Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Church of England’s new bishop for housing
The Church of England has appointed a bishop for housing.
Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the next Bishop of Chelmsford, will sit in the House of Lords and advocate on issues of housing justice.
The church’s decision to appoint a bishop for housing comes ahead of next month’s expected publication of the report from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Housing, Church and Community.
Her role will include leading the church’s efforts to implement its findings.
The commission was set up two years ago by Justin Welby, partly in response to the Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 72 lives. Graham Tomlin, the local bishop of Kensington who sits on the commission, played a key role in bringing the bereaved and survivors to Downing Street after then-prime minister Theresa May was criticised for her failure to engage with the community in the hours after the fire.