Tag: women

Written answers: Female and LGBT clergy numbers in the CofE

On 8th June 2015 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, replied to two written parliamentary questions, on women and LGBT clergy.

Asked by Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) on: 02 June 2015

Clergy: Females

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many members of the clergy in each of the last 10 years have been women.

Caroline SpelmanAnswered by: Mrs Caroline Spelman on: 08 June 2015

The most recent statistics available on the number of women in ordained ministry in the Church of England can be found in the table below. Continue reading “Written answers: Female and LGBT clergy numbers in the CofE”

Bishop of Derby speaks about the Importance of Women’s Economic Empowerment

DerbyOn 5th March 2015 the Bishop of Derby, the Rt Revd Alastair Redfern, spoke in a debate to mark International Women’s Day, entitled ‘this House takes note of women’s economic empowerment and the progress in achieving it that has been made in the United Kingdom and internationally.’

The Bishop spoke about the importance of increasing workplace diversity in the UK, as well as the work of Christian Aid in empowering women overseas, alongside the need to challenge the myth that women taking jobs will displace men.

Baroness Garden responded for the Government and addressed a number of the points raised by the Bishop. Her comments can also be found below.

 

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I rise with some trepidation to be the first man to speak in this debate, particularly having been gently chided by the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, about wearing a dress. Still, perhaps that is suitable bridging attire at this moment in the debate. I am also very conscious that the church could be seen to be behind the curve on this issue, as has been mentioned, and I hope that noble Lords can see that we are trying very hard to catch up and make proper progress. I want to do three things in this short address. I want to take up the theme that the noble Baronesses have talked about, the international perspective; look at some issues in the UK; and say what we might learn in terms of policy priorities.

Continue reading “Bishop of Derby speaks about the Importance of Women’s Economic Empowerment”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action on tackling FGM

On 6th January 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received written answers to five questions of Government on female genital mutilation (or FGM):

Female Genital Mutilation

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans

Bishop of St Albans

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are resourcing the provision of training and education in communities in the United Kingdom in which female genital mutilation is practised.[HL3454] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action on tackling FGM”

MPs welcome the news of the Church of England’s first female bishop

On Wednesday 17th December 2014 it was announced by Downing Street that the Rev Libby Lane had been nominated to be the next Bishop of Stockport, making her the first woman to be appointed as a bishop in the Church of England. MPs joined those across the country in offering their congratulations. Continue reading “MPs welcome the news of the Church of England’s first female bishop”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about criminalising purchase of sex

On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on criminalising the purchase of sex:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to criminalising the purchase of sex in order to protect vulnerable women.[HL3283] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about criminalising purchase of sex”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about data on violence against women

On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on violence against women:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the standardisation of comprehensive and analysable data on violence against women.[HL3284] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about data on violence against women”

Bishop of Leicester calls for closer co-ordination between faith groups and Government to tackle domestic abuse

On 6th November 2014, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, took part in a debate in the House of Lords on women facing homelessness, domestic violence and social exclusion, led by Labour Peer Baroness King of Bow. The Bishop focused his remarks on tackling domestic violence, highlighting the need for closer co-ordination between faith groups and local and national government, increasing the availability and quality of training for key institutions such as the police, and asked the Minister to update the House on progress made on the Government’s violence against women strategy and its obligations under international treaties.

14.04.01 Bishop of LeicesterThe Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, as this debate progresses the seriousness and critical nature of this subject is dawning on all of us. I share with other noble Lords a gratitude to the noble Baroness, Lady King, for bringing it to our attention with such eloquence and passion. We all look forward to the maiden speeches of the noble Baroness, Lady Rebuck, and the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, this morning.

