My Lords, I have sat patiently through many of our debates, but I did not speak during the Committee stage. I should like to support the amendment moved by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leicester. What it seeks from us all, and particularly from the Minister who is to respond, is clarity. In passing this Bill—and I am sure that it will pass—we are actually changing the law. I do not accept some of the contributions which say that there is no need for it because the issue is covered. I do not think it is, and therefore this amendment is extremely important.
I question why so many parents, often from no faith at all, choose to send their children to faith schools. What is it about faith schools that they think their child will benefit from? Many people who I speak to will say, very sensibly, that while they themselves do not have a particularly strong faith, there is something within the teaching in faith schools that is extremely important. Into that comes marriage and the sorts of things that we talked about earlier.
To me, this amendment is about seeking clarification and whether we can still teach the religious freedoms and teach about marriage based on one man and one woman. I was grateful for the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Alli, earlier, but extremely dismayed when he said that it could be used against us. Against whom? This is an inclusive Bill. It might be something that some of us are struggling to come to terms with, but to use the argument against what is being proposed in this Bill I found deeply concerning.
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Church of England schools and other religious faith schools need to know where they stand with regard to their legal requirements. I am sure that members of
the teaching staff will do that in the best way that they can. If one goes further than just marriage and looks at children and the nurturing of children, one of the questions that I am sure they will pose is, “Who is my mum and who is my dad?”. I mentioned this once before in Committee in a brief interjection, because it is something that will not go away. A child is naturally going to say, “Who is my mum and who is my dad?” In same-sex marriages, that is something that will have to be overcome. People who are teaching need to be clear as to what advice is being given to them on that topic. We have talked a lot about the theory and well-being of the move towards same-sex marriages, but many of my e-mails—I am sure other people’s are the same—reflected concerns about the implications that that has for children. How will children react? How will that balance out?
Briefly, the amendment is very moderate and I do not think that it divides the House as have others, which have sought special compensation or special thoughts. It is a genuine attempt to try to get clarity on where we are and where we can go in future. I hope that the Minister, rather than giving us a no answer, as we have sadly had over many of the issues raised, will be able to enlighten and help us on the way ahead, because that is what we are after.