The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 21st May 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support SME builders in order to diversify the housebuilding sector.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about housing supply and housebuilding”
The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in the King’s Speech debate on 20th May 2026 on the topic of housing, urging government action to tackle the crisis in housing affordability:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, as the Church of England’s lead bishop for housing, I commend the measures in the gracious Speech that will improve different parts of our housing system.
The housing affordability crisis threatens to unravel the unwritten social contract: that if you get a decent education and then work hard, you should be able to earn enough to save for a deposit, buy a home, get married, start a family and provide stability for your children until they can do likewise. While these proposed Bills are important and worth while, I urge the Government to use this forthcoming legislation to address the most acute part of the housing crisis: the affordability of homes, whether for rent or for purchase.
Continue reading “King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Chelmsford raises issue of affordable housing”The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 24th March 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the National Centre for Social Research evaluation of the pilot move on period for newly recognised refugees to leave asylum accommodation.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about changes to refugee status and housing”The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 18th March 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government whether they plan for a proportion of their 1.5 million homes target to be met by bringing empty homes back into use.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about making housing available”The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answers on 16th March 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of labour shortages, planning and regulatory rules, and any viability challenges, on the delivery of their target to build 1.5 million homes.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about government housing targets”The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for community land trusts and social housing initiatives during a discussion on the government’s new homes target on 8th January 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful for the answers that we have had, particularly around social rent and affordable rent. Does the Minister agree that we also need to make space for things such as community land trusts and other community-led social housing initiatives, which can often provide accommodation in particular niches and communities that is much more sensitive to the needs of local communities? They may not be volume builders, but I would urge that they have a vital part to play.
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about affordable housing”On 15th July 2025, the House of Lords debated the Renters Rights Bill. Votes were held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
The Bishop of Manchester spoke at the second reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 25th June 2025, welcoming the legislation and the expansion of social housing in the UK, and raising the needs of rural and minority communities in relation to housing and land development:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, it is always a great privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, whose wisdom on housing is quite unparalleled. I draw attention to my own interests in social housing, as set out in the register, and to the fact that a number of provisions in the Bill might impact on the interests of the Church Commissioners for England, who pay my stipend and own the house I live in.
I welcome the Bill. We desperately need a rapid expansion in the building of social homes, ideally at social rents. Enactment of the measures here included can be part of the architecture—please excuse the pun—we need if we are going to underpin the ambition for a mixed economy for housing, one which will live up to the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing’s values of homes that are safe and sustainable.
Continue reading “Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports legislation and raises need for equality in housing access”
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 2nd June 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effective management of artificial light in new build homes.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about lighting in new build homes”On 14th May 2025, the Bishop of Manchester tabled two amendments to the Renters Rights Bill in committee:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: 249: Clause 101, page 129, line 2, leave out from “(homelessness)” to end of line 4
Member’s explanatory statement:
This amendment would make the Decent homes standard apply to all homeless temporary accommodation provided under the Housing Act 1996.
I thought that my amendment was never going to come. Amendment 249 stands in my name, and I am glad to support Amendment 252, to which I have added my name, and Amendments 250 and 251 in this group. I declare my interest as co-owner, with my wife, of one rather modest apartment in the West Midlands, which we let out.
As someone who has chaired a wide range of housing associations, including a large local authority transfer and an arm’s-length management company, I have seen the huge positive impact that the decent homes standard has had since one was first applied to social housing. Not least, it has forced landlords to pay proper attention to their existing stock, rather than focusing all their energies and resources on new developments. Hence, I am delighted that this Bill will, for the first time, extend the standard to much of the private rented stock; it is a sector desperately plagued by underinvestment in repairs, maintenance and stock improvement. One in five privately rented homes does not currently meet the decent homes standard compared to 10% for social housing. More than one in 10 has a category 1 hazard, which is two and a half times the figure for social housing.
Continue reading “Renters Rights Bill: Bishop of Manchester tables amendments on temporary accommodation and notice for property inspections”
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