housing – Page 2 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Manchester asks about support for building energy efficient homes

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for housing associations in building energy efficient homes on 29th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of a housing association. Housing associations are a key provider of homes for those who can least afford high energy bills. What support will there be for housing associations when they are bidding for grants to subsidise the properties they are building? It does cost that bit extra, maybe £5,000 or £6,000 per home, to build to the standards that we need to.

Bishop of Southwark asks about space standards in housing

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on mandatory space standards in housing construction on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, many in the House will wish the Government well in their ambitious commitment to housebuilding, but in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework, will the Minister outline how the social objectives of the framework are guaranteed and monitored, specifically

“accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being”?

As regards well-being, will the Minister further consider restoring mandatory space standards for the construction size of British homes?

Bishop of St Albans asks about affordable rural housing

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on affordable housing in rural areas on 18th December 2024, during a discussion on Permitted Development Rights (PDR):

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, can the Minister tell us what steps her department is taking to ensure that enough of the homes being built under the PDR are affordable for local people in rural areas?

Bishop of St Albans asks about housebuilding in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on housebuilding targets in rural areas on 13th December 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, if the potential of rural exception sites were to be fully realised, it would make a transformative change for small rural communities, not least in providing the additional affordable housing that is desperately needed. It is frustrating because just before I came in I was trying to read the NPPF response to the consultation but I could not find it. Are His Majesty’s Government committed to introducing a national development management policy for rural exception sites?

Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on housing, highlighting the needs of rural communities

On 5th December 2024, the Bishop of St Albans also spoke in a debate on housing, emphasising the effects of the housing crisis on rural areas:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick of Undercliffe, for securing this important debate. I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and vice-president of the LGA. I offer my thanks to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury for his valedictory speech. During his tenure, he has been a champion of housing, and we have already referred to the Coming Home report, which is pertinent both to today’s debate and to His Majesty’s Government, with their very good and ambitious targets to build more housing. I hope we can assist the Government in achieving that.

Homelessness and rough sleeping are on the rise. Government statutory homelessness figures, released last week, reveal that 159,380 children are now homeless and living in temporary accommodation, a 15% increase in a year and the highest figure since records began in 2004. More particularly, the November 2023 CPRE report on the state of rural housing showed that rural homelessness has increased by 20% since 2021 and 40% since 2018-19.

Archbishop of Canterbury makes valedictory speech on the need for safe, stable, and affordable housing

On 5th December 2024, the Archbishop of Canterbury made his valedictory speech in the House of Lords during a debate on housing:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, it is often said and it is a cliché to say it—but hey, I am the Archbishop still—that if you want to make God laugh, make plans. On that basis, next year, I will be causing God more hilarity than anyone else for many years, because the plans for next year were very detailed and extensive. If you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary, who has seen weeks and months of work disappear in a puff of a resignation announcement.

The reality, which I wish to start with—then pay some thanks, and then talk about housing—is that there comes a time, if you are technically leading a particular institution or area of responsibility when the shame of what has gone wrong, whether one is personally responsible or not, must require a head to roll. There is only, in this case, one head that rolls well enough. I hope not literally: one of my predecessors in 1381, Simon of Sudbury, had his head cut off and the revolting peasants at the time then played football with it at the Tower of London. I do not know who won, but it certainly was not Simon of Sudbury.

The reality is that the safeguarding and care of children and vulnerable adults in the Church of England today is, thanks to tens of thousands of people across the Church, particularly in parishes, by parish safeguarding officers, a completely different picture from the past. However, when I look back at the last 50 or 60 years, not only through the eyes of the Makin report, however one takes one’s view of personal responsibility, it is clear that I had to stand down, and it is for that reason that I do so.

Next, I want to say thank you to so many people in the House. In these 12 years, I cannot think of a single moment when I have come in here and the hair on the back of my neck has not stood up at the privilege of being allowed to sit on these Benches. It has been an extraordinary period, and I have listened to so many debates of great wisdom, so many amendments to Bills that have improved them, so much hard work.

Bishop of St Albans highlights need for investment in rural communities

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on government priorities for rural communities on 15th October 2024, raising the need for concentrated investment in key sectors such as housing in rural areas:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for getting this debate and I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, on his excellent speech. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.

Rural communities make up nearly 20% of the population. That is similar to the number of people living in London, yet our biggest metropolis, among others, often feels far more integral to our policy and governance than our rural communities do. Rural communities are not just the responsibility of Defra; they are a significant proportion of our population, businesses, services and economy, and they cut across every government department. The specific impacts and challenges of policy rollout in rural areas need to be baked into the decision-making process of every single government department—not an afterthought but integral to the development of policy from the very beginning. Rural concerns are so often given to Defra which, while it has the lead on rural affairs, has very few of the levers necessary to bring about change. The sustainability of our rural communities should be of critical concern to us all, regardless of where we live.

Bishop of St Albans raises concerns on impact of growth of film industry in Hertfordshire

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the potential impact of the growth of the UK film industry on housing and public services in his diocese on 10th October 2024, following a government statement on support for the film industry:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, this is surely to be welcomed, and I think we are all delighted to hear these announcements, building on what has been said before. However, there is a deep concern in many parts of the country. In Hertfordshire, where I live, we have Elstree, Leavesden, the OMA V and the new studios being built in Broxbourne, and I have been privileged to visit some of those. Not only do we have the challenge of skills shortages for the film industry but we have a massive shortage already with the announcement on building extra houses. Can the Minister assure us that we are getting an integrated strategy, looking across the whole range of needs for skills, so that we can really get ahead of this game? Without that, we will have the facilities but simply not the people available to make the films.

Bishop of St Albans asks about homelessness in the UK

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 2nd September 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they will take in response to statistics from the OECD Affordable Housing Database regarding the level of homelessness in the United Kingdom compared with other countries in the developed world.

King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Chelmsford urges action on housing crisis

During a debate on 18th July 2024 in response to the King’s Speech, the Bishop of Chelmsford spoke on the topic of housing, urging the government to take strong and long term action to address the need for new and high quality housing in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, I declare my interest as the Church of England’s lead Bishop for housing. Along with other noble Lords, I very much look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Fuller.

It is undeniable that the UK is in the midst of a housing crisis—one with deep roots. Too often, housing has been viewed as a financial asset rather than a fundamental human need. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for the comments and commitments in his opening speech, but the housing crisis has been escalating for decades, so we should not underestimate just how long it will take to fix. Therefore, I cannot overstate the need for long-term thinking in tackling the housing crisis, a point well made by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick.

A clear, long-term vision and a carefully thought-through strategy to provide decent, affordable homes for all can deliver three major goals of economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship. That is why, along with my right reverend friend the Bishop of St Albans, I am pleased to support Homes for All—a vision for a long-term housing strategy supported by churches, charities, think tanks and others, which I commend to all noble Lords.

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