Although there are profound links between the three subjects before us, I intend to concentrate on the issue of women facing domestic violence. I do so with considerable caution, even trepidation, because of the horrific stories that have already been brought to our attention, but also as a man who represents a hierarchical position in a patriarchal ecclesiastical institution. Nevertheless, I dare to speak, for three reasons. First, because of the extremely disturbing statistics which others have referred to: an estimated 7% of all women experience domestic violence, according to the 2011-12 figures, equivalent to some 1.2 million victims. There were 88,000 domestic violence cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service that year, of which more than 64% reached a decision to charge, leading to more than 52,000 convictions. Even more disturbing are the 2013 figures, which indicate that on average 155 women and 103 children were turned away from refuges every day, at the most dangerous and vulnerable moment for them. They were then, of course, faced with returning to an abusive partner. Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester calls for closer co-ordination between faith groups and Government to tackle domestic abuse”

Bishop of St Albans calls for multi-agency co-ordination for effective response to challenges faced by vulnerable women

 

“It is vital that councils and the NHS maintain a basic level of support, not least because a lot of money going into this area is matched by funding from companies, charities and churches. We cannot solve the problem with just the voluntary sector being expected to pick up these extraordinarily complex problems” – Bishop of St Albans, 26.6.14

Bishop of St AlbansOn 26th June 2014, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Tyler of Enfield led a short debate to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to improve how local services respond to women with multiple and complex needs including homelessness, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and physical and mental health problems. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Alan Smith, spoke in the debate. He focused his speech on three areas – the need for mutli-agency coordination in light of financial constraints, the need for a greater availability of affordable housing and the vital role of key workers to support those with multiple and complex needs. He also highlighted the issue of domestic violence and called for greater efforts to be made in improving rates of prosecution.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for keeping this vitally important area high on the agenda. I confess that I was slightly reticent in putting my name down to speak today because it is not an area in which I am an expert. However, I find myself regularly bumping into people who are involved in it and come across it as a matter of real concern for us. Certainly we are discussing a complex subject which affects women in many different ways and impacts on a wide range of agencies—police, health professionals, probation services and statutory and voluntary groups which are working in homelessness, substance use and abuse, human trafficking and so on. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans calls for multi-agency co-ordination for effective response to challenges faced by vulnerable women”

Bishop of Rochester speaks in debate on reducing levels of custodial sentences for women

“It is undoubtedly the case that the female prison population disproportionately includes those who face huge challenges in their lives. It is also clear that prison is not the best place to address many of the issues that these people face” – Bishop of Rochester, 26.6.14

On 26th June 2014, the Bishop of Rochester and Bishop to HM Prisons, the Rt Revd James Langstaff, took part in Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill’s short debate on the measures being taken to reduce the number of women given custodial sentences. He focused his remarks on the role of community-based schemes to reduce rates of re-offending and called on the Government to look at how such projects can have a positive impact on the public purse, society and families affected by such sentences.

Bishop of RochesterThe Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Healy, for initiating this debate. Your Lordships will be pleased to know that a number of the points that I was going to make have already been made, so I will resist the temptation to make them all over again. Indeed, many of your Lordships will have had the briefings from various organisations that give the statistics, and so forth. Continue reading “Bishop of Rochester speaks in debate on reducing levels of custodial sentences for women”

Archbishop of York: ‘working poor’ “a stain on the conscience of this country”

On 25th June 2014, Labour Peer Baroness Thornton asked Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to address any fall in wages of women in the United Kingdom. The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd and Rt Hon John Sentamu,asked a supplementary question:

Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York: My Lords, the Living Wage Commission published its final report yesterday. It makes it clear that people in the care industry are paid very poorly—and the majority happen to be women. Will the Government take a reality check and recognise that people in the care professions are paid poorly? Will they make sure that, in terms of procurement, local authorities encourage those in the care profession to pay at least the living wage, which we wanted to be voluntary and not compulsory? If that does not happen, concern about women being paid poorly will continue. It is a stain on the conscience of this country that people work hard and are still in poverty.

Baroness Northover: I read the report of the most reverend Primate’s commission with enormous interest. I note that he has just said that he is looking for a voluntary approach rather than regulation, but he challenges responsible employers to pay a fair wage. He is right to identify the difference in pay between men and women.

(via Parliament.uk)