the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, for this timely debate and very much look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Earl, Lord Russell. The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have recently taken the decision to divest from fossil fuels following insufficient progress towards meeting the targets set by their investment boards in 2018. As...
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made, if any, to the government of India about reported violence in Manipur State; and in particular, whether they have urged that government (1) to protect vulnerable communities in the state, and (2) to constrain Hindu nationalist narratives in the country which exacerbate communal tensions.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken, if any, to assist in the government of India in facilitating the return of members of tribal communities who have been displaced from their homes by violence in India’s Manipur State.
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 128, 130 and 132, as well as Amendments 143 to 153 in this grouping. They were tabled in the name of my right reverend colleague the Bishop of Derby, who is sorry that she cannot be here today. The Church of England is the biggest provider of youth provision in our communities and educates around 1 million of our nation’s children. My colleague’s...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 4, to which my friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London has signed her name. Bishop Sarah sends her apologies that she cannot be here, but we both strongly support the amendment, not least given reports that many important voices across the healthcare world, including the Royal College of Nursing and NHS Providers, are similarly...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, one of our clergy in the diocese of Guildford has been campaigning for more than a decade, as have others in this Committee, on children’s access to online pornography. With her, I support the amendments in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Kidron and Lady Harding. Her concerns eventually made their way to the floor of the General Synod of the Church of England in a powerful...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, for six years in the early 90s I was a priest in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and had never lived in a place where the vision of levelling up was quite so necessary and quite so localised. The very wealthy were often living cheek by jowl with the very poor, and meanwhile, on looking north from one of our churches was the unmistakeable sight of a...
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support civil society organisations and non-government organisations in Pakistan in making submissions under the 4th Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they provide to the Centre for Social Justice in Pakistan.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what strategy they have, if any, for promoting freedom of religion or belief in Pakistan; and what discussions they have held with the government of Pakistan in pursuing any such strategy.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding recent reports that at least 10 leaders from unregistered Protestant churches were arrested and charged with fraud over normal church financial activities in 2021, including Zhang Chunlei, Yang Xiaoguang, and Hao Ming.
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I have been deeply moved by many of the contributions this afternoon and share all the sentiments that have been so eloquently expressed. It is a phrase used far too often, but yesterday was truly the end of an era—and a glorious era. Much has been spoken already of the Queen’s remarkable sense of service, emanating from her love for her nation and the Commonwealth, and from her...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, for an excellent start to the FoRB conference down the road. In the spirit of that conference and this terrifying escalation in communal and religious tensions in Nigeria in the build-up to the 2023 elections, will the UK use its seat at the UN Security Council to seek a resolution that significantly enhances the security...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, this summer sees the coming together of three significant international gatherings, following the restrictions of the pandemic years. One of them was the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda last week—some of the background to this debate. Another is the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief next week in London. A third is the Lambeth...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, gender-based violence has been a major theme in our discussions across the Anglican Communion, from a wide range of cultures. Many international communities look to the United Kingdom to lead in this area, given the deeply traumatising effect that such violence can have—obviously on the victims but also on whole communities over generations. David Cameron originally signed up to...
the Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, as the Minister knows extremely well, this week marks a brief lull between the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda last week and the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London next week. Given the overlap between those two conferences, what progress has been made on this basic human right, not least given that three of the...
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in advance of the third anniversary of the publication of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019, whether they intend to fulfil recommendation 22 of that report.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government who will conduct the review of the progress made since the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019; what will be their terms of reference; and when the findings of this review will be published.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement any of the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019, after 4 July this year.
the Bishop of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the National Commission for Human Rights Pakistan Unequal citizens: ending systematic discrimination against minorities, published on 23 May; and what plans they have to use UK Aid to increase employment among young Christians in Pakistan.
