. There is a broad consensus on the importance of this issue and in favour of smartphone-free schools. However, there is not yet a final consensus on the next steps to be taken to bring this about. The consensus arises from our commitment to follow the Christian values of wisdom, respect, community and hope in all our schools.
Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford supports ban on smartphones in schools”The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 15th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to increase infant and child vaccination levels in the north of England.
Baroness Merron (Lab, DHSC): In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about steps to increase infant and child vaccination in the North of England”The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 14th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report Infant Mortality in England published by Health Equity North in August; and what assessment they have made of the ethnic disparities in infant mortality rates in England set out in that report.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about ethnic disparities in infant mortality rates”The Bishop of Norwich spoke in a debate introducing the Support for Infants and Parents Bill on 6th September 2024, welcoming the bill and referencing the work of the Archbishop’s Commission on Families and Households:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I apologise to noble Lords for speaking in the gap. I did not expect to contribute today, but listening to the contributions so far, I was struck by the crossover with work underway by the Church and the Mothers’ Union, particularly when the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, mentioned the role of churches and faith communities.
I welcome the Bill and congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, and the right honourable Dame Andrea Leadsom on their work on this issue. Churches across the country offer support to new families and parents, providing spaces for parents to meet, share experiences and be directed to support, if needed. They provide child development services through toddler and children groups, which are essential for the formation of children before they start nursery or reception classes in school. Through Messy Church and these toddler groups, hundreds of churches are already implementing many of The Best Start for Life recommendations. Churches are delivering perhaps more than 18 of the 24 recommendations and are often partnering with local authorities to develop joint working on issues that affect all our communities.
Continue reading “Support for Infants and Parents Bill: Bishop of Norwich welcomes legislation”The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the governments plans to tackle holiday hunger for children on 24th July 2024, raising the example of church projects offering support to children and families in school holidays:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: Something like seven out of every eight local authorities now use this money to alleviate holiday hunger among our children. Can we have any hope that the Government will look at a more strategic way of helping children cope with hunger during the school holidays? Many of the churches in my diocese, and those of my right reverend friends here, are having to put on voluntary projects to support children during those periods. What can we hope for?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about issue of holiday hunger for children”
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