On 21st May 2024, the House of Lords debated the Victims and Prisoners Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a bishop took part:
Votes: Victims and Prisoners Bill
Tag: criminal justice
Bishop of St Albans asks about illegal hare coursing
The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the issue of illegal hare coursing during a discussion on rural crime on 9th May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, it is recognised that one niche area of rural crime by organised crime groups is laundering money through events such as illegal hare coursing, which is causing a huge problem. We were very grateful for the recent support of the Government in trying to bring an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, but is the Minister sure that the new police and crime commissioners not only understand the problem but have the right training in place so the law can be implemented?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about illegal hare coursing”Bishop of Gloucester asks about allocation of resources to Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 1st May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of resources allocated to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about allocation of resources to Criminal Cases Review Commission”Votes: Victims and Prisoners Bill
On 30th April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Bishop of Lincoln asks about supportive care for long-term prisoners upon release
The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on provision of supportive care for those released after a long time in the prison system, during a discussion on indeterminate prison sentences on 29th April 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, recently in Lincoln prison I met a man who has been continuously in the prison system for the last 48 years—since I sat my A-levels. He is not mentally ill in any obvious way. He told me that he keeps sane by keeping God between himself and the other prisoners—that was the gist of what he said anyway—but that he is so socialised by being in prison for so long that he has almost forgotten what he was in there for. He asked that if he were to be released could there be specialist units in nursing homes where there would be the proper care for someone who has not known freedom in his entire adult life?
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about supportive care for long-term prisoners upon release”Bishop of Derby asks about racial bias in youth justice
The Bishop of Derby asked a question on steps to eliminate racial bias against gypsy, Roma and traveller children in the youth justice system on 25th April 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I hold responsibility in the Bishops’ prison team for children in the youth justice system, so my question arises not only from access to what I find to be quite disturbing data but also from direct contact with children in the justice system. What steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to eliminate racial bias, including in charging, against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in the youth justice system, who are often hidden within official statistics?
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about racial bias in youth justice”Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Manchester urges greater support for victims of child criminal exploitation
On 16th April 2024, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments 5 and 8 to the bill pertaining to child criminal exploitation, urging that a consistent definition of this be adopted to ensure support for children affected by criminal exploitation:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I will speak very briefly to Amendments 5 and 8, to which I have added my name. One of the things that has changed hugely over my adult lifetime is an understanding of just how lifelong traumatising events that take place in childhood are. For that reason, we need to be very clear and careful when working with children.
Continue reading “Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Manchester urges greater support for victims of child criminal exploitation”Bishop of St Albans asks about animal welfare prosecutions
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 21st March 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for poaching in England were successful under the Game Act 1831, the Hunting Act 2004 and the Night Poaching Act 1828 in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about animal welfare prosecutions”Bishop of St Albans asks about prosecutions for unlicensed fishing
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th March 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many successful prosecutions by the Environment Agency there were for fishing without a licence in England in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about prosecutions for unlicensed fishing”Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich expresses concern over human rights protections
During a debate on the Victims and Prisoners Bill on 12th March 2024, the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester, spoke in support of removing clauses 49-52 from the bill on the basis that they would potentially weaken human rights protections in the UK through disapplication of certain rights to prisoners:
The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: My Lords, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester regrets that he cannot be here today to speak to the amendments to which he has put his name.
The basis of our opposition to Clauses 49 to 51, to echo points made by the noble Lord, Lord German, and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, is that human rights need to be applied universally, even when disapplication might seem expedient. We know that, when people are marginalised, it is then that human rights protections are most necessary and, as such, the disapplication of rights to prisoners, who rely on independent courts and the justice system to guarantee basic minimum standards of fairness and respect, is particularly egregious. The Law Society has warned that these clauses
“significantly weaken the system of human rights protections in the UK”.
My right reverend friend and I add our voices to these concerns.
Continue reading “Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich expresses concern over human rights protections”
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