Gloucester – Page 9 – The Church of England in Parliament

Votes: UK-Rwanda Asylum Agreement

On 22nd January 2024, the House of Lords debated a motion on whether the government should ratify the UK-Rwanda Asylum partnership. A vote was held on the motion, in which a Bishop took part:

Bishop of Gloucester questions decision to legislate over safety of Rwanda

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in a debate on the government’s asylum agreement with Rwanda on 22nd January 2024, questioning the government’s decision to declare Rwanda a safe country would provide adequate protection to asylum seekers facing deportation:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak today and thank the International Agreements Committee for its excellent report. I will just say that as Lord Bishops we take no position on this Bench based on tribal loyalty and we are not whipped. Instead, because of what our Christian faith teaches us about care for the stranger, we have spoken with one voice on these Benches.

I am focusing on the issues before us today; friends on this Bench will speak to wider points in the coming weeks, as the Bill is discussed. As has been said, this treaty is the central plank of the Government’s case that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers. As others have commented, it is remarkable for the Executive to request that parliamentarians declare another nation state safe, and safe ad infinitum, on the basis that one drafted international agreement answers all the concerns of the Supreme Court. If Parliament proceeds to, in effect, substitute its judgment for that of the Supreme Court, where does that leave the constitutional principle of the separation of functions and what precedent is this setting?

Bishop of Gloucester asks about issues faced by migrant women disclosing domestic violence to police

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the issue of migrant women disclosing domestic violence to the police being reported to immigration enforcement on 22nd January 2024, during a discussion on the overrepresentation of black, Asian and minority ethnic women in numbers of female domestic homicides:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, after contacting the police to report domestic violence crimes, migrant women in the UK have often been reported to Immigration Enforcement. For this reason, those women often stay silent for longer. What are the Government doing to ensure that black, Asian and minority-ethnic women who are victims of domestic violence can report abuse without fear of detention or deportation?

Bishop of Gloucester asks about public confidence in non-custodial sentences

The Bishop of Gloucester tabled a question on the public’s confidence in non-custodial sentences on 22nd January 2024, with a view to encouraging improved evidence based awareness and understanding of the justice system:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the public’s confidence in non-custodial sentences.

Lord Bellamy: My Lords, it is important that the public have confidence in non-custodial sentences. The Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report, Public Opinion and Understanding of Sentencing, was published last Thursday, 18 January. The Government are currently considering the Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s report of 28 December 2023, Cutting Crime: Better Community Sentences, and further note the Sentencing Council’s current consultation on revised guidelines for the imposition of community and custodial sentences.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about mental health support for those affected by Horizon Post Office scandal

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the availability of mental health and emotional support for the sub-postmasters, sub-postmistresses, and their families, affected by the consequences of the Horizon Post Office scandal, on 10th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, this awful situation highlights so many of our inadequacies in focusing our attention on the right things at the right time and within the right timescale. It is obviously far too early for restorative justice processes to be put in place, but could the Minister offer assurance that attention is being given to mental and emotional support, as well as financial, for all who have lived with the consequences of this injustice for so long?

Bishop of Gloucester asks for assurances on curbing risk of refugee homelessness

During a debate on refugee homelessness on 13th December 2023, the Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the impact of an inadequate notice period to leave home office accommodation on refugees, and requested an assurance that no notices to vacate would be implemented when severe and emergency weather warnings were in place:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, given what has already been said about the inadequate notice period, can the Minister give an assurance that no notice to vacate will be implemented when a severe weather emergency protocol has been announced?

Bishop of Gloucester speaks on the criminal justice system during debate on “Love Matters” report of the Families & Households Commission

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on families on 8th December 2023, focusing on the criminal justice system and its effects on families:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will try to do even better than 10 minutes. I am grateful to my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for putting forward this Motion. I should like to focus my remarks on families and children in relation to the criminal justice system, and particularly imprisonment, and I declare an interest as Anglican Bishop for Prisons in England and Wales.

Jesus Christ once placed a child front and centre as he taught his listeners. I want to use that image simply to pose the idea that we would navigate things differently, we would see different sorts of manifestos committed to the long-term and make better policies if the child were always the central focus and starting point for all our policy-making. It seems that so much of government policy is focused on short-term fixing for the now or a few years’ time. What would it look like if policy and legislation were shaped in response to the child born today into a network of relationships, and then their life as an adult in 20 or 30 years’ time?

King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Gloucester speaks on prisons and the justice system

The Bishop of Gloucester gave a speech on building community infrastructure during the Kings Speech debate on 9th November 2023, with a focus on prisons and the justice system:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, it is a privilege to speak in this debate and I thank the Minister for his thorough introduction.

In the Old Testament there is a beautiful vison of the prophet Isaiah of the perfect future with God:

“Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days … No longer will people build houses for others and not live in them … People will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune”.

Whether or not you are a person of faith, I believe most of us would say yes to those words in the gracious Speech about the Government seeking, in all respects, to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations. But how will that be realised? We need interconnectedness across disparate Bills and government departments, and a commitment to the well-being of individuals, always set within the big picture of people belonging together as interdependent human beings—hence that word “community” and its importance in the gracious Speech being picked up in the themes of today’s debate.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the issue of settler violence on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem following a government statement on the current situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 9th November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I too thank the Minister for all he has said and all he is doing. As we have heard, international humanitarian law exists to protect humanity at times of conflict and to shield us from acts of barbarism. In very different ways, as we have heard, both sides continue to flout that law; it is shocking. I want to return to the situation in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Does the Minister agree that the rising settler violence and movement restrictions are a matter of real concern, in terms not only of individuals killed but of families displaced and the undermining of UNRWA’s ability to deliver much-needed humanitarian support there? The reports we are receiving from the Anglican diocese in Jerusalem indicate a perilous situation, and one that is going to worsen if steps are not taken to uphold the rule of law.

Bishop of Gloucester pays tribute to the late Lord Judge

On 9th November 2023, the Bishop of Gloucester took part in tributes to the late Lord Ivor Judge, who had recently passed away:

My Lords, these Benches echo all that has been said so movingly about this remarkable and learned man, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. As has been expressed, I and others felt a deep sadness on hearing the news of his death.

On behalf of these Benches, I have stood and given tributes on a number of occasions and, each time, very poignantly for me, I followed Lord Judge. He was wise, kind, humble, gracious and, as has been said, he always had a twinkle in his eye. His life was one of devoted public service to the greater good, be it in the law or the courts, as President of the Queen’s Bench Division and later as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, or as a Member of this House. He was a source of wisdom to me personally in my role as Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons. He would always greet me in the corridors with Shakespearean references to Gloucester. I will personally miss him.

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