Tag: manchester

Environment Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments to preserve biodiversity

On 7th July 2021, the House of Lords debated the Environment Bill in the sixth day of the Committee stage. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in the debate, in support of a group of amendments aimed at preserving and protecting biodiversity in terms of land use regulations:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I draw your Lordships’ attention to my interests as set out in the register, specifically with the Church Commissioners—a significant owner of agricultural and development land. On matters of climate change, we are a leading edge and an awarding-winning investor, yet the Bill reminds us that climate is only part of the story.

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Bishop of Manchester calls for clear timeline to resolve issues of building safety

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the government’s timetable for resolving issues of building safety for residents of buildings with unsafe cladding and other safety issues on 24th June 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, four years on from Grenfell, one of the heaviest burdens being borne by those trapped living in unsafe buildings—whether due to cladding or otherwise—is simply not knowing when their plight will end. Will the Minister now urge Her Majesty’s Government to present this House with a clear timetable and deadline for resolving all outstanding issues, so that residents will know when they will be able to live in their homes safely and when they will be able to sell them for a proper price?

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Queen’s Speech – Bishop of Manchester on policing, building safety, conversion therapy

On 18th May the Bishop of Manchester spoke in the fourth day of debate on the Queen’s Speech, focusing on proposals for policing, building safety and conversion therapy.

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Fullbrook, whose wisdom I look forward to hearing more often, for an excellent maiden speech. I also refer to my interests, stated in the register, in policing and housing.

A number of Bills mentioned in the gracious Speech will require our police to enforce new laws and regulations. We have already seen considerable disquiet expressed regarding what might amount to a very significant reduction in the ability of the public to engage in peaceful political protest, particularly where such protests directly or indirectly impact on others. I will reserve more detailed comments on this Bill for when it reaches your Lordships’ House, although I note the wise comments made earlier by the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti. For now, I want briefly to lay it alongside my experience of 12 months of rapidly changing coronavirus regulations.

On many occasions, the precise boundaries between regulations—matters that police can enforce—and guidance, to which they can only direct our attention, have been seriously blurred. Meanwhile, ministerial statements have put pressure on our police to issue fixed penalty notices, but the Crown Prosecution Service is quite clear that an adequate chain of evidence will be almost impossible to achieve.

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Bishop of Manchester calls for clampdown on antisemitism on university campuses

On 18th May 2021 the Bishop of Manchester asked a question about antisemitism on university campuses, following a spate of attacks targeting Jewish people.

The Lord Bishop of Manchester [V]: Is the Minister aware that the Union of Jewish Students has raised serious concerns that Jewish students and societies are now being targeted with really quite disgusting anti-Semitic abuse due to the conflict in the Middle East? Will he reassure Jewish students that the Government will clamp down on all forms of campus anti-Semitism and encourage all universities not just to adopt but to implement the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?

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Votes: Fire Safety Bill

On 27th April 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons reasons and amendments to the Fire Safety Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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Votes: Fire Safety Bill

On 20th April 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons Reasons and Amendments to the Fire Safety Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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Coming Home Report: Bishop of Manchester speaks in debate on housing

The Bishop of Manchester took part in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on the Coming Home report from the Archbishops’ Council on 24th March 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I thank my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for sponsoring this debate. My personal interest and passion in tackling homelessness and creating good homes for the people of our nation go far beyond the interests contained in the official register, to which I draw your Lordships’ attention. Alongside those, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, has indicated, I now chair the board of governors of the Church Commissioners, as deputy to my most reverend friend. I gladly confirm to your Lordships that the board welcomes the report, and indeed I am member of the group set up by the Church charged with overseeing its implementation.

Today we have no Bill to scrutinise, no complex Marshalled List of amendments to work through; what we have is something that runs far deeper, something that should underpin and equip us for such future legislation on the matter of housing as is brought forward to your Lordships’ House to determine. The five values for housing that the Archbishops’ Commission has set before us—sustainable, safe, stable, sociable and satisfying—have been implicit in much of the work I have engaged in over the years. But now we have them encapsulated in a simple and memorable form. Not least, they recognise that a home is far more than walls, roofs, bricks, tiles, glass and mortar. A home is somewhere we can belong.

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Votes: Domestic Abuse Bill

On 17th March 2021, the House of Lords debated the Domestic Abuse Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part.

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Votes: Fire Safety Bill

On 17th March 2021, the House of Lords debated the Fire Safety Bill. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill tabled by the Bishop of St Albans:

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Votes: Domestic Abuse Bill

On 15th March 2021, the House of Lords debated the Domestic Abuse Bill in report. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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