Children: Commercialisation

Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to meet the aim stated in their equality strategy to tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, parents are rightly worried about children being pressured into growing up too quickly. The Government have made a commitment to protect children from excessive commercialisation and premature sexualisation, and have asked Mr Reg Bailey, chief executive of the Mothers’ Union, to conduct an independent review and make a full report with recommendations in May 2011.

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that response, and for the report from Reg Bailey that is to come. I am particularly concerned that an overemphasis simply on sexualisation, as we have seen in a number of recent television programmes, will hide the challenge to commercialisation more generally. Will the Minister tell us whether Her Majesty's Government will follow the recommendation made by the European Parliament to ensure that children are protected from behavioural advertising on the internet, all forms of new media, and mobile phone technology?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, it is absolutely the case that, alongside the focus on the early sexualisation of children, the Bailey review will look at commercialisation as well. For the European Parliament, as noble Lords will know, the question of regulating the internet and how one controls it is extremely complicated because, although one can take action in one nation state, the nature of the internet means that a host can move to a different jurisdiction and still provide material of the sort of which all noble Lords, I am sure, would disapprove. UKCCIS, the body that was set up following recommendations by Professor Tanya Byron, is looking at these issues and the Government will take those fully into account in considering how to take forward recommendations that are made to us.

Marriage

Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords, I share the gratitude to my colleague and right reverend friend the Bishop of Chester for achieving this debate, and for the sharpness, clarity and passion of his opening speech on the need for major support for marriage within our culture. I, too, look forward to the contribution by the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, and to her passionate reflections and instincts on this theme.

I want to make two points. First, I shall say a bit about what we can learn from marriages in cultures other than our own. We live in a highly individualised society, as has already been explored very effectively by the noble Lord, Lord Marks, who spoke about pre-nuptial agreements. Even, I suggest, within the life of the Christian Church, there is much less emphasis now than once there would have been upon the biblical truth that in marriage the two become one and on what that means for relationships within a marriage and for the way that marriage is seen within our society.

My contacts with Nigeria, Uganda and Sri Lanka, for example, put me in contact with marriages which often seem more secure and joyful than our often overpressurised marriages. It is very easy to be cynical about and critical of different cultures by pointing, for example, to the danger of forced marriages and to the exploitation of women that sometimes occurs in violent marriages—though that is hardly unknown within our own culture. However, in cultures other than our own there is very often support which is established by the wider family and by its place in the context in which marriage is lived. Parents, cousins and aunts provide the background to the marriage which is crucial to support and encourage the love between husband and wife.

We have already had excellent speeches by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, and the noble Lord, Lord Sacks, which emphasised and stressed the importance of children within the life of the family and as part of the expression of marriage. I just want to add to that the importance of adult children in helping and encouraging the elderly in their marriages. Those marriages, too, need support and encouragement. In some of those societies, there is also the expectation of more from the marriage of husband and wife and their need for time for each other. In our society, we need not only family-friendly policies but marriage-friendly policies too, so that human beings are given time to develop their relationships and deepen that commitment. It may be that the practices of this House could be reorganised to give us more time to develop those relationships.

We need to defend marriage, not least against those who would misuse it for financial gain. Noble Lords will know of well-publicised cases where Church of England clergy as well as local registrars have been targeted by those arranging sham marriages between European Economic Area nationals and non-EEA nationals in order to gain immigration advantage. To combat this, so far as the church is concerned, we have prepared new guidance from the House of Bishops to help the clergy. The guidance will be sent out when it has been approved by the Immigration Minister and UK Border Agency lawyers. If the Minister could promise to help to speed up that process, I and my colleagues would be delighted.

That said, one must do nothing at all to discourage genuine marriages or to put off those who are seeking it. Marriage is a human right, and we must ensure that it is encouraged and supported. Faith communities have a crucial role in this, and we look forward to working with the Government to achieve those aims.

Children: Adoption

Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with the noble and learned Baroness about the importance of having a sufficiency of well-trained social workers. In an earlier discussion in this House, there was broad agreement on the importance of making sure that there is a good supply. The crucial role that they play in this process is not always fully appreciated. More generally, in terms of the court system, in parallel with the other initiatives that my honourable friend is taking, a review of the family justice system is under way that must also look into these important issues and get the balance right—I know that this is a concern of my noble friend Lady Knight—between privacy and transparency, so that we know what is going on.

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords, will the Minister affirm the conviction that every child matters? In that context, will he tell us how he will ensure, in the light of the encouragement to local authorities at a time when ring-fencing is being lifted, that there is good support for voluntary adoption agencies, not least those run by Anglican and Roman Catholic dioceses?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with the point made by the right reverend Prelate about the importance of voluntary adoption agencies. One issue around the timeliness of adoption—this point lies behind the Question of the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne—is that some local authorities appear to have been slightly resistant to using voluntary adoption agencies. In part, there has been an issue over the perceived greater expense of these agencies. However, research shows that when you take all the figures into account, including overhead costs, voluntary adoption agencies are no more expensive than local authority provision.

Schools: Special Needs and Disabilities

Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds Excerpts

Thursday 15th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harrison]

My Lords—

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords—

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde)]

My Lords, there is a general courtesy in the House that we allow the bishops to take priority at Question Time.

[The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds]

My Lords, will the Green Paper to which the Minister referred include proposals to make it easier for schools to obtain funding for structural alterations, in order that children with special educational needs can attend and play a full part in the life of those schools?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

The Green Paper to which I referred is a very pale shade of green at the moment. It will be brought forth in the autumn. I invite the right reverend Prelate to feed his views into the review and into the Green Paper; I am sure that we can take them into account.