On 18th March 2025, the House of Lords debated the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill
Tag: manchester
Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Bill: Bishop of Manchester passes private members bill in the Lords
On 14th March 2025, the Bishop of Manchester’s private member’s bill, the Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Bill, had its third reading and passed through the House of Lords:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, as this will be my last opportunity to address your Lordships’ House on this Bill, I crave your indulgence for a couple of minutes. There are something like 92,000 care leavers in the 18 to 25 age bracket at any one time. While it is hard to be precise about how much this Bill would cost, the best estimate is that it would probably add something like £25 million a year to the total costs on the Government. That would enable a young care leaver who is in receipt of universal credit to get an extra £80 a month, which is 25% more than they currently get. It would be life-changing for them. It would make, I would argue, very little difference to the state of the nation’s finances.
Continue reading “Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Bill: Bishop of Manchester passes private members bill in the Lords”Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks to amendments
The Bishop of Manchester spoke during a debate on amendments to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, expressing concern over the potential effects on churches and other places of worship, and the effects on voluntary commitments:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am grateful that we are debating the amendments in this group. I declare my interest, having lots of churches in Manchester that fall under the terms of the Bill.
Continue reading “Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks to amendments”Bishop of Manchester raises need to challenge contemporary antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia during Holocaust Memorial Day debate
The Bishop of Manchester spoke in a debate marking Holocaust Memorial Day on 13th February 2025, raising experiences from his own diocese and the need to challenge contemporary antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I will begin by paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Austin of Dudley, who sadly is not able to be in his place today. As the noble Baroness, Lady Ramsey of Wall Heath, reminded us just a few minutes ago in her excellent speech, Ian is the son of a Holocaust survivor. It was he who helped me understand the significance of this day, long before either he or myself were Members of your Lordships’ House.
Unlike my present diocese of Manchester, Dudley, where I was then the bishop and the noble Lord, Lord Austin, was an MP, did not have a very large Jewish population. Nevertheless, at his instigation, every year we sent two young people from Dudley College of Technology to Auschwitz. They reported back to our annual Holocaust Memorial Day event that was held in the college, where they told very moving stories of what they had seen and how it had made them feel. Their witness, alongside the testimony of Holocaust survivors, helped inspire young people who were born almost half a century after the Holocaust to understand why we today must be constantly on the vigil against those voices that seek to deny the common and equal humanity and dignity of every single human being. Those who denigrate, despise and ultimately seek to destroy those whom I, as a Christian, will always declare as being created in the very image of God.
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester raises need to challenge contemporary antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia during Holocaust Memorial Day debate”Bishop of Manchester asks about net zero targets and biomass capture
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on the impact of new oil projects on net zero targets, and a question on the viability of carbon capture and storage, on 12th February 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: Perhaps I might make it a bit wider, to avoid putting the Minister in a difficult situation. We have heard that there are a number of projects that have previously been approved to a certain stage and—at the risk of a pun—are in the pipeline. Have the Government made any estimate of the impact that schemes in this sort of pipeline will have on the UK being able to meet its net-zero targets?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about net zero targets and biomass capture”Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks in support of amendments on community and voluntary groups
On 12th February 2025, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord Murray of Blidworth aiming to provide further support for community and voluntary organisations under the bill:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Murray of Blidworth, in this group. As the Bishop of Manchester, I have got something like 400 churches and church halls in my diocese, but these amendments go rather wider than that. For places of worship, there are already some grant schemes for protecting against terrorism, given the particular threat that places of worship, especially Muslim and Jewish places of worship, have traditionally faced.
Continue reading “Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks in support of amendments on community and voluntary groups”Votes: Royal Albert Hall Bill
On 29th January 2025, the House of Lords debated the Royal Albert Hall Bill. Votes were held on an amendment to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Bishop of Manchester highlights importance of clarity on definitions of terrorism
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on definitions of terrorism on 29th January 2025, following a repeat of a Commons Urgent Question on the recent extremism review:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interest as co-chair of the national police ethics committee. In your Lordships’ House next week, we will begin Committee on the very important Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. Would the Minister agree that this is a time when we have to be absolutely clear what we mean by terrorism, so that we in this House can give that Bill the clear, in-depth scrutiny it requires?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester highlights importance of clarity on definitions of terrorism”Bishop of Manchester asks about support for building energy efficient homes
The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on support for housing associations in building energy efficient homes on 29th January 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of a housing association. Housing associations are a key provider of homes for those who can least afford high energy bills. What support will there be for housing associations when they are bidding for grants to subsidise the properties they are building? It does cost that bit extra, maybe £5,000 or £6,000 per home, to build to the standards that we need to.
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about support for building energy efficient homes”Mental Health Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on culturally appropriate care
On 22nd January 2025, the Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the Mental Health Bill aiming to ensure culturally appropriate care in the mental health sector:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support all the amendments in this group. I also want to communicate the support of my right reverend friend the Bishop of London, who apologises that she cannot be in her place this evening.
Turning to the amendments led by the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, on culturally appropriate care, I appreciated the noble Baroness’s references to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community. I have worked with that community much over many years and very much enjoyed my interactions with it.
These amendments highlight issues that my right reverend friend has spent a lot of time considering, particularly from a faith perspective. I do not think we have heard that in the debate so far tonight. It is sometimes hard to grasp just how differently our health, especially our mental health, is culturally understood across different communities and faith groups. While our ability to discuss our own and others’ mental health may be generally improving—I think it is—it remains an extremely difficult discussion point for many cultures and many communities.
Continue reading “Mental Health Bill: Bishop of Manchester supports amendments on culturally appropriate care”
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