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:
Votes: Fire Safety Bill
Tag: manchester
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.
Continue reading “Coming Home Report: Bishop of Manchester speaks in debate on housing”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.
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:
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:
Votes: Domestic Abuse Bill
On 10th 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:
Domestic Abuse Bill: Bishop of Manchester presses Government on financial support for those fleeing domestic abuse
On 8th March 2021 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill at its Report Stage. The Bishop of Manchester had co-sponsored amendments with two other Peers, on exempting from the benefit cap for a year all those forced to claim benefits because of domestic abuse. The Government Minister responded to say that guidance would be strengthened to local authorities that those fleeing domestic abuse should be given priority in receiving discretionary housing payments.
The Lord Bishop of Manchester [V]: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response to this group of amendments, in particular to Amendments 72 and 102, to which I have added my name. I also thank her for her reassurance that local authorities will be given clear encouragement to prioritise the needs of domestic abuse victims, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, requested.
Can she ensure that national statistics on the number of such cases accepted and rejected in each year will be counted and made public?
Votes: Trade Bill
On 23rd February 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons Reasons and Amendments to the Trade Bill. A vote was held on an amendment to the bill, in which Bishops took part.
Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on evidentiary standards
On 9th February 2021, the House of Lords debated the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill in committee. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments on standards of proof and suspicion of guilt, raising issues of bias and risks of alienation:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester [V]: My Lords, I draw the Committee’s attention to my interest in criminal justice matters, specifically as chair of the Greater Manchester Police independent ethics committee, as set out in the register.
I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for tabling Amendment 28. I also note with interest Amendment 27 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Anderson. His arguments are powerful, not least in distinguishing clearly between belief and a mere suspicion, a distinction which for me as a bishop lies at the heart of my day job.
As I indicated to your Lordships’ House in my maiden speech at Second Reading, this is a Bill that I welcome and support. My city of Manchester has all too recently suffered a terrorist attack that killed 22 innocent people and maimed and traumatised hundreds more. We remain deeply grateful for the support we received from members of this House, government Ministers and many others at that time and since.
Continue reading “Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on evidentiary standards”Votes: Trade Bill
On 2nd February 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons Amendments to the Trade Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
The Church of England in Parliament 
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