the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, yesterday at a question and answer session in the Jubilee Room, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury made the bold claim that there was probably more faith-based social action going on in this country than at any time since the Second World War. Whether or not it is possible to measure the accuracy of that claim, it is very clear from this debate that there is a...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, the Church of England is on the verge of extinction, or so you would believe if you accept this week’s tabloid headlines. The report of the think tank ResPublica, entitled Holistic Missions: Social Action and the Church of England, presents us with a different picture. It presents a picture of a church which is present in every community, town, village and city and embedded in its...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, does the Minister agree that this shift in fortunes in Syria is very largely due to the relationship of trust that the United States Secretary of State and the Russian Foreign Minister have developed in recent months, and that similar levels of trust will be vital to resolving other pressing international crises, not least with Iran?
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, is the Minister aware that, typically, the Crown Nominations Commission consults some 100 members of civil society in each region to which appointments are made; that legislation to bring forward the possibility of women bishops is now before the General Synod and it is anticipated that it will be brought into law within two years; and that the Archbishop of Canterbury takes a very...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, more than one-third of privately renting households are families with children, yet typical tenancies remain short-term with little assurance about when rents may rise or how long they will be able to stay in their home. Uncertainty of this kind is particularly damaging for families trying to give their children stability. Will the Government give serious consideration to...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am grateful to all those who have spoken in what has been a serious and gracious debate. I know that I speak for my noble friend the most reverend Primate in expressing gratitude for the tributes that have been paid to his leadership, particularly at the General Synod, and in so many other ways. It is a leadership for which we are growing more and more appreciative, both in the...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 95, and I am glad to do so after a dinner break which I hope will have had the effect of moving noble Lords to see that this amendment merits the support of all sides of the House, whatever our disagreements may have been in the many days of debate thus far. This amendment would ensure that there is no conflict between the guidance issued by the Secretary...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, as other noble Lords have said, there is much to welcome in this Bill, especially the important changes for looked-after and adopted children. I add the support from this Bench too for the broad ambition of the Bill to extend a greater level of choice, participation and long-term support for young people with special educational needs and their families. I declare an interest as a...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her clear and thorough response. I defer of course to the legal argument of the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, although I would remind him that an employee who was demoted by his housing association employer for expressing the view on his personal Facebook page that same-sex marriage in church was, as he put it, “an equality too far”, successfully...
the Bishop of Leicester: I am grateful to the Minister for that clarification. I understand it and I hope that she will understand the sprit in which I raised this question.
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Alli, who asks, through me, whether the Church of England would revisit a number of issues and a number of stands that it has taken. I wish that the church would do that and would certainly want to play my part in ensuring that it does. I have taken careful note of speeches made around this House during the passage of this Bill and of what the...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am aware that the hour is getting late and I hope not to detain the Committee for too long. The amendment would insert a new section into the Equality Act 2010 to make it clear that expressing a traditional view about marriage, “does not of itself amount to discrimination or harassment”, under the Act. In our briefing to Peers at Second Reading, the Lords spiritual said that...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, having conducted some 400 weddings as a parish priest, making the journey with couples as they anticipate a lifelong commitment has been one of the great privileges of the ordained life. I have witnessed personally the stability, fulfilment and anchor for life for so many, which has been transformational. However, I have also observed that the open and public recognition of gay...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I have lent my name in support of this amendment, and I am happy to speak in support of it. This debate is about who should bear the greatest weight of the burden imposed by the Government's need to reduce debt. I hope that the noble Lords, Lord King and Lord Forsyth, might consider accepting an invitation from me to come to the city of Leicester to explain to our local Child...
the Bishop of Leicester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to amend the Child Poverty Act 2010 following the results of the consultation on a new measure of child poverty.
the Bishop of Leicester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to report on the child poverty measures contained in the Child Poverty Act 2010 following the results of the consultation on a new measure of child poverty.
the Bishop of Leicester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they remain committed to the specific targets set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010.
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, it is a particular privilege to stand as the appetiser to the speech of the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, bringing, as he has already done to this Chamber in another capacity, a unique experience of global affairs through his visits to all parts of the Anglican communion. We on this Bench have so many reasons to be thankful for that and to appreciate...
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, given the proposals-
the Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, is the Minister aware of the pressure on the private rented sector? Many landlords operate a "no benefit claimants" policy, which causes significant problems in night shelters. Is the Minister aware of these problems caused by the shared accommodation rate and what are the Government doing to ensure that people moving on from a night shelter have somewhere to go?