Month: March 2022

Skills and Post 16 Education Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate

On 24th March 2022, the House of Lords debated commons amendments to the Skills and Post 16 Education Bill. The Bishop of Leeds spoke on behalf of the Bishop of Durham regarding provision for universal credit claimants:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, this House carried an amendment in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, who cannot be in his place today, concerning universal credit conditionality—this has been referred to several times—but it was not accepted when the Bill was considered in the other place.

If the Government are to achieve their levelling-up ambitions and enable individuals to secure better-paid employment with improved prospects, then it is essential to achieve greater integration of the support provided for skills development and training by the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Continue reading “Skills and Post 16 Education Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks in debate”

Votes: Post 16 Skills and Education Boll

On 24th March 2022, the House of Lords debated commons amendments to the Post 16 Skills and Education Bill. Votes were held on amendments, in which a Bishop took part.

Continue reading “Votes: Post 16 Skills and Education Boll”

Bishop of Leeds asks about government assessment of efficiency in the Civil Service

On 24th March 2022, the Bishop of Leeds asked a question regarding the government’s assessment efficiency and effectiveness during a debate on the reduction of numbers in the Civil Service:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, have the Government made any assessment of the relationship between efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about government assessment of efficiency in the Civil Service”

Bishop of St Albans asks about destruction of Armenian historical sites in Azerbaijan

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL6312), what attempts they have made to document the destruction of Armenian historical sites in Azerbaijan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The protection of cultural heritage affected by conflict and the prevention of acts of destruction are priorities for the UK. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged over the course of the conflict. Following the 2020 war, the UK has engaged with the Governments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan on this matter. UNESCO are the body best placed to look into this issue and we call on all sides to reach an agreement to enable UNESCO to visit the region soon.

Hansard

Bishop of Gloucester asks about women in prisons, and about telephones in prison cells

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 years or older, are currently held in each female prison establishment.

Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about women in prisons, and about telephones in prison cells”

Bishop of St Albans speaks about universal credit

On 23rd March 2022, the House of Lords Grand Committee debated the Economic Affairs Committee Report on Universal Credit. The Bishop of St Albans made the following speech:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I first add my thanks to the Economics Affairs Committee for producing this excellent report. As is often the case with a Select Committee report, reading it is not only enlightening but deeply informative. I have learned a great deal from it, for which I am grateful.

I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, for his tenacity, such as when securing the intervention in the Chamber earlier. It was so interesting that the concerns were being raised from every Bench. I hope the Government Whips and others are listening to the profound unease coming from every quarter of the House; it is not going to go away. I have experience of working across two relatively well-off counties. I used to work in the Black Country, but nowadays I have responsibility for Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, which are fairly wealthy, by and large. The concerns coming out of parts of Watford, Stevenage and Bedford are uniform: we are facing a serious challenge.

I have to confess to noble Lords that some of the material in this report was new to me. I am ashamed to say that I had not realised, until reading it, that universal credit is being used by the Government as a vehicle to recover debt. I was glad to be able to raise that earlier although I do not think the Minister understood the point I was making, because we received no answer. This is deeply disconcerting, not only because it will not deliver what the Government want. Simply taking pennies off the poor at a time when Her Majesty’s Government have written off £16 billion in Covid business loans due to errors and fraud—which led to resignations from the Front Bench in our own House—is quite extraordinary and unrealistic.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans speaks about universal credit”

Bishop of St Albans asks about debt recovery

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question about debt recovery on 23rd March 2022, during a debate on the government’s spring statement:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in the light of the huge inflationary pressures that are on people across the board and with the Government’s plan to use universal credit as a way of recovering £6 billion-worth of historic tax credit debt, what assessment has been made of whether there is the slightest chance of recovering those debts? What assessment has been made of that level of debt?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about debt recovery”

Bishop of Leeds asks about the cost of living

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question about the impact of the rising cost of living on 23rd March 2022, during a debate on the government’s Loneliness Strategy:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, have the Government made any assessment of the likely impact of the cost-of-living crisis, including energy prices and all of that, on family breakdown in this country?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about the cost of living”

Bishop of St Albans asks about Armenian historical sites

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 23rd March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL6312), what assessment they have made as to whether the process of Albanization is occurring in relation to (1) churches, and (2) monasteries, in (a) Nagorno-Karabakh, and (b) the surrounding regions, retaken by Azerbaijan.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about Armenian historical sites”

Archbishop of Canterbury raises concerns about P&O Ferries, worker wages and security

On 22nd March 2022 the Archbishop of Canterbury responded to a statement by the Government on the behaviour of P&O Ferries towards its workers. The Archbishop raised three points relating to reporting to Parliament on progress of talks, the wages of P&O staff, and the security of services in British waters.

Continue reading “Archbishop of Canterbury raises concerns about P&O Ferries, worker wages and security”