Latest news with #PhilipNorth
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bishop of Blackburn warns benefit cuts will 'only bring misery'
A bishop has warned that the government's benefits cuts will send people who are already struggling "deeper into poverty" due to the lack of investment in support Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Reverend Philip North said he acknowledged that cuts needed to be made but called for a package of support to be put in place to help those impacted by them."Cut, cut, cut won't do it on its own - it's got to be cut and invest," said Bishop the cuts were announced, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it wanted to help people into work after inheriting a social security system which was "broken". Bishop North said he acknowledged that the benefits bill was "enormous" and called on the government to invest in ways to "get people off benefits", adding that the "best way out of poverty is good, fair work". He said many churches across Lancashire worked daily to support people who were often struggling in a variety of ways, with benefits an important mechanism for keeping people out of added, however, that the cuts in the chancellor Rachel Reeves' spring statement would result in a "huge increase" in the number of people facing financial told BBC Radio Lancashire: "What lies behind wanting welfare reform? Is it money saving or improving people's lives? "If all you do is slash the budget people will be reduced to absolute misery."Bishop North said that public debate showed there might be more of an appetite for measured tax rises to address some of the issues currently facing the country, such as future investment in the NHS and more money for defence. 'Invest in people's lives' Bishop North said Diocesan churches would continue to support people across Lancashire through initiatives such as The Spear Programme at Preston project supports young people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in education, employment or training to help them get into work or education."It's a great example of what I've been talking about – the importance of investing in people's lives and the difference doing this can make," he BBC has approached the Department for Work and Pensions for further comment. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Church of England accused of ‘punch in gut' by abuse victims
The Church of England has been accused of delivering a 'punch in the gut' to victims of abuse by voting to delay fully independent safeguarding. One lay member accused a bishop of moving a 'wrecking amendment' into the highly emotive vote as calls were made for the Government to intervene. The General Synod, the Church's governing body, was poised to vote for radical changes to its safeguarding procedures. Yet the passing of an amendment, submitted by the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Philip North, gave Synod members the option to endorse a less radical option and to call for further work on 'legal and practical' requirements for an alternative that many victims backed. The vote, which followed five hours of debate, came as the Church of England continues to face increasing pressure on safeguarding failings. A report on the prolific abuse carried out by Christian Camp leader John Smyth ultimately led to the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation, after the review led by Keith Makin found the Most Rev Justin Welby could have done more to ensure concerns were acted on. On Tuesday, Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who campaigns against abuse as an advocate for survivors, told The Telegraph: 'I am wholeheartedly disheartened by [the vote], because it sends out a signal to all those victims and their families that have been harmed by the way the hierarchy deals with safeguarding. 'From my perspective, it's a slap in the face for them – it is added insult to injury.' Describing the Synod session as a 'very sad day', she added: 'The Church is not a safe place, they deal with safeguarding in a manner that has not prevented abuse. 'From my perspective, I do believe that now is the time for the Government to act because you now know that everybody is consistent in saying – certainly victims of survivors – that safeguarding has to be removed from the Church of England, it has to be independent.' Andrew Graystone, a long-time advocate for abuse survivors, said the vote showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'. He said: 'If you are abused by a vicar, you will still be expected to report it to a bishop. Safeguarding staff will still be located in church offices, employed by the very same bishop. 'The Church of England had an opportunity to start to rebuild trust, by admitting that it needed expertise from outside. But instead they have chosen to keep it in the family. 'Shocking arrogance, and a punch in the gut for victims and survivors of abuse.' Victims had pleaded with the Church's parliament to endorse a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body. On Tuesday morning, campaigners stood outside Church House in Westminster, where the Synod was gathering, asking members to endorse this model, with leaflets that stated the Church's reputation was 'in the gutter'. But the Synod instead voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' and for 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence. The endorsed model (option three) will see most national staff move to a new outside non-Church body, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers, although no firm timeline has been given for work to begin on this. The Synod voted 392 in favour, nine against and six abstained on the final motion. Caroline, who claims she was abused along with her sister over several years by Oxford vicar David Fletcher, who died in 2022 aged 89, said many victims – such as her – would be 'extremely disappointed' by the result. Caroline, who is now in her 50s and wishes to withhold her second name, added: 'Sadly, I don't think fully independent safeguarding has been kicked down the road, I think it's been kicked into the stratosphere because nothing happens very quickly in the Church. 'It takes a very long time for anything to move forward, so I just think they've deliberately moved it away so that it never happens.' Matthew Ineson, who has described how he was abused as a teenager, also told The Telegraph: 'I think this is the result of an institution like the Church being allowed to govern itself with a corrupt hierarchy. 'At the end of the day, the Church of England is responsible to Parliament, but Parliament never seems to want to wield that power.' He added: 'If this was a school and there had been all these cases and abuse, there would come a point where Ofsted would say, 'Well you're failing, you're not able to do that anymore'.' Having introduced the amendment, Bishop North sparked anger among some, with Sam Margrave, a lay member of the Synod, posting on X: 'I believe Philip North moved a wrecking amendment today. A manipulation of the highest order. It's a huge blow to independent safeguarding.' Speaking to journalists afterwards, the bishop denied the vote was evidence of the Church 'kicking safeguarding into the long grass' and said that option four 'is still very much on the table'. He said: 'It will come back to Synod when we know, legally, that it can be implemented. 'That strikes me as a strong position to be in and the important thing is it's a near unanimous vote for this direction of travel and for greater independence in safeguarding.' A spokesman for the Church of England previously said its safeguarding team had received 'information of sexual abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour' concerning Fletcher towards 'women and girls'. On Monday, a fifth of Synod members voted to block the Archbishop of York from delivering his opening speech amid calls for his resignation over allegations of bullying and 'poor judgment' over the Church scandal. Having survived what amounted to a proxy vote of no confidence in his interim leadership, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell said in his address that he did not want to pretend 'that we are not in difficult and challenging times'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Church vote on safeguarding ‘a punch in the gut for survivors'
A Church of England vote which delays fully independent safeguarding has been branded a 'punch in the gut' for victims of abuse. Representatives of survivors said the outcome was 'incredibly disappointing' and showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'. Victims had pleaded with the Church's parliament to endorse a new model which would have seen all Church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body. But the General Synod instead voted for a less independent model 'as the way forward in the short term' and for 'further work' to be done to implement the move to full independence. The endorsed model (option three) would see most national staff move to a new outside non-Church body, but other diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current Church employers, although no firm timeline has been given for work to begin on this. Synod voted 392 in favour, nine against and six abstained on the final motion. Former chairwoman of the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Professor Alexis Jay, who previously led a review into church safeguarding, said the vote had been a missed opportunity to improve safeguarding. After hours of debate at Church House on Tuesday, an amendment from Bishop of Blackburn Philip North was supported by a majority of Synod members. Proposing it, he told those gathered: 'Option four (the more independent model) is eye-wateringly complex and will take years to implement, assuming it is implementable. 'No organisation has done anything on this scale before and during those years, not enough will change when the Church and the nation are demanding change now.' He rejected the idea that it was a delay, saying 'the two processes can run concurrently, not consecutively so this amendment is about the very opposite of long grass'. He added: 'Whilst we implement three, we can establish a definitive view on whether option four is legally deliverable.' Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said Synod had voted 'almost unanimously for a far greater degree of independence in safeguarding, for independence of scrutiny, for a far-strengthened role for Dsaps (diocesan safeguarding advisory panels), to ask questions about how we address inconsistencies, to a stronger regional system, and about funding for safeguarding'. Asked for his response to victims' reaction, the bishop said: 'I think what I would really worry about is making promises to survivors, to the nation, to the Church, that we couldn't then deliver.' He said option four is 'still very much on the table' and will return to Synod 'in a form where we know that legally it can be implemented'. That option would have seen all safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church transferred to work for a new independent organisation. The Church has been plagued by safeguarding controversies over the years, with a damning report into serial abuser John Smyth leading to the resignation of Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury. His temporary stand-in, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has also faced calls to quit over failures in handling abuse cases, and admitted this week the Church has 'failed greatly' on safeguarding. Addressing Synod on Monday, he said he had 'long believed that greater independence is the missing piece in the safeguarding jigsaw'. Backing model four, he told those gathered how he had 'lived with the constraints of the inadequacies of our processes and their lack of scrutiny and I think I may know more than most how inadequate and unsatisfactory this is, for me, but it's not about me, it's for victims and survivors who have been an continue to be hurt by our church because of this'. The more independent model of safeguarding was also supported during the debate by Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally and Bishop of Leicester Martyn Snow, with the latter describing it as a 'cultural reset'. Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, who has been strongly critical of Church leaders including Mr Cottrell, said she had abstained in the final vote and felt 'really disappointed' by the outcome. She told Sky News: 'I'm afraid what this looks like is that we're just kicking the can down the road and we are failing our duty to victims and survivors. And I'm really desperately sorry and quite angry about that.' She said she felt there had been 'a certain amount of confusion and a bit of scaremongering I have to say among some of my colleagues about what would happen if we tried to go to complete independence'. Among concerns Mr North laid out to Synod were a claim that the data upon which model four was based is disputed, that the option could present 'nightmareish law', and that 'large numbers' of independent safeguarding professionals had said the option 'could make the church less safe'. Prof Jay told Times Radio: 'All of the events over several years have caused victims and survivors to become very disillusioned with the Church and this will do nothing to address the issue: the trust and confidence that needs to be restored. 'It's retaining control of safeguarding for whatever reasons, one of which could well be for the protection of reputation. 'The culture of the church facilitated it becoming a place where abusers could hide.' Abuse lawyer David Greenwood, who stood in solidarity with victims outside the venue ahead of the vote, said the result was 'incredibly disappointing'. He said: 'Many have worked hard on the attempt to bring full independence to the church safeguarding process. 'This vote represents a rejection of secular standards in safeguarding and will lead to children continuing to be at risk in the church.' Andrew Graystone, a longtime advocate for abuse survivors, said the vote showed the Church had decided to 'keep it in the family'. He said: 'If you are abused by a vicar, you will still be expected to report it to a bishop. 'Safeguarding staff will still be located in church offices, employed by the very same bishop. 'The Church of England had an opportunity to start to rebuild trust, by admitting that it needed expertise from outside. 'But instead they have chosen to keep it in the family. 'Shocking arrogance, and a punch in the gut for victims and survivors of abuse.' Bishop Joanne Grenfell, the Church's safeguarding lead also expressed her regret, saying: 'I am disappointed that we have not done today, or we may not do today as much as we could've done today. 'We need radical change to both our culture and our structures.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Church of England votes to boost oversight on abuse claims. Victims say it's not enough
LONDON (AP) — Members of the Church of England 's parliament voted Tuesday to introduce more independent oversight of the way it handles abuse allegations, amid growing pressure to improve its accountability. But groups representing abuse survivors expressed dismay at the outcome, saying the church failed to endorse fully independent safeguarding measures and calling it 'incredibly disappointing." Victims' groups had urged the church's General Synod to back a proposal for all church safeguarding officers to report to a new independent body. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. But the Synod voted for another option that would see some diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current church employers. After hours of debate, most members agreed with Bishop of Blackburn Philip North, who said the more independent proposal is 'eye-wateringly complex and will take years to implement.' He said that during that time, 'not enough will change when the church and the nation are demanding change now.' Andrew Graystone, an advocate for abuse survivors, said the voting result displayed 'shocking arrogance." 'If you are abused by a vicar, you will still be expected to report it to a bishop. Safeguarding staff will still be located in church offices, employed by the very same bishop," he said, adding that the Church of England had missed an opportunity to rebuild trust. Lawyer David Greenwood, who has represented abuse survivors, said the plan backed by the Synod would not deal with issues like conflicts of interest and deference. Tuesday was the Synod's first session since Justin Welby, the church's former head and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned last year after an investigation renewed anger about a lack of accountability among the church's senior leaders. The inquiry found that Welby failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it in 2013. It found that the volunteer, prominent lawyer John Smyth, could have been stopped before he died in 2018 had Welby reported what he knew. Welby's temporary replacement, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, has also faced calls to stand down after it emerged that a priest accused of sexual misconduct was twice re-appointed under him. Cottrell said Monday he has made mistakes but is determined to lead change in the church.
Associated Press
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
The Church of England votes to boost oversight on abuse claims. Victims say it's not enough
LONDON (AP) — Members of the Church of England 's parliament voted Tuesday to introduce more independent oversight of the way it handles abuse allegations, amid growing pressure to improve its accountability. But groups representing abuse survivors expressed dismay at the outcome, saying the church failed to endorse fully independent safeguarding measures and calling it 'incredibly disappointing.' Victims' groups had urged the church's General Synod to back a proposal for all church safeguarding officers to report to a new independent body. But the Synod voted for another option that would see some diocesan and cathedral officers remaining with their current church employers. After hours of debate, most members agreed with Bishop of Blackburn Philip North, who said the more independent proposal is 'eye-wateringly complex and will take years to implement.' He said that during that time, 'not enough will change when the church and the nation are demanding change now.' Andrew Graystone, an advocate for abuse survivors, said the voting result displayed 'shocking arrogance.' 'If you are abused by a vicar, you will still be expected to report it to a bishop. Safeguarding staff will still be located in church offices, employed by the very same bishop,' he said, adding that the Church of England had missed an opportunity to rebuild trust. Lawyer David Greenwood, who has represented abuse survivors, said the plan backed by the Synod would not deal with issues like conflicts of interest and deference. Tuesday was the Synod's first session since Justin Welby, the church's former head and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned last year after an investigation renewed anger about a lack of accountability among the church's senior leaders. The inquiry found that Welby failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it in 2013. It found that the volunteer, prominent lawyer John Smyth, could have been stopped before he died in 2018 had Welby reported what he knew. Welby's temporary replacement, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, has also faced calls to stand down after it emerged that a priest accused of sexual misconduct was twice re-appointed under him.
