On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
Tag: leeds
Bishop of Leeds asks about clergy responses to investigation into gatherings in Downing Street during COVID-19 restrictions
On 11th January 2022, during a debate on events that took place in Downing Street during a time when COVID-19 restrictions were in place, the Bishop of Leeds asked how the government would advise Bishops to respond to members of the clergy who had obeyed regulations in spite of pastoral reasons, in light of the allegations:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, could the Minister advise those of us on these Benches how we should respond to clergy, who took an enormous personal toll in having to deal with families who were not able to attend funerals or to be with their loved ones? They were very tempted to break the rules for strong pastoral reasons but did not, and they are now faced with this.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about clergy responses to investigation into gatherings in Downing Street during COVID-19 restrictions”Bishop of Leeds asks about conflict in Kazakhstan
On 11th January 2022, The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the impact of violence in Kazakhstan on the wider region around the country:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, have Her Majesty’s Government made any assessment of the impact of this instability on the wider region, particularly given Kazakhstan’s proximity to China, its very strong cultural relationships with Turkey, and its importance for the stability of the southern republics and those nations that lie below it?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about conflict in Kazakhstan”Bishop of Leeds asks about recent statements on the rule of law by the UK
Following a government statement on Russian aggression towards Ukraine on 10th January 2022, the Bishop of Leeds asked a question on perceptions on attitudes regarding the rule of law in the UK:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I note that the Statement refers several times to the rule of law, and I am delighted to hear the commitments made by the Minister and the Government. However, it has not gone unnoticed in the Russian press that there have been threats to the rule of law, not least by the Government here proposing legislation that might undermine international treaties. The Statement says:
“The free world must rise to meet the moment. Britain is stepping up and leading by example.”—[Official Report, Commons, 6/1/22; col. 170.]
That is not necessarily how it is seen elsewhere. Perhaps the Minister can comment on that. I do not ask the question to be awkward; I am simply concerned about it.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about recent statements on the rule of law by the UK”Bishop of Leeds asks about legal costs for postmasters affected by miscarriage of justice
During a debate on compensation for postmasters affected by the Horizon IT Scandal on 10th January 2022, the Bishop of Leeds asked whether legal costs were being paid for these postmasters:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, will the Minister say whether, following on from that question, those who are currently negotiating compensation with the Post Office for some form of redress are having their legal costs paid, or are they expected to pay them and then try to claim them back later?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about legal costs for postmasters affected by miscarriage of justice”Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate on mass displacement of refugees
On 6th January 2022, the Bishop of Leeds spoke in a debate on refugee displacement, highlighting the role of climate change in displacement and the need for urgent action on the causes of refugee crises:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Alton, on securing this debate. I am grateful to him for personifying the issue by naming individuals. I visited camps for internally displaced people in Iraqi Kurdistan several years ago. I am still haunted by the faces, not always the voices. When you are confronted with a 12 year-old boy who had not spoken since being forced to watch his father be beheaded outside his front door, then it is the faces, not the voices. They haunt me.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate on mass displacement of refugees”Votes: Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021
On 15th December 2021, the House of Lords voted on a motion regarding the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021. Two bishops took part in the vote:
Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate on COVID-19 restrictions, considering questions of parliamentary scrutiny, public health, and personal freedom
On 15th December 2021, the House of Lords debated a motion to approve continued COVID-19 Health Protection Restrictions. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, responding to issues of public health and personal freedom raised by other peers, and contrasting these issues with approaches to other legislation:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, in one sense I hesitate to contribute to this debate, which has been very interesting for lots of reasons. We sit in a Chamber where we contribute to the making of law, which is precisely about the infringement of people’s freedoms—that is what law is—so I struggle with the arguments about freedom. Yesterday or the day before we talked about infringing people’s freedoms regarding the right to protest, for example. I hope to hear the same arguments about the importance of freedom when we get to some of those very restrictive debates.
There are two issues here that we must not confuse. One is the public health issue and the demands of that; I hear everything that has been said about good scientists and bad scientists, and I totally agree that science is not God and scientists are not messiahs—noble Lords would expect me to say that anyway—but our job is to interpret the science with a view to then taking responsible decisions on behalf of other people. Like the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, and his immuno- compromised situation, my wife up in Leeds is immuno- compromised because of radical chemotherapy for cancer at the moment. I had to think very carefully about whether I should come down here, and I question how it will be when I go back.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate on COVID-19 restrictions, considering questions of parliamentary scrutiny, public health, and personal freedom”Bishop of Leeds asks about support for transport in the north-east of England
The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on improvements to transportation infrastructure in the north-east of England on 14th December 2021, during a debate on the effects of new COVID-19 restrictions on the arts and entertainment sector:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the cultural venue future for the north of England would be considerably enhanced if communications were improved—that is, if you could actually get to venues in the first place? What weight are he and his department giving to discussions about northern rail and other transport infrastructure?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about support for transport in the north-east of England”Bishop of Leeds asks about local advocacy for vaccination
The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the utility of organisations such as the Anglican Communion to aid in the uptake of vaccines in their local areas, during a debate on worldwide vaccine donations on 14th December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, it is not just a matter of quantity, supply and logistics but, as the Minister indicated, of vaccine hesitancy. What consideration have the Government given to working with partners such as the Anglican Communion, which is well placed at local level to work with local leaders to use the right language and to persuade local people to take the vaccines?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about local advocacy for vaccination”
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