James Langstaff is the Bishop of Rochester and I had the privilege to meet him soon after he was appointed as the new Bishop of Rochester in 2010. He is shortly due to retire and indeed he mentioned that on Tuesday in the House of Lords. James has been a very constructive member of the House of Lords and it will be very sad that he will step down. Here is his contribution in the Royal Commission on the Criminal Justice System that took place on that day.

My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord’s Question. As one who is soon to depart this place, I hope that he continues to pursue this and other such matters with his customary vigour and determination. Noble Lords will know of the significant contribution of voluntary and charitable groups, including those which are faith based, to work in the criminal justice sector. Many of these organisations are keen for the work of the royal commission to proceed as soon as possible in order to provide a framework for future work. Can the Minister confirm that such groups will have an opportunity to contribute in a substantive way to the royal commission’s work?

Clearly we need to know if charities and voluntary based agencies will be enable to contribute in the royal commission!