The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the two-child limit on child poverty levels since it was introduced in 2017; and what steps the Child Poverty Taskforce is taking to address this impact.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about impact of the two-child limit on child poverty levels”The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 19th December 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take forward plans to introduce a children’s wellbeing bill as mentioned in the King’s Speech; and if so, what steps they are taking to include measures to end child poverty in a given timeframe.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about measures to end child poverty”The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 6th December 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce legally binding, time-constrained targets to eliminate child poverty as part of the Child Poverty Strategy.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about child poverty”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.
Continue reading “Bishop of Lincoln asks about child poverty strategy”
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”
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