Lincoln – Page 4 – The Church of England in Parliament

Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Lincoln supports amendments on duty of candour for public bodies dealing with major incidents

On 30th April 2024, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in support of an amendment tabled by Lord Ponsonby, which “would require public authorities, public servants and officials to act in the public interest and with transparency, candour and frankness when carrying out their duties in relation to major incidents”, referencing the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and stressing the importance of candour in responses from public bodies:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I support the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby. My right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester is also a strong supporter of this amendment, which he has signed, and he regrets that he cannot be in his place today to speak to it himself.

Votes: Victims and Prisoners Bill

On 30th April 2024, the House of Lords debated the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Bishop of Lincoln speaks in debate on combatting child poverty

The Bishop of Lincoln spoke in debate on child poverty on 29th April 2024, highlighting the importance of effective infrastructure for housing and employment, and the experiences of children and families in rural communities:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for securing this debate and for his passion and his challenge. Like the noble Lord, I come from a poor London Irish family, but from south of the river, if that is allowed. We have heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, about the causes of child poverty and that they are systemic, and about the potential for changing them—not by exceptionalism, as may have applied in our cases.

As the Bishop of Lincoln, I am very conscious that in greater Lincolnshire I see vibrant resilient communities but, in the midst of a commendable spirit, there are considerable challenges. The effects of deep poverty feel widespread and tangible in a way that I have not seen since I began as a priest in the mid-1980s. Damp, low-quality accommodation, particularly in the private rented sector, has an impact felt particularly by children at crucial stages of their development. In response to this, the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community set out five values for good housing: it should be safe, sociable, sustainable, satisfying and secure. Failure to deliver this only serves to entrench child poverty.

Bishop of Lincoln asks about supportive care for long-term prisoners upon release

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on provision of supportive care for those released after a long time in the prison system, during a discussion on indeterminate prison sentences on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, recently in Lincoln prison I met a man who has been continuously in the prison system for the last 48 years—since I sat my A-levels. He is not mentally ill in any obvious way. He told me that he keeps sane by keeping God between himself and the other prisoners—that was the gist of what he said anyway—but that he is so socialised by being in prison for so long that he has almost forgotten what he was in there for. He asked that if he were to be released could there be specialist units in nursing homes where there would be the proper care for someone who has not known freedom in his entire adult life?

Bishop of Lincoln asks about methods of improving school attendance

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a questions about application of data analysis to improve pupil attendance and experience in schools on 13th February 2024, during a discussion on the potential of Ofsted reviewing pupil absence rates as part of their inspections:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I express gratitude to the Minister for the way in which the data has been produced; I understand that more is to come, and that will be examined in great detail. As an unrepentant pedant, though, I am as interested in the adverbs as the nouns—in how the data is to be applied. How do we get more children across the line in terms of the culture of school? Some years ago, the Children’s Society’s Young Commissioners looked deeply into child poverty in school and how children are identified as those, for instance, receiving free school meals or who are not able to purchase the very expensive school uniforms from the agreed seller. How is school culture being encouraged by government further to change in order to get children across the line? How, indeed, do we expect Ofsted to become the “office of encouragement”?

Safety of Rwanda (Asylum & Immigration) Bill: Bishop of Lincoln supports amendments stipulating automatic right of return to the UK for refugees

During a debate on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum & Immigration) Bill on 12th February 2024, the Bishop of Lincoln spoke in support of amendment 8 to the bill, which would insert a stipulation that those granted refugee status have automatic right of return to the UK into the bill, explaining his experience of Rwanda and urging that the UK not place a burden on the Rwandan people that the country may not be able to cope with:

The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, I rise to speak because I suspect I am in a minority as one of the very few Members of this House who have had direct contact with Rwanda, having had 10 years’ engagement with the diocese of Kigali, the capital city, and the great joy of visiting the country and seeing life outside in the countryside. One of the most moving things of my nearly 40 years of ministry was praying at the national memorial for the holocaust in Kigali with a local bishop who had lost so many members of his family. He was still so distraught that I had to find the words for our prayer together.

I put on record that I have come across so many wonderful Rwandans who would be hugely great examples to us individually of the practice of forgiveness and trying to make life beautiful again after a terrible tragedy. I can think of one instance where I met a priest; most of his family had been murdered, and in an act of forgiveness he took the murderer of his loved ones into what was left of his family, because he felt there was a requirement upon him to demonstrate and show forgiveness in this terrible situation.

Bishop of Lincoln asks about SEND diagnosis process for children and families

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on support for families in the process of receiving special educational needs diagnoses and provision for their children on 12th February 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, I welcome everything that the Minister has said, but we all know that, even with the initial screening online, a full diagnosis for many children with any of these needs can take years to confirm. I am interested in what the noble Baroness has to say about how families—and the children themselves—are accompanied through several years of negotiation with the NHS and with local authorities, especially when, as has already been said, certainly in Lincolnshire, staffing costs outstrip the need that is expressed within our schools.

Bishop of Lincoln introduced to Lords

On 21st November 2023 the Right Reverend Stephen Conway was re-introduced to the House of Lords in his new role as Bishop of Lincoln. He had previously served as Bishop of Ely.

Votes: Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill

On 20th July 2021, the House of Lords debated the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill in the first day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Votes: Procedures & Privileges

On 13th July 2021, the House of Lords debated a report from the Procedures and Privileges Committee regarding proposed changes to procedures in the House. Votes were held on a motion to approve the changes, and amendments to the main motion, in which Bishops took part:

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