Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [HL]

Lord Bishop of Derby Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 10th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Derby]

My Lords, I feel I should declare an interest as the only speaker in this debate who has benefited from the provisions of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015; thank you.

I know something of the challenges of being a woman in senior ministry, not least as I hold the distinction of being the first woman to be appointed and consecrated as a bishop in the Church of England, as Bishop of Stockport. I subsequently entered the House under the terms of the 2015 Act when I became Bishop of Derby, the fifth woman to sit on these Benches.

On balance, I support the Bill to extend this provision, and I add my thanks to those of my right reverend friend the Bishop of St Albans to the Leader of the House and to the Government for making time for it. I trust that this short and time-limited Bill to enable the existing Act to continue for a further five years will receive the same cross-party support that enabled the original Bill to progress through both Houses swiftly and without amendment in early 2015.

It has been a privilege to contribute to the work of your Lordships’ House for five years. I was introduced in 2019 and made my maiden speech during Covid lockdown, being beamed into the Chamber from my diocesan office by the magic of Zoom. That speech was, and much of my work in the House since has been, informed by my role as vice-chair of trustees for the Children’s Society, a charity doing significant work for children and young people at risk and on the margins. I remain a trustee.

Coming into your Lordships’ House as you take on responsibility as a diocesan bishop is not for the faint hearted. The Act has required it of the women who have come here under its terms, and it has meant getting to grips simultaneously with the demands of diocesan episcopal leadership and learning the wonderful ways of Westminster. As we have heard, that is not unique to us. The five senior Lords spiritual, the archbishops and the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, also take on membership of the House at the same time as they become bishops of those sees. It can be done, and as many of my colleagues have shown, be done very well.

This House has benefited greatly from the wisdom and service of those women who have been Lords spiritual under the term of the Act. There have been six in total so far, with my right reverend colleague the Bishop of Peterborough very soon to become the seventh. My right reverend friends have sought to speak for a wide range of people and causes. I note my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester’s work on prison reform and the treatment of women in the criminal system, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Bristol’s work on the victims of modern slavery, and my right reverend friend the Bishop of Chelmsford’s work on refugees and good housing.

Had the original Act not gone through, I would have only just joined and still be finding my feet. As we have heard, the contribution of Christine Hardman, the former Bishop of Newcastle, would not have been available at all. Without that provision, most of the women serving from these Benches now would not yet be among us or, like me, would have only just been introduced. Instead of this, since the Act was passed the total number of years of service offered to this House by women on these Benches has exceeded two decades-worth. This is a cause for celebration. I look forward to what a further five years might bring.

I am really glad that this debate has provided an opportunity for us to hear from colleagues across the House about wider issues, including the role of the Lords spiritual and the place of women in public ordained ministry. Although they are not within the scope of this narrowly drawn Bill, they are none the less important.

I am not going to respond in detail to the arguments about the continuing place of the Lords spiritual; that may come in future debates when we consider the questions of membership of the House and future reform. We see ourselves primarily as servants of this House, in an extension of our vocation as bishops in the established Church: to serve the nation and all its communities. It is for Parliament to decide whether and in what capacity we continue to serve here. For my part, I recognise the privilege it is to occupy this space; I will continue to do so to the best of my ability, in and beyond this Chamber, as long as I am summoned.

There are mixed views on the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act among my colleagues, the women and men on these Benches, and across the wider College of Bishops. That is partly for the practical reasons I have named and partly because of the concern, which I share—it has already been touched on in this debate—about the wider landscape for the appointment of bishops in the Church of England. In the decade since the General Synod and Parliament passing the legislation to enable women to become bishops, many remarkable women have followed in my footsteps, but the overall number remains too low. At the beginning of November, there will have been a total of 36 women appointed as bishops, with five retired. I was asked about percentages— I am sorry, but I cannot do the maths in my head that quickly, though somebody else may be able to work it out.

Attention is being given to how the Crown Nominations Commission deliberates and selects candidates to senior posts, given the rate of appointment of women to such roles and our intent on greater diversity overall. My right reverend friend spoke of the pipelines we now have of gifted, experienced women in ministry; there are real questions about why they are not being appointed to diocesan roles more quickly. Although these matters concern me, and clearly others in your Lordships’ House, they are separate from the matter before us today.

I conclude that this Bill to extend the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act for a limited period is welcome for the effect it will have of continuing to improve gender diversity on these Benches, which will be to the wider benefit of this House and a small correction to a long-standing inequality. It will also bring greater prominence to the excellent contribution made to our shared national life by women in senior roles in the Church of England through this particular public ministry. I dare to hope it might mean that the time comes more quickly when women sometimes are in the majority on these Benches. I therefore commend it.