Tag: emergency services

Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Lincoln supports amendments on duty of candour for public bodies dealing with major incidents

On 30th April 2024, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in support of an amendment tabled by Lord Ponsonby, which “would require public authorities, public servants and officials to act in the public interest and with transparency, candour and frankness when carrying out their duties in relation to major incidents”, referencing the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and stressing the importance of candour in responses from public bodies:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I support the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby. My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester is also a strong supporter of this amendment, which he has signed, and he regrets that he cannot be in his place today to speak to it himself.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about NHS key targets

On 16th January 2024, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on plans to ensure NHS key targets are met, raising concerns regarding the length of ambulance response times:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have in place to ensure the National Health Service meets its key targets.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): The NHS has made progress against its targets, especially given the challenges of recovering from Covid-19, the changing demography and winter pressures. The Government recognise that there is still a way to go and are working non-stop to support the NHS to do better. I take this opportunity to thank all NHS staff for their hard work to improve performance this winter.

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Bishop of St Alban speaks in debate on access to healthcare in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on emergency healthcare in rural areas on 20th July 2023, stressing the need for social support as well as medical resources:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Armstrong of Hill Top, not only for chairing this committee and producing an excellent report but on now bringing it to your Lordships’ committee for us to debate. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the LGA.

I associate myself with the noble Baroness’s concerns that a subject of such huge importance has so few people speaking on it. I understand the problems, but I encourage His Majesty’s Government, the Whips and so on to look at how we can give such topics the time they deserve.

I have long expressed my concern about healthcare in England, particularly in rural areas, so I read this report with great interest. I have seen the strain on emergency care in my own diocese of St Albans, which covers Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. In Hertfordshire, category 1 ambulance calls—those reserved for the most life-threatening injuries—were responded to in just under 12 minutes, on average, well above the national average of seven minutes.

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Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Exeter supports amendments prioritising emergency services in infrastructure planning

On 3rd May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill in committee. The Bishop of Exeter spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord Greenhalgh, seeking to ensure that emergency services are considered during planning and reform:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I rise in support Amendments 324, 329, 342, 346, 347, 351, 352 and 360 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Greenhalgh, and to which I have added my name. They concern planning reform and the emergency services.

A robust and effective planning process is essential for the flourishing of our communities. A key aspect of this is to ensure the adequate provision of emergency services. I welcome the fact that the Bill has included emergency services in the definition of infrastructure under Schedule 11, but, historically, this has not always been the case. It remains the fact that local authorities are not obliged to take into account the views and concerns of the emergency services.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about emergency services

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question regarding ministers of religion attending scenes of serious injury alongside emergency services on 26th April 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, this is a delicate area, especially when we are dealing with crime scenes or potential crime scenes. Nevertheless, do Her Majesty’s Government have any plans to ensure how this information will be rolled out in training people who are going to be in charge of these scenes? Is there going to be any monitoring to ensure that this is available? The sacrament of the last rites is a fundamental religious principle for many people. Can we have some assurance that this is going to be monitored?

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Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 8th December 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

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Bishop of Coventry asks about role of ministers of religion in emergency services

The Bishop of Coventry asked a question on the role of spiritual comfort provided by ministers of religion to the dying, and the potential for increased role of police chaplaincy, on 22nd November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, I greatly welcome the joint study group announced by the cardinal archbishop. Does the Minister agree that good outcomes from that study would include both further training and education to ensure that police officers understand the significance of spiritual comfort at the point of death, for the dying of whatever faith, and an increased role for police chaplaincy?

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Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendment on prison workers’ safety on behalf of the Bishop of Gloucester

On 2oth October 2021, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill. The Bishop of Durham, on behalf of the Bishop of Gloucester, spoke in favour of an amendment which would aim to expand the definition of emergency worker to include prison workers:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 11, in the name of my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester, with her permission, as she is sadly unable to be here today. I declare her interest as Anglican bishop of prisons in England and Wales.

This amendment seeks to improve Section 3 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 by expanding the definition of “emergency worker” to include all staff working in prisons. All those who work in prisons play a valuable role. However, currently, only officers and some healthcare staff are covered by this legislation and, as such, the risk for others working in prisons is increased, because prisoners are well aware of the more severe consequences of assaulting an officer compared with others working in prisons. Someone described this as effectively painting a target on their backs. This is an unintended consequence of the current legislation, which is unfair to many prison workers, undermines their safety and can be easily dealt with through this amendment.

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Bishop of Durham urges government action on rising cases of COVID-19

On 20th October 2021, the Bishop of Durham urged that the government put their “Plan B” into action to combat rising cases of COVID-19, citing the increased strain on emergency services:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I have a daughter who works in A&E in a London hospital who simply says, “Please will you make people act responsibly once again?” It costs us absolutely nothing. We acted too slowly previously. We have seen 10% increases in the last week; please just get on with plan B.

Lord Kamall (Con): I thank the right reverend Prelate for his question. It is important. Personally, I do believe that many people should be wearing masks and that there is evidence for this. But the fact is, we have to look at a number of indicators and balance those up.

Hansard