THE decades-long failure to take a position in former industrial communities “is a type of discrimination” that should be put right, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, has said.
Bishop Usher spoke within the House of Lords on Thursday of last week during a debate concerning the regeneration of commercial areas.
He spoke about his experience as Vicar of Holy Trinity, North Ormesby, in Middlesbrough, where he “learned about poverty and the impact of damp houses, in addition to about health inequalities that meant that, should you lived six miles away, on average you lived one other decade”. The church had been “on the centre” of the community’s “long-term regeneration”, he said — but he also learned that regeneration was “complex” and took time.
“However, none of that’s an alternative to investment — for money — which each signals our priorities as a society and makes up for chronic under-investment over time. We see that cash might be found for some parts of the country, but often not for the north, the south-west, the coastal towns that I serve in Norfolk, or our poorest communities. Levelling-up is about valuing the flourishing of all people, made within the image of God, valued in God’s sight, and created for a purpose.”
He said that “the decades-long failure to take a position in our former industrial communities is a type of discrimination that we must commit to putting right together, across government and this House.”
On the identical day, the Archbishop of York asked Lord Douglas-Miller, a junior minister on the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government was taking to enhance access to green spaces, which brought physical and mental-health advantages. “It is estimated that ten million people on this country may not have ready access to green space,” the Archbishop said. “What steps are being taken to deal with this?”
The minister said that the Government was “committed to everybody being inside a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space”.
Speaking within the Lords on International Women’s Day, last Friday, the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, drew attention to the plight of unpaid carers, most of whom were women. “Research carried out last 12 months by the Trades Union Congress found that girls are seven times more more likely to be out of labor than men, owing to caring commitments — roughly 1.46 million women in comparison with about 230,000 men. In addition, Carers UK has found that 59 per cent of individuals caring for somebody with a disability are women.”
He called for the Government to implement the “recent deal for carers” proposed by the Archbishops’ Reimagining Care Commission (News, 27 January 2023). This recent deal would come with restorative breaks, increased financial support, and more proactive advice, he said.
