Lords debates social cohesion and supportive community life

Debate

The Archbishop of York put forward the debate.

This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.

Members speaking

Members speaking in the debate included:

• Lord Bird (Crossbench), founder of The Big Issue
• Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated), founder of Stonewall
• Baroness Helic (Conservative), board member of More in Common, a charity that seeks to address the underlying drivers of fracturing and polarisation in societies
• Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench), director of the Network of Sikh Organisations UK.

Opening the debate, the Archbishop of York said:

'The work needed to build stronger, more supportive and more socially cohesive communities must involve us all.

'These things are often best nurtured at a more local level, where people have a greater stake in the decisions that affect their lives.'

Lord Cashman added:

'Communities both at home and abroad are facing deep uncertainty, and we need to be radical in tackling the roots of disengagement, disempowerment and disfranchisement.'

Lord Khan of Burnley (Labour), Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, responded on behalf of the government:

'It is unacceptable that people are using social media to cause damage, distress and destruction in our communities. We will pursue criminal behaviour online just as we do offline.

'The Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary has met social media platforms to make clear their responsibility in tackling the spread of hate online.'

Catch up

Watch and read the debate  

Catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.

Explore background information  

Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the  House of Lords Library briefing .

Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government.

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