children and families – Page 5 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about support for purchasing school uniforms and stationery

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support parents with back-to-school costs, including (1) uniform, and (2) stationery.

Baroness Barran (Con, DfE): The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has provided £94 billion to support households with higher costs across 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Additional cost of living payments of up to £900 will be made in 2023/24 to households on means tested benefits.

Bishop of Durham stresses importance of family reunification in migration cases

The Bishop of Durham spoke in response to a motion to take note of the Family Migration (Justice and Home Affairs Committee Report) on 20th September 2023, drawing attention to the work of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and to the importance of family reunification:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interests as laid out in the register, both with the RAMP project and RESET. I am pleased to speak today following the helpful and insightful report from the Justice and Home Affairs Committee. The concept of family, which we all know is much more than just a societal description—it is a fundamental building block of our communal life as a nation—serves as an excellent basis for the review of migration policy. I refer the Minister to the Love Matters report from the Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households, which I co-chaired, which has research on how family is now understood in our nation. I commend my friend the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and the committee for their important work.

Bishop of Durham asks about support for families affected by and at risk of homelessness

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 18th September 2023:

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

further to the data on homelessness published on 25 July that showed that more than 131,000 children were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2023, what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation.
what steps they are taking to support families at risk of homelessness.

Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience

On 6th September 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in a committee debate on a report from the Children and Families Act 2014 Committee: A Failure of implementation, referencing the findings of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and the need to safeguard children as being at the heart of Christian teaching:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for securing this debate, and the whole Children and Families Act Committee for its work on this excellent report and for highlighting all the issues.

Our experiences of childhood and family life shape who we are and who we become. When children and families flourish, society flourishes. This is not a new understanding: in the little we hear of Jesus as a child, the gospel writer Luke highlights how he grew physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. His childhood shaped his adult ministry.

Bishop of Durham asks about impact of increased job search requirements for lead carers in families

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 25th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the book by Kate Andersen Welfare That Works for Women? Mothers’ Experiences of the Conditionality within Universal Credit, published in January, what assessment they have made of the impact on families of increasing the job search requirements for lead carers.

Bishop of Durham asks about conditionality requirement within universal credit

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 24th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the book by Kate Andersen Welfare That Works for Women? Mothers’ Experiences of the Conditionality within Universal Credit, published in January, what assessment they have made of their decision to introduce automated sanctions and intensify the conditionality regime for lead carers.

Church Commissioners Questions: Ordinands, Community Sponsorship, Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act, Ordination, Freedom of Religion & Belief, Family Relationships

On 20th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked the following questions by MPs in the House of Commons:

Ordinands

Mr Louie French MP (Con, Old Bexley & Sidcup) asked: What recent steps the Church of England has taken to increase the number of ordinands.

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire) I am very pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend that there are 1,100 clergy in training in 2022-23, and that £10.3 million has been given to 25 dioceses to fund more curacy posts and £4.3 million has been given to 19 dioceses to make sure that clergy leaving training have a post of first responsibility to go to.

Bishop of Durham asks about work requirements under universal credit

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 19th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to book by Kate Andersen Welfare That Works for Women? Mothers’ Experiences of the Conditionality within Universal Credit, published in January, what steps they are taking to ensure that work-related requirements are appropriate to parents’ caring responsibilities.

Bishop of Bristol asks about impact of parental imprisonment on children

On 18th July 2023, the Bishop of Bristol asked a question on the effects of custodial sentences on dependent children of prisoners and the results of a pilot scheme taking this into account in magistrates courts:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, following the response given to my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester on 15 December 2021 about pre-sentence reports, can the Minister say what impact the pilot in 15 magistrates’ courts has had on the take-up, taking into account the devastating impact of parental imprisonment, when sentencing a primary carer?

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Bristol tables motion to limit detention of vulnerable migrant children

On 17th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the final day of the report stage. The Bishop of Bristol spoke in support of her motion E1, which would amend the bill to ensure that children could not be held in detention for longer than 120 hours, or for longer than a maximum of a week with authorisation of a Minister of the Crown:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I shall speak to Motion E1. This Motion, as with Motion D1, concerns vulnerable children being deprived of their freedom—in this case, those accompanied children. I am disappointed that, regardless of the strength of opinion across this Chamber, the Government are still not proposing to set limits on the detention of children in the Bill, whether they are accompanied or unaccompanied. Despite the comments of the Minister about the possibility of fake families earlier in the debate, I wish to press the point.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: