The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 12th October 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the value of volunteering to the UK economy.
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The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on international medical partnerships on 17th September 2026, stressing the need for openness to new ways of practice and a sense of cultural humility:
I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, for securing this debate, and it is an honour to follow him. I thank him sincerely for his sustained work over a number of decades to show how medical partnerships with low-income and middle-income countries bring benefits both to those countries and to our own NHS.
This is something very dear to my own heart. My wife is a paediatrician and, together, we worked for a number of years in west Africa. My son has just graduated and started his first job as a doctor in Derby. Earlier this year, he did his medical elective in east Africa and, because he studied at the University of Newcastle, he was able to do the whole of his second year at Newcastle’s campus in Malaysia, an advantage he did not know about when he applied to that university. In a number of ways, cross-cultural medical work has been a big part of my family’s experience.
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The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the need to protect citizens from internal as well as external threats during a discussion on defence funding on 17th September 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, the best causally identified route of the rise of populist parties and extremist groups in this country is poverty, alongside deindustrialisation, austerity and perceived community decline. Does the Minister agree that the duty of a Government to protect their citizens includes protecting them from internal threats as well as external ones?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about role of defence funding in combatting internal threats”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answers on 16th September 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of volunteering for work-readiness.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about voluntary work”The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on skills, vocational training, and further and higher education on 3rd September 2026, raising the importance of volunteering opportunities as pathways into work and social engagement for young people:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, for securing this debate. I also express my gratitude to Alan Milburn and his team for firmly putting the number of young people out of education, employment and training on the political agenda. I think there is real cross-party consensus on the need to address what Alan Milburn was right to call a “moral crisis” facing our young people today. I sincerely hope that when the second part of his review is published, his recommendations will be taken seriously. Mr Milburn referred to the drivers behind rising NEET rates as a whole-system crisis; I would go further and characterise it as a whole-society crisis. There is an important role for community organisations to play—whether they are faith groups, uniformed groups, sports clubs or youth clubs—and for all of us as neighbours, friends and mentors to young people.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester speaks in debate on skills and vocational training”The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on government efforts to enable civic participation during a discussion on electoral systems and methods of voter registration on 3rd September 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, democracy is of course about a lot more than simply voter participation. What are the Government currently doing to enable civic participation at this time, particularly by minoritised groups, which will aid in safeguarding our democracy?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about civic participation in elections”The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the need to address the psychological and social impacts of poverty on 15th July 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I have spoken before in this House about the poverty-shame nexus: the deep relationship between financial hardship and the psychological and social experience of shame. Can the Minister tell us what the Government are doing to address not only material financial hardship through social security but the psychological and social aspects?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about addressing impacts of poverty”The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on automatic enrolment for free school meals during a discussion on funding for post-16 education and skills on 2nd July 2026:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, one way for schools and colleges to get the funding they need is through the pupil premium, and one way to ensure that they get the pupil premium funding to which they are entitled is through automatic enrolment for free school meals. Can the Minister confirm that local authorities wishing to run automatic enrolment schemes in their area would be acting in line with their duties to support the most disadvantaged children?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about free school meals”The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on the future affordability and quality of higher education on 2nd July 2026, stressing the need for joined up approaches to encouraging higher and further education:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, for initiating this debate. It is good to have the opportunity to contribute to thinking about the future affordability and quality of higher education. I do so as the Bishop of Leicester, but also with a close interest in the Cathedrals Group of Universities—14 universities whose distinctive history and mission speak directly to the themes before us: public service, social inclusion and the flourishing of local communities.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester takes part in debate on affordability and quality of higher education”The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the draft Conversion Practices Bill on 1st July 2026, querying whether there had been consultations with religious groups regarding the potential impact of the legislation on pastoral care and prayer:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I welcome the intentions behind the draft Bill. Indeed, in 2017, the General Synod of the Church of England passed a Motion, in fact by a large majority, which called on the Government to outlaw conversion therapy. However, I want to mention today that I have a number of concerns about the drafting of the Bill, and indeed particular concerns about the lack of clarity on the difference between harmful conversion practices and perfectly acceptable practices of pastoral care and indeed prayer, which is much needed for those who are in difficulty. If this difference is not crystal-clear within the legislation, it will potentially have a very significant negative impact on what I believe is legitimate spiritual care offered by faith groups. So, alongside the vital importance of consulting with LGBT+ people, can the Minister tell me what consultations have taken place with religious groups, and is he open to further conversations about how appropriate spiritual care can be guarded within this legislation?
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