2 Former APPG memberships
Northern Culture, Sudan and South SudanDivision Voting information
Debates during the 2024 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(4 debate interactions)
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
(4 debate interactions)
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
(3 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(4 debate contributions)
(3 debate contributions)
(3 debate contributions)
(2 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(775 words contributed)
(316 words contributed)
(74 words contributed)
Lords initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Lord Bishop of Leeds, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Bishop of Leeds has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Bishop of Leeds has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 15 Written Questions
(View all written questions)It is unacceptable that infant mortality figures are rising, and that there are stark inequalities in outcomes for babies. The Government is committed to ensuring all mothers and babies received safe, personalised and compassionate care.
A key objective in NHS England’s Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services is to reduce inequalities for all in maternity access, experience and outcomes, seeking to improve equity for mothers and babies. The plan includes the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth and includes initiatives to reduce inequalities. The bundle has been rolled out across England to all trusts with full implementation by 104 out of 120 providers. All local maternity and neonatal systems have published Equity and Equality actions plans to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas, tailored to the needs of the local area. A copy of the delivery plan is attached.
The Government is currently piloting a training programme to help avoid brain injury in childbirth to improve safety for mothers and their babies. If successful, national rollout is expected to commence next year.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.
UKHSA’s first childhood immunisation communication campaign ran from 4 March until mid-April 2024 and encouraged parents to ensure their child’s vaccinations were up to date which. The current campaign is running from 26 August until 4 October 2024.
UKHSA also provides public facing resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, for example, easy read, BSL and braille, and clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals.
To address inequalities NHS England continues to work with national and local partners to deliver faith-based community health engagement with Orthodox Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and other communities in areas with low rates of childhood immunisation uptake. This includes promoting health seeking behaviors, such as general practitioner registration, and designing locally led community health events to raise awareness of the benefits of childhood immunisations and challenge misinformation.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Questions
(View all Lord Bishop of Leeds's FCDO questions)The Government takes international parental child abduction (IPCA) very seriously and we recognise the distress of all those affected. While we cannot comment on the details of specific cases publicly without consent, when a British child has been abducted and taken overseas, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) support can include signposting to partner organisations, providing help to families with contacting the relevant authorities abroad, expressing our interest in a case with the overseas government and asking about progress, where appropriate. The FCDO has also published guidance to assist parents affected by IPCA: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/international-parental-child-abduction
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government takes international parental child abduction (IPCA) very seriously and we recognise the distress of all those affected. While we cannot comment on the details of specific cases publicly without consent, when a British child has been abducted and taken overseas, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) support can include signposting to partner organisations, providing help to families with contacting the relevant authorities abroad, expressing our interest in a case with the overseas government and asking about progress, where appropriate. The FCDO has also published guidance to assist parents affected by IPCA: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/international-parental-child-abduction
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly lobbied the Government of Iraq to pass the Yazidi Survivors' Law in March 2021. As a ground-breaking piece of legislation, this represented an important first step towards accountability and justice for survivors of Daesh violence. These survivors are predominantly minority women, who suffered from crimes such as conflict-related sexual violence and domestic servitude.
The UK is funding the General Directorate of Survivors' Affairs with £340,000 over three years (2022/23-2024/25), through the International Organization for Migration. This funding will support the law's full, and survivor-centred, implementation. It will also further develop capacity for Daesh accountability and help survivors access mental health and psychosocial support and rebuild their lives.
Furthermore, the UK will continue to work with Iraq and international partners to ensure that Daesh are held accountable for the crimes they have committed, following the closure in September 2024 of the United Nations investigative team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Daesh.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is disappointed that minority communities in Iraq, including Christians and Yazidis, continue to report cases of discrimination, intimidation, and harassment by armed groups. These cases can be exacerbated by their political underrepresentation, limited routes for redress, and protracted displacement.
This is why our programmes, through the UK Integrated Security Fund, tackle the key drivers of instability and aim to support a more accountable, capable, and inclusive society, through effective governance structures.
For example, in 2023, we implemented a £15,000 programme in Bashiqa, in Nineveh Province (an area still recovering from the impacts of Daesh), to improve religious tolerance and social cohesion, through initiatives focussed on arts and culture. This was implemented by The Lotus Flower, a charity supporting women and girls impacted by conflict and displacement, with funding from the UK's John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Reducing the threat from Daesh and preventing a Daesh resurgence remains a top priority in our relationship with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK continues to collaborate with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the international humanitarian community as we collectively seek durable solutions (led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) for those displaced and living in insecure conditions.
Through the International Organization for Migration, the UK is contributing to the immediate stabilisation of those who remain internally displaced by funding quick impact projects and livelihood support activities. For example, we have provided the UN funding facility for stabilisation with £32 million, to restore vital public services such as utilities and education across liberated areas of Iraq. The UK also provides funding to the office of the UN durable solutions adviser to lead the UN's strategic coordination efforts.
