manchester – Page 19 – The Church of England in Parliament

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on protection for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities

On 13th December 2021, during a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments that would provide protection from eviction and homelessness for those from Gyspy, Roma, and Traveller communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interests, first in my work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which has already been referred to today, secondly as chair of the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, and lastly as deputy chair of the Church Commissioners for England, one of the largest owners of farmland in the country. I think I have almost as wide a range of interests as has this extraordinarily diverse and far-reaching Bill.

I am grateful to those noble Lords from across the House who have proposed and supported the amendments in this group and spoken to them so powerfully in this debate. Like others, I am also grateful to the Minister for generously taking time to engage with us last week.

In my short time so far as a Member of your Lordships’ House, I have become accustomed to Ministers telling us that they have sympathy for our position but that the present Bill is not the way to address the matters that concern us—for example, when we tried to look at safety in high buildings on the then Fire Safety Bill. I do not see why we cannot play the same card. We need a separate Bill, one that deals comprehensively with the needs as well as the obligations of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people—not simply legislation that offers fresh and very serious penalties for what may be rather minor infractions. The matters addressed in these clauses would surely be better dealt with in that more balanced context. That would allow Her Majesty’s Government to deliver on their manifesto commitment.

Votes: Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 13th December 2021, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on data protection

On 8th December 2021, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in its first day of the report stage. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to ensure data protection regulations are maintained when data is shared under the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I rise to support the amendments in my name and those of the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and the noble Lord, Lord Paddick. I draw your Lordships’ attention to my interests in policing ethics and my work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as set out in the register. I trust that those interests assure your Lordships that I am a strong supporter of effective policing, not its adversary.

As an occasional statistician, I am also well aware of the power and utility of data. Good data, including on the risks of serious violence, can provide the evidence that allows the limited resources of our police forces to be directed to the particular challenges faced in different contexts and localities. Perhaps it is because I trained not as a lawyer but as a mathematician that I hold firmly to the maxim that, before one can begin to find the right solution, one has to have clearly defined the problem. I am not sure that these clauses, as presently drafted, fully pass that test.

Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 8th December 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

Votes: Adjournment

On 8th December 2021, the House of Lords held a vote on a motion for adjournment, in which Bishops took part:

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments to limit police powers regarding criminal trespass

On 3rd November 2021, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill in committee. The amendments, tabled by Baroness Whittaker, aimed to limit police powers relating to the offence of “criminal trespass”, particularly pertaining to sites used by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support Amendments 133 and 149 in my name and the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, who has spoken so eloquently, and the unavoidably absent noble Lords, Lord Alton and Lord Bourne. I also wish to support Amendment 147 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and others. I refer noble Lords to my interest in policing ethics that is set out in the register.

As I said at Second Reading, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have been a vital part of the economy of our nation—not least its agricultural sector—for many generations. Their mobility has enabled them to provide labour at the point of need for shorter or longer periods of time. The consequence of that very flexibility is that they have not acquired fixed land, property or dwellings over generations, but are constantly at the whim of the availability of sites and pitches for their vehicles and caravans. The labour shortages that presently beset us might serve as a reminder that we owe a debt to those who have provided a flexible workforce in times past. Instead, this Bill seeks to push them towards criminality while making no adequate alternative provision for them.

Bishop of Manchester responds to government statement on COVID-19

On 21st October 2021, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in response to a government statement on COVID-19, urging the government to consider incremental methods of approaching managing the virus:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I apologise for having stood up too early a moment or two ago; I am still very much learning my trade in this House, but I follow the dictum of Martin Luther, that if you must sin, sin boldly.

I am grateful for the Statement, and assure the Minister that the faith communities, which did a lot last year to get health messages to some of the harder-to-reach groups in our society, stand ready to do the same again this winter, but I wonder whether the Government have made a rod for their own back in having plan A versus plan B. It seems a very polar way to deal with things when, actually, we need a more graduated method. Perhaps I might encourage the Government not to be the prisoner of their own rhetoric and for the Minister to share with his colleagues in another place that perhaps we could have steps between a plan A and a plan B: we need gradual, incremental stages as the virus levels rise. I encourage him to try that.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Durham backs amendments to safeguard children involved in serious violence on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester

On 20th October 2021, during a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments intended to increase safeguarding efforts relating to children involved in serious violence, on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester was in his place earlier but has had to go elsewhere for the evening. He has asked me to speak on his behalf on the amendments in this group tabled in his name alongside those of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones. I thank the Children’s Society and Barnardo’s for their support and helpful briefings.

The Church has a particular concern for vulnerable children. As far as the Church of England is concerned, there are 4,644 schools in which we educate around 1 million students. This educational commitment is combined with parish and youth worker activities that bring the Church into contact with thousands of families each year. Through the Clewer Initiative, many parishes and dioceses have worked closely on the issues of county lines and confronting the blight of modern slavery. Accordingly, we have seen at first hand and, sadly, all too frequently the terrible damage caused by serious youth violence and by the criminal exploitation of children. The latter is an especially insidious form of abuse, which one victim has described as “when someone you trusted makes you commit crime for their benefit”.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments consolidating mental health and family support for police force

On 2oth October 2021, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in a debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, adding his support to a group of amendments intending to create a police covenant to better support the mental health and wellbeing of police and their families:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I draw your Lordships’ attention to my interests in the world of policing as set out in the register, particularly in policing ethics, both with the Greater Manchester Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

At Second Reading I referred briefly to the culture of policing. I did not specifically mention a policing covenant given that time was so short, but I have been intrigued by the debate we have had this afternoon. I note the way in which Members have referred to the Armed Forces covenant. That is helpful in some ways, although I am just a little concerned. As I said at Second Reading, the heart of the policing model is that our police are civilians in uniform; they are not the Armed Forces. We need to be careful not to put police too easily into the same category as the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are agents of the state while police are agents of society in a slightly different way. That is an important civilian distinction I would want always to hold before us.

Bishop of Manchester asks about prevention of homelessness

During a debate on the cost of living on 12th October 2021, the Bishop of Manchester asked a question on government efforts to prevent increasing homelessness in the UK:

The Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I wish that at the beginning of our proceedings this afternoon I had decided to count how many times the phrase “unintended consequences” would be heard in a ministerial voice. As someone who has long been a campaigner for and volunteer with homelessness charities, I wonder what assessment Her Majesty’s Government have made of the unintended consequences this change will have on the level of homelessness among our people. We did so well with the Everyone In scheme; it seems a shame if we are now putting that at risk. What will the Government do to mitigate that?

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: