BISHOPS in the House of Lords have called on the Government to invest in non-custodial criminal justice, and to reconsider increases in bus fares and inheritance tax on farmland.
During Monday’s debate, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, welcomed extra spending in the the justice system, but said that how it was spent would be “vital”.
“We need to ensure that the aim is not to finance our way out of a prison-capacity crisis. Let us first address the purpose of prison, and then put the resources in the right place, with a long-term vision of enabling strong and healthy families and communities,” she said.
To this end, a sentencing review that examined alternatives to custody was a positive step, she said, arguing that cutting custody rates would save public money as well as lead to better outcomes for society and offenders. “Many offenders are also victims — often as children — and I do not believe that we can talk about a justice budget without looking upstream.”
After the Government’s first budget was delivered a fortnight ago, charities criticised the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for not raising Universal Credit and scrapping the two-child limit (News, 1 November).
Moves to reduce the amount of Universal Credit that can be deducted to cover debt payments, from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, were one of the policies that were welcomed.
On Monday, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore, said that the Budget sought to “fix the foundations” of the economy, and to “rebuild our public services after years of neglect”.
The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, said: “We must consider how this Budget will serve the needs of people who are struggling today.” She recognised that the decisions being made were not easy, but referred to the 50-per-cent increase in the bus-fare cap as a policy that would “impact people who can least afford it, further disconnecting people from places and opportunities”.
Dr Hartley called on the Government to reverse its decision to tax, at 20 per cent, inherited farming assets worth more than £1 million. Previously, such assets were exempt from inheritance tax, which was usually set at 40 per cent. The policy, she said, showed that “this was not a Budget that really understands the needs of those in rural communities.”
On changes affecting the lowest earners and those on benefits, Dr Hartley welcomed the extension of the household-support fund, and changes to the rules governing debt repayment on Universal Credit, but said that the Government had “missed a crucial opportunity to lift children out of poverty by removing the two-child limit and benefit cap”.
Bishops in the Lords have continually called for the cap to be reversed (News, 26 July). Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that the Government is waiting for a report from its child-poverty task force before committing itself to a course of action.