We will always strive to ensure that internally displaced persons in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are protected and that their returns can be safe, dignified, and voluntary.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Countering the rollback of and promoting the rights of women and girls is a key focus of the UK's programming and policy work in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Alongside Official Development Assistance (ODA), programmes are also delivered through the UK Integrated Security Fund (UKISF), which is funded through both ODA and non-ODA sources.
While the £2.7 million Women's Voices First programme completed in May 2024, its second phase will provide up to £5 million further over the next 3 years. This continued UKISF programme helps to strengthen grassroots Iraqi women's rights organisations and women-led organisations, advances locally led approaches, and contributes to inclusive peace and security in communities, across Federal Iraq and the KRI.
The UK is also funding the International Organisation for Migration to provide capacity building support to the General Directorate of Survivors Affairs, and to civil society organisations, to advance the Yazidi Survivors' Law and deliver mental health and psychosocial support for Yazidi and other minority survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
In addition, the UK also helps to advance family planning and sexual and reproductive health initiatives through the £14 million Demographic Transition in Iraq project.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK continues to assess the implications for minorities', women's and children's rights following the amendment to Iraq's Personal Status Law was passed by Iraq's Parliament on 21 January. We have long emphasised the importance of any legislative change to be compatible with Iraq's international obligations.
We urge all our partners to uphold international norms, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can support parliamentarians' visits overseas that support parliamentary business and the UK's objectives. An appropriate level of assistance from the FCDO is dependent on resource implications and capacity issues of individual missions, including the British Consulate General in Erbil.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is committed to protecting women and girls' rights and supports projects that strengthen women-led organisations, support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and increase women's participation in political life.
Through our diplomatic presence, we regularly encourage the Iraqi authorities' role in safeguarding the human rights for all. Countering the rollback of and promoting the rights of women and girls is a key focus of the UK's programming and policy work in Iraq. Following successful lobbying by the UK and our international partners, the amendment to the Personal Status Law maintained the same age of marriage as the current law (18, with 15 on exception).
We urge all our partners to uphold international norms, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK condemns the occupation of Goma and other territories in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces as an unacceptable breach of DRC's sovereignty and the UN Charter, which poses a fundamental risk to regional stability. The humanitarian situation is now critical, with hundreds of thousands of people re-displaced, acute food insecurity and an increased risk of violence against civilians, especially women and girls.
The Foreign Secretary has spoken with President Kagame and President Tshisekedi to call for immediate de-escalation and a return to diplomatic talks. The UK has been at the forefront of encouraging regionally-led peace efforts, including the Luanda and Nairobi Processes. The joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) Summit in Dar es Salaam 7-8 February committed to resuming dialogue and negotiations with all state and non-state parties and supporting this with AU-appointed facilitators, as well as calling for improved humanitarian access.
In the UK's statement on the situation in eastern DRC, we called for the immediate withdrawal of all Rwandan Defence Forces from Congolese territory. We have been clear with Rwanda that an attack on Goma would provoke a strong response from the international community.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK condemns the occupation of Goma and other territories in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces as an unacceptable breach of DRC's sovereignty and the UN Charter, which poses a fundamental risk to regional stability. The humanitarian situation is now critical, with hundreds of thousands of people re-displaced, acute food insecurity and an increased risk of violence against civilians, especially women and girls.
The Foreign Secretary has spoken with President Kagame and President Tshisekedi to call for immediate de-escalation and a return to diplomatic talks. The UK has been at the forefront of encouraging regionally-led peace efforts, including the Luanda and Nairobi Processes. The joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) Summit in Dar es Salaam 7-8 February committed to resuming dialogue and negotiations with all state and non-state parties and supporting this with AU-appointed facilitators, as well as calling for improved humanitarian access.
In the UK's statement on the situation in eastern DRC, we called for the immediate withdrawal of all Rwandan Defence Forces from Congolese territory. We have been clear with Rwanda that an attack on Goma would provoke a strong response from the international community.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK condemns the occupation of Goma and other territories in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces as an unacceptable breach of DRC's sovereignty and the UN Charter, which poses a fundamental risk to regional stability. The humanitarian situation is now critical, with hundreds of thousands of people re-displaced, acute food insecurity and an increased risk of violence against civilians, especially women and girls.
The Foreign Secretary has spoken with President Kagame and President Tshisekedi to call for immediate de-escalation and a return to diplomatic talks. The UK has been at the forefront of encouraging regionally-led peace efforts, including the Luanda and Nairobi Processes. The joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) Summit in Dar es Salaam 7-8 February committed to resuming dialogue and negotiations with all state and non-state parties and supporting this with AU-appointed facilitators, as well as calling for improved humanitarian access.
In the UK's statement on the situation in eastern DRC, we called for the immediate withdrawal of all Rwandan Defence Forces from Congolese territory. We have been clear with Rwanda that an attack on Goma would provoke a strong response from the international community.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)