The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 4th December 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address teacher burnout and turnover in special education schools due to low pay and temporary contracts.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about rate of teaching turnover in special needs education”The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 22nd November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government how the Child Poverty Strategy intends to reduce child poverty in rural and coastal communities.
Baroness Sherlock (Lab, DWP): We are committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty which is why we have set up a Ministerial Taskforce that is urgently working to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025.
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On 6th November 2024, the Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Rural Crime Unit since its inception.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about National Rural Crime Unit”On 24th October 2024, the Bishop of Lincoln took part in a debate on the contribution that special needs schools and specialist education colleges make to the education sector, urging the government to support and fund special needs schools and to consider facilitating the creation of Church-based specialist schools:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Baroness Monckton, for securing this debate and offer my admiration for her commitment and eloquence in this field.
I formerly served as the chair of the National Society, as the lead bishop for education. In that capacity, I was given a very wide view of the brilliant provision that is made where specialist schools and colleges exist. I can point to such a school in north Wiltshire where teachers were so dedicated they were prepared to face a 150-mile round trip every day to serve in that special place.
I am also the bishop for the L’Arche community in the UK. With the Church of England, L’Arche, as part of its vision, seeks to educate people to live well together in a community. That seems to me something that is—or should be—a special part of any school, not least our special schools.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln urges government to support and fund special needs schools”On 10th October 2024, the Bishop of Lincoln took part in a debate on relations between the UK and Europe, highlighting the value in strong community relationships:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, for having made this debate possible and am looking forward to the speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Hodge, directly after this. Her experience as MP for Barking highlights how important it is that we are alert to the risk that cultural and ethnic diversity in our country can be exploited by extremists, and how important it is for us, as faith communities, not to have our faith and belonging co-opted by extremists in the way that we saw in the summer.
Faith and culture must not be seen as a cause of conflict. Our beliefs and values enrich and inspire us; these are the foundations of both individual and communal strength. Our cultural diversity, moreover, is a source of vitality, creativity and wisdom, but only when we are able to come together in dialogue, study and celebration. Faith remains a key feature of modern society in the UK and across Europe. It is worth remembering that Christianity, Islam and Judaism all have roots in the Middle East and long histories in Europe. It is vital that we build constructive relationships between these significant faith communities as we look towards a more positive future.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln speaks in debate on European Relations”The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in the King’s Speech debate on 19th July 2024, raising the issue of poverty in coastal and rural areas and the subsequent effects on children’s mental health and wellbeing:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I share your Lordships’ appreciation of the noble Baronesses, Lady Barran and Lady Jolly, and I welcome the appointment of our new Ministers. The noble Baroness, Lady Merron, will know as much as I do about Lincolnshire and that, particularly in its coastal towns and rural areas, Lincolnshire suffers from intergenerational poverty, which has a very direct impact on children. I think your Lordships’ House has received two reports in the last 15 years about the poverty in our coastal towns, but nothing much has changed. If I have heard the Government correctly, I am glad to hear them express their intention to pay more attention to rural and coastal poverty, which is often hidden away when it is not in our big cities.
Therefore, I also particularly look forward to the progress of the children’s well-being Bill and the work of the newly announced child poverty unit. In moving forward in this area, how do His Majesty’s Government plan to involve faith communities in addressing these needs, particularly considering the concentration of faith communities in areas of poverty and deprivation, as my right reverend friend the Bishop of London referred to earlier?
Continue reading “King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Lincoln speaks on impact of poverty in rural and coastal communities”The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in a debate on import and export of food and agricultural products from the EU on 2nd May 2024, raising examples from his diocese and the issue of carbon prodigality in imports:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I am grateful for this time to say two things about Lincolnshire. One is that 24% of jobs there depend on the food chain, so are deeply impacted by our import and export arrangements. One of the things that has been brought to my attention is that the Grimsby Fish Dock receives its fish from Iceland over the weekend, for auction and distribution on Monday and Tuesday. Will there be enough environmental health officers on duty over the weekend to ensure that these auctions and distribution can take place under these new rules?
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln raises issues of job retention and carbon emissions during debate on food imports and exports”The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on local community approaches to asylum seekers being housed in hotels, during a discussion on asylum seekers missing from their registered addresses on 2nd May 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, the Minister talked about hotels. The population of seaside towns, such as Skegness, have been very welcoming of asylum seekers staying in hotels. In effect, hotels are a way of monitoring the presence of asylum seekers over time. The frustration of people in Skegness and other coastal towns is that the slow progress in processing asylum seekers is having an impact on the tourist industry, the local economy and jobs in these towns. Is the Minister aware of that?
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about impact of housing asylum seekers in hotels”On 1st May 2024, the Bishop of Lincoln asked a question following a government statement on health and disability reform, raising the high rate of disability among those experiencing homelessness and asking whether disability reform should be focused on meeting the needs of this cohort rather than tightening eligibility for PIP:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I declare an interest as a bishop relating to L’Arche UK and worldwide, which cares for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. The aspiration outlined in the Ministerial Statement to create a Britain in which disabled people can be supported to thrive is one that we all share. At a time of economic challenge, any responsible Government must pursue priorities and make difficult choices, but I have been in your Lordships’ House for 10 years and this kind of Statement reminds me of the circularity of this debate about welfare provision within that 10 years, where we do not seem to have made huge progress. We heard a lot from previous speakers about the varied needs of people with disabilities, some people with temporary health issues and those with severe and enduring mental health conditions. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has noted that almost two-thirds of people living in destitution or direct homelessness have a chronic health condition or disability. These people may be unable to meet their most basic needs to stay warm, fed, dry and clean. Does the Minister agree that energy for further reform of disability benefits might be best applied to meeting the needs of this cohort rather than seeking to make eligibility even tighter?
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln responds to government statement on disability funding reform”On 1st May 2024, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Leasehold and Freedom Reform Bill. On behalf of the Bishop of Manchester, the Bishop of Lincoln spoke in support of amendments tabled by Lord Young of Cookham, aimed at improving accountability of fire and building safety procedures and remediation:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I stand to support the amendments in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham. My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester has put his name to the amendments and regrets that he cannot be in his place today. As we have heard, the Building Safety Act 2022 contained welcome measures to address historic building safety defects, but the fact remains, as other noble Lords have noted, that it does not go nearly far enough. Seven years on from the Grenfell fire, only 21% of high-rise blocks have been fully remediated—and they are the ones that are eligible; there remain gaps in provision where leaseholders are disqualified for such arbitrary reasons as their block being 10.9 metres tall rather than, say, 11.1. The Act disqualifies huge numbers of people who are now trapped in potentially unsafe flats which they will struggle to sell. They might face very high bills through service charges and insurance premiums.
Continue reading “Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill: Bishop of Lincoln supports amendments on building and fire safety regulations”
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