The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 3rd December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, (1) to investigate the purchase of agricultural farmland by multinational companies for the purpose of planting trees to offset carbon emissions, and (2) to prevent agricultural farm land being purchased for such purposes.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about purchasing of agricultural land for tree-planting”“I have experienced first-hand the sting of injustice—injustice born of being caught up in events that are bigger than we are and in the face of which we are powerless.”
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani, made her maiden speech in the House of Lords on 2nd December 2021, in a debate led by Lord Collins of Highbury, “That this House takes note of the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and the case for further action by Her Majesty’s Government to secure her release.”
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Maiden Speech): My Lords, I was introduced to the House barely a month ago, having recently taken up my post as Bishop of Chelmsford, that vast and wonderful diocese that covers the whole of Essex and east London. It is a privilege to serve this diocese, which is complex, diverse and full of opportunities and challenges. Today, I thank everyone here who has offered me the warmest of welcomes. I am immensely grateful, in particular, for the help and support that I have received from staff and officials.
I have a deep and personal interest in the subject of this debate. Not only have I met Richard Ratcliffe and followed the story of Nazanin over the years, but I myself originally come from Iran. Born and brought up there, I left as a teenager during the Islamic Revolution, following difficult and traumatic circumstances. I was born into a Christian household, my father having been a convert from Islam to Christianity, in a small village in the centre of Iran. We were part of the tiny Anglican Church in Iran, which, when I was growing up in the 1970s, was made up primarily of converts and second- and third-generation Christians.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford calls for justice for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, in Lords maiden speech”“Calm scrutiny will cause people with power, whoever and wherever they may be, whatever they may say, however loudly they may speak, one and all, to be uncomfortable. This applies as much to the Bishops of the Church of England as to anyone else”.
On 2nd December 2021 the Bishop of Liverpool, Rt Revd Paul Bayes, made his maiden speech in the House of Lords, during a debate led by Lord Bragg “That this House takes note of the BBC’s value to the United Kingdom and a wider global audience and the case for Her Majesty’s Government giving it greater support.”
The Lord Bishop of Liverpool (Maiden Speech): My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to address your Lordships for the first time and on this subject, and for the privilege of following the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord McNally, for his kind words*. I thank all noble Lords for the warmth of the welcome that I have received, and, for the quality of briefing and induction from the officers and staff of your Lordships’ House, which has been exemplary and profoundly helpful.
I speak as one whose first degree was in drama and theatre arts, and who was almost employed by the BBC as a trainee script editor in what was then called “English Regions Drama”, at the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham, in 1975. With whatever wisdom, I chose instead to enter the ordained ministry of the Church, and there have been times when I have felt that I chose the lower calling. Forty-two years of ministry in six different dioceses have culminated in the enormous privilege of my being appointed Bishop of Liverpool in 2014. I have been preferred to your Lordships’ House late in my ministry, but I am very grateful to be here and to receive wisdom for at least a few months.
Among its many dimensions, I want to speak of what the BBC does uniquely in our fragmented public square. To me, the gift and value of public service broadcasting is a matter of form before it is a matter of content: it rests on the decision to assume a tone of voice. The value of the BBC to this nation and our global position is rooted in its decision to be calm, to choose a particular volume and quality of scrutiny and to sustain it, no matter how unpopular it may be.
Continue reading “Bishop of Liverpool makes maiden speech on importance of scrutiny, in BBC debate”The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on support for COVID-19 vaccination programmes in developing countries on 2nd December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support COVID-19 vaccination programmes in developing countries following the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): My Lords, the new variant omicron is showing us yet again that no one is safe until everyone is safe. Global vaccination continues to be vital for our defences against the pandemic and we are committed to making sure that people in the poorest countries get vaccines. We are a leading supporter of COVAX, which has delivered over 483 million vaccines to low and middle-income countries. This will rise to 1.8 billion doses by mid-2022.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about support for COVID-19 vaccination in developing countries”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 2nd December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government how many child refugees are currently in looked after care in the UK.
Baroness Barran (Con): The department does not collect data on all child refugees that are currently in care, but does collect data on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) who are looked after by local authorities in England. Of the 80,850 children looked after up to 31 March 2021, there were 4,070 UASC, down 20% from the previous year which was 5,060.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about number of child refugees in local authority care in the UK”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 1st December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked Her Majesty’s Government, following the successful re-opening of the railway line between Exeter and Okehampton, what plans they have to reinstate the remaining section of the line between Okehampton and Calstock to secure an alternative route to Plymouth and Cornwall; what is the timetable for any such plans; and what assessment they have made of the risk of the Great Western Railway line to (1) coastal erosion, and (2) high seas.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about reopening of railway lines in the south-west of England”The Bishop of Gloucester tabled a question on the benefits of early years interventions for welfare and social mobility on 1st December 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of early years interventions on people’s welfare and social mobility later in life.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con): My Lords, we know that the early years are key to children’s later life chances, and effective early support is crucial. That is why we have put unprecedented investment into childcare over the past decade, committed £153 million to support education recovery in the early years, rolled out the proven Nuffield Early Language Intervention, and have announced £300 million to create a network of family hubs and transform crucial Start for Life services.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about benefits of early years interventions”
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