Results 1-10 of 10 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:the Bishop of Bath and Wells

Queen's Speech — Debate (2nd Day) (19 Nov 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I welcome the Government's intention to draft legislation to make binding the spending of 0.7 per cent of national income on international development from 2013. I further welcome the commitment of other parties to the proposal, particularly with the national debt at its current level. It reveals the extent to which the matter of development and aid is a moral issue. The achievement...

Armed Forces: Future Defence Policy — Motion to Take Note (6 Nov 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, from these Benches I, too, express our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in recent days. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting the Messines Ridge as part of a pilgrimage to the Flanders battlefields. In what I suspect will be a rare moment of lightness, I want to reflect on the fact that the team organiser decided that he would send me into the...

Afghanistan — Question (4 Nov 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I express from these Benches our sympathy and condolences to all those who have lost their lives in this recent incident in Afghanistan. Does the Minister agree that the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism strategies have resulted in serious civilian casualties and the alienation of the population, producing angry recruits for terrorism, and that together with the Americans we...

Territorial Army — Question (29 Oct 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I, too, welcome the noble Baroness's response on training. One of the concerns among the territorial service personnel in my diocese is how many of them return to work after a very considerable commitment in the field. What provision is made in training to enable those personnel to return in a way that enables the fullness of their lives to be taken up appropriately?

Nuclear Proliferation — Debate (26 Mar 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, as a new Member of this House, may I have the temerity to thank the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, for her speech? To presume to take part in this debate after the many excellent contributions thus far may seem presumptuous. Some 30 years ago, I was asked to act as a positive vet for a young serviceman seeking promotion. The interviewer who came to see me was a former high-ranking...

Charles Darwin — Debate (19 Mar 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, on introducing this debate. There is a story that a group of scientists decided that there was no longer any need for God and picked one of their number to go and tell him so. The appointed scientist walked up to God and said, "We have decided that we no longer need you. We have reached a point where we can clone people and do...

Zimbabwe — Question (11 Feb 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, during my many visits to Zimbabwe over a 10-year period in the late 1990s and the early part of this century as director of a church mission and aid agency and subsequently as a bishop, I witnessed at first hand, even then, the reality of hunger and starvation among the poorest of its citizens. Clearly a catastrophe was then in the making. Given that today the increased use of...

Disarmament — Question (14 Jan 2009)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, can the Minister say whether the perception that the grand bargain on nuclear disarmament has changed, leading to an effective abandonment of a commitment to disarmament, is accurate, and can he offer guidance on the current steps being taken by Her Majesty's Government towards nuclear disarmament here?

Welfare Reform — Statement (10 Dec 2008)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I note from a very quick look that the White Paper requires people to take part in full-time activity in return for benefits. Who will provide the full-time activity? Will it be provided in the form of a government scheme or is it expected to take another form? I am not clear how this proposal will be implemented.

Queen's Speech — Debate (2nd Day) (Continued) (4 Dec 2008)

The Bishop of Bath and Wells: My Lords, I begin by expressing my thanks to Members of the House for their kind and generous welcome. I also thank all the officials, and staff for their courtesy and unfailing helpfulness to me and my family, particularly on the day of my introduction. In the aftermath of the "Blackadder"television series, there are always perils for the bishops of Bath and Wells. I am constantly reminded...