Harman attempts to remove bishops from Lords
A FURTHER attempt is being made to remove bishops from the House of Lords (News, 20/27 December 2024). On Tuesday, the Labour peer and former Leader of the Opposition Baroness Harman tabled an amendment to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill in the shape of a recent clause that, if enacted, would begin a two-year technique of removing the Lords Spiritual. The Bill is next resulting from be debated at Committee Stage within the Lords on a date to be confirmed.
Former choirmaster sentenced to further 12 years
A FORMER organist and choirmaster of St Mary’s, Beddington, Andrew Simon Wilson, who’s serving 12 years in prison for 19 offences against boys in Sussex, London, and Germany, including 16 against three boys aged between nine and 14 (News, 22 February 2019), was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Friday for an additional 12 years for an additional 11 counts of sexual abuse of youngsters. The offences related to his time at St Mary’s, Beddington, and were against three victims, one in all whom has taken his life. Mr Wilson, who’s 63, had been resulting from be released on 15 February, but entered a guilty plea on the day of sentencing. The Recorder, Miss Caroline Carberry KC, said that he had not spared his victims the distress of preparing for a trial — two victims and the mother of the deceased chorister gave victim impact statements in person in the course of the hearing — and said that the Prison Service had considered him unsuitable for rehabilitation courses. He will serve a minimum of eight years. The diocese of Southwark said in a press release that it was “deeply sorry” for the suffering of his victims.
Pensions Board agrees recent maintenance contract
THE Church of England Pensions Board has agreed a recent national repairs and maintenance contract with the property maintenance providers OCS Group, after a “rigorous tender process”, it was announced on Thursday. The Board manages about 1200 homes for retired clergy. OCS will perform routine and reactive constructing repairs and maintenance on these homes, in addition to statutory property-safety checks. Tom England, the Board’s Director of Housing, said: “OCS impressed us with their deal with quality and customer support, and residents will see a spread of improvements within the service they receive — including quicker scheduling of appointments and higher tracking of any follow-up repairs.”
Peterborough gets one third of strategy to goal
PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL has raised £100,000 towards its £300,000 fund-raising goal after launching a crisis appeal this month to satisfy essential costs and perform urgent repairs (News, 17 January). “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to the campaign up to now,” the pinnacle of promoting and communications, Paul Stainton, said. “Reaching £100,000 is a big milestone, but our journey doesn’t end here.”
Cornish ringers appeal to renew, not retune
A PROJECT to put in a hoop of ten bells in St Clarus’s, St Cleer, on the sting of Bodmin Moor, in Cornwall, has raised two-thirds of the required £150,000. The money has been generated through fund-raising events, grants, and donations. A JustGiving page has been launched and grant-giving bodies are being approached to herald the remaining £50,000. The ring of 4 that was in place in 1551 was later increased to 6. There are still six today: the oldest three date from 1789. The tower captain, Ian Banbury, planned to extend the ring after considering the fee and practicality of overhauling and retuning the six. “Lowering the bells through three floors is a serious undertaking,” he said. “There is a limit to the variety of times bells might be retuned, and it is probably going that ours have reached the top of that road. Given this, the thought of renewing the bells and adding extras became a more practical option.”
Safeguarding in faith communities tackled again
THE All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Safeguarding in Faith Communities has reconvened for the primary time because the General Election. The meeting on Monday was attended by MPs from the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties, and representatives from the House of Lords, with a deal with grooming gangs and mandatory reporting (News, 10 January). The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, who co-chairs the APPG, said: “By working together, we’ve got tackled a few of the most pressing issues related to safeguarding in faith communities, especially regarding positions of trust and mandatory reporting. We remain committed to our mission to be certain that faith communities are protected spaces for all.”
Government pledges, but Climate and Nature Bill falls
THE Climate and Nature Bill, which had strong backing from faith and charity leaders (News, 17 January), didn’t progress past its Second Reading within the House of Commons last Friday, after MPs voted by 120 to seven to adjourn the talk. The Bill, which was proposed by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, sought to enshrine in law a goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and to take motion to halt biodiversity loss. It also sought to mandate the formation of an independent Climate and Nature Assembly, comprising members of most of the people, to make further proposals on environmental motion. Instead, the Government agreed to interact with various bodies on the problems, and pointed to its current policy commitments to tackling climate change.
Environment protester to remain longer in jail
A CLIMATE protester, Gaie Delap, 78, who was recalled to prison because her wrists were too small to suit an electronic monitoring tag, has been told that she must serve an additional 20 days in prison for being “unlawfully at large” during that point. Ms Delap was sentenced to twenty months for a climate protest on the M25 in November 2022, as a part of the campaign group Just Stop Oil, and was released in December to serve the remaining four-and-a-half months of her sentence on home detention. In the identical month, she was recalled to HM Prison Peterborough since the Electronic Monitoring Service, which operates the electronic-tagging service, on contract to the Ministry of Justice, couldn’t fit the suitable size of curfew tag (News, 20/27 December 2024). Ms Delap has been informed that she is to stay in prison until 7 April. Her brother, Mick Delap, said: “There has been a deafening silence from the Ministry of Justice since Gaie’s return to prison, despite quite a few appeals from her family, friends, and her MP.”
Education conference focuses on ‘flourishing’
REPRESENTATIVES of the education sector gathered in London for the seventh annual conference of the Church of England’s Education Office, the National Society, last week, at which its most up-to-date report, Flourishing Together (News, 22 November 2024), was presented. The report is to be the premise of a recent Flourishing Leaders Programme, launched on the conference, which is to deal with “purpose, relationships, resources, learning, and wellbeing” amongst teachers and students.
Correction: Earlier this month we incorrectly stated that the Bishop of Bristol stays on X (News, 17 January). In fact, Bishop Faull has not had an account on X because the end of last 12 months.
