Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2023 – Page 2 – The Church of England in Parliament

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports inclusion of missions on child poverty and health inequalities

On 11th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the first day of the report stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of two amendments to the bill:

Amendment 4, tabled by Baroness Lister of Burtersett, which would include a mission to reduce childhood poverty in the levelling-up missions
Amendment 7, tabled by Baroness Finlay and supported by the Bishop of London, which would include a mission to address health disparities in the bill

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 4, to which I have put my name and which I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for leading on, and to Amendment 7, to which my right reverend friend the Bishop of London has added her name. She sends her apologies that she cannot be present today.

I draw attention, as has been done already, to the latest research on the number of children living in poverty in the UK. I highlight particularly that in 2021-22 in my part of England, the north-east, more than one in three children were living below the poverty line. The number of children living in poverty in the region has seen an increase of 26% since 2014-15—the steepest rise of anywhere in the country during this period.

Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

On 11th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the first day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Bristol tables amendments on local authority grants to places of worship

On 24th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in Grand Committee. The Bishop of Bristol tabled amendments to the bill that would remove the existing confusion in law on whether local authorities can offer grants to places of worship:

Amendment 485:
After Clause 214, insert the following new Clause—

“Removal of prohibition on local authority from making grants to churches etc.

In section 8(1)(i) of the Local Government Act 1894 (works to church property), omit “, not being property relating to affairs of the church or held for an ecclesiastical charity”.”

Member’s explanatory statement: This amendment would remove the prohibition concerning churches and ecclesiastical charities in section 8(1)(i) of the Local Government Act 1894 and would ensure that local authorities’ spending power under section 8(1)(k) could be used to make grants to places of worship.

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I am pleased to speak to my Amendments 485, 505, 510 and 512. I thank the Government for making time so soon after the conclusion of the debate on Monday. I declare my interests as a board member of the Church Commissioners, as set out in the register, and as the Church of England’s lead bishop for church buildings. Noble Lords will also recall the debate on Amendment 163, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Needham Market, which took place earlier in Committee on 15 March.

I tabled these four amendments to clarify the issue of local authority funding responsibilities for all Christian churches, including parish churches. The Bill affords the opportunity to bring much-needed clarity to this issue and resolve a long-standing problem. I am delighted to say that these amendments have received strong cross-party support, and I am particularly grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Cormack and Lord Best, and the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, for acting as sponsors. The noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, is unable to be in her place today, but I am assured of her continued support for these amendments.

Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford advocates for ensured premises for faith schools

On 22nd May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in committee. The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in the debate, in support of a government amendment to the bill that would require local authorities to transfer school premises to charitable trusts in charge of academies, establishing parity with local authority maintained schools:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, following the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, I rise to speak in favour of government Amendment 467F and at the outset say that my right reverend friend the Bishop of Durham, who leads for the Church of England on education, very much regrets that he cannot be in his place.

We are grateful to the Department for Education and the department for levelling up for working together and with us in the Church to fulfil the Government’s commitment to bringing forward legislation to safeguard statutory protections relating to issues arising from the occupation of land by Church academies. The decision not to progress the Schools Bill might have meant that this uncontroversial but important change to legislation would have been lost, so it is very good to have the amendment in this Bill, which will maintain the important legacy of educational endowments that provide land for the purposes of a school with a religious character. This is important for all schools with a religious character, not just Church of England schools, and it will remove a significant barrier on the journey to academisation for Church schools, which is vital in the Government’s policy aims, as such schools make up one-third of the entire school sector and seek to serve local communities up and down the country.

Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich supports amendments protecting ancient woodlands

On 3rd May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill in committee. The Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Baroness Young of Old Scone which would require consultations to take place on developments affecting ancient woodlands:

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich: My Lords, I too add my support for the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Young, and pay tribute to the work she has done in this area. I declare an interest as someone who grows trees and has contributed to the green canopy project in Suffolk. We managed to plant 1.3 million trees under that auspice, which was more than a third of the national total. We were completely committed through various networks of people to this and, indeed, to the preservation of ancient woodlands.

Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Exeter supports amendments prioritising emergency services in infrastructure planning

On 3rd May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill in committee. The Bishop of Exeter spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord Greenhalgh, seeking to ensure that emergency services are considered during planning and reform:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I rise in support Amendments 324, 329, 342, 346, 347, 351, 352 and 360 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Greenhalgh, and to which I have added my name. They concern planning reform and the emergency services.

A robust and effective planning process is essential for the flourishing of our communities. A key aspect of this is to ensure the adequate provision of emergency services. I welcome the fact that the Bill has included emergency services in the definition of infrastructure under Schedule 11, but, historically, this has not always been the case. It remains the fact that local authorities are not obliged to take into account the views and concerns of the emergency services.

Church Commissioner Questions: Holy Land, Nigeria, Local Authority Grants, Parish Ministry, Trees, Coronation

On 28th April 2023 MPs asked questions of Andrew Selous MP, Second Church Estates Commissioner.

Holy Land: Desecration of Religious Sites

Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con)

1. What discussions the Church of England has had with international counterparts on the desecration of religious sites in the Holy Land. (904699)

Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)

4. What discussions the Church of England has had with international counterparts on the desecration of religious sites in the Holy Land. (904702)

The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous): In the first three months of this year, seven cases of serious vandalism and antisocial behaviour against churches have been recorded in Israel. That is a sharp increase on the previous year. The Church of England continues to work with the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, the heads of other Churches, other faith leaders and the Jordanian Government, as custodian of the holy sites, to maintain the peace.

Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Guildford supports safety remediation scheme

On 24th April 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in its 11th day of the committee stage. The Bishop of Guildford spoke in support of an amendment to the bill tabled by the Earl of Lytton that would “implement a building safety remediation scheme to ensure that buildings with building safety risks are put right without costs to leaseholders.”

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, for six years in the early 90s I was a priest in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and had never lived in a place where the vision of levelling up was quite so necessary and quite so localised. The very wealthy were often living cheek by jowl with the very poor, and meanwhile, on looking north from one of our churches was the unmistakeable sight of a brutalist 24-floor block of flats on Grenfell Road, which 25 years later was to become the scene of an unspeakable, though sadly not quite unimaginable, tragedy.

Making buildings safe for leaseholders has since become a priority for the Government, which is to be welcomed. As the noble Lord indicated, this support remains both limited and partial, creating a new distinction between the haves and have-nots of leaseholding when it comes to the most basic of principles: that the homes in which we live, work and raise our families should be safe. I happened to meet one of those have-not leaseholders this morning, for whom insuring his flat, let alone selling it, has become virtually impossible.

Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Leeds supports new definition for affordable homes

On 20th April 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in favour of an amendment that would tie the definition of “affordable homes” to median income:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I shall speak in support of Amendment 242 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Stunell. I do so having consulted the Bishop of Chelmsford, who leads for the Church of England on housing but is unable to be here today. It is clear, I think, that we need to rethink what genuinely affordable housing is and how an adequate supply can be delivered. In London, the south-east and many other areas across the country, the current affordable housing for rent definition of 20% below market rates makes little difference to those on a median income, let alone those in most need. Without redefinition, we will continue to work under the illusion that homes classed as affordable are helping to solve the housing affordability crisis, when for the most part they are not.

Of course, we need a multifaceted approach to solve the lack of affordable homes. I was interested to learn from the Bishop of Chelmsford that Vicky Ford MP has been addressing this in relation to Chelmsford. During her 10-minute rule Bill debate on 22 February, she spoke to the shortage of affordable housing we face locally and nationally. Her Affordable Housing (Conversion of Commercial Property) Bill would apply affordable housing obligations to conversions of commercial property to residential occupancy. The Bill is due its Second Reading in the Commons on 26 May, and we certainly hope that it will make some progress.

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