Month: April 2023

Bishop of St Albans asks about energy relief for businesses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide energy bill relief for businesses.

Lord Callanan (Con): The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), worth £7.3billion, provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses are protected from high energy costs this winter period.

Following a review of the EBRS, a new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) starts on 1 April 2023, and all eligible non-domestic customers, except for those experiencing low energy costs, will automatically receive a per unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

Hansard

Bishop of Manchester asks about energy bills for those living on boats

The Bishop of Manchester received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will provide fuel support to those living on licensed boats with no permanent mooring, many of whom are on low incomes or pensioners.

Lord Callanan (Con): The Government is keen to support these households living on licensed boats with no permanent mooring and to ensure that they can receive the Alternative Fuel Payment via the Alternative Fund where eligible. We are currently working to find an acceptable method for these households to provide proof of eligibility, whilst protecting public funds, so they can claim the Alternative Fuel Payment via the Alternative Fund.

Hansard

Bishop of Gloucester asks about report on domestic abuse

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • when they plan to publish their response to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report Safety before status: the solutions, which was due in February.
  • what assessment has been made of the recommendations in the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s second report into migrant survivors, Safety before status: the solutions, published on 13 December 2022.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): Tackling violence against women and girls is a government priority. We are committed to supporting victims of abuse, regardless of their immigration status.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about greenhouse gas emissions associated with dairy farming

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage dairy farmers to undertake a Greenhouse Gas Protocol audit.

Lord Benyon (Con): In the Net Zero Growth Plan, we have committed to developing a harmonised approach to measuring carbon on farms and will set out how we will support farmers to undertake carbon audits by 2024.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about reduction of crime in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of installing tracking devices on farm machinery to reduce rural crime.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): The Government is committed to driving down rural crime. Whether someone lives in the countryside or a town or city they should get the same high-quality service from the police if they fall victim to a crime.

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Bishop of Durham asks about current conditions in Burundi

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support (1) freedom of speech, and (2) freedom of the press, in Burundi.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about internet access in rural communities

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 9 February (HL4988), what estimate they have made of the number of people relying on Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for internet access.

Viscount Camrose (Con): Ofcom estimates that as of October 2022, 13,000 customers have opted for a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband service from Starlink. Based on analysis of Starlink’s data, at least some of these customers are based in areas which do not have access to traditional decent broadband services. Premises may also use satellite services in conjunction with other terrestrial services.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about food standards investigations

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the authenticity of British honey, following the investigation by the European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office and the Joint Research Centre in which all British honey samples failed authenticity tests.

Lord Benyon (Con): The UK Government takes any type of food fraud very seriously, including honey adulteration. Defra works closely with enforcement authorities, the Food Standards Agency, and the National Food Crime Unit to ensure honey sold in the UK is not subject to adulteration, meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers.

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Bishop of Durham asks about asylum decisions by the UK government

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many individuals have been granted temporary protection since the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 came into force; and what proportion of such individuals were under the age of 18.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.uk. Data on initial decisions on asylum applications, by age, can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’ on GOV.uk. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022. Data for the year ending March 2023 will be published on 25 May 2023.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about animal welfare standards in international trade

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the differences in environmental and animal welfare standards in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the impact of these differences on British farmers, given the UK–Australia and UK–New Zealand free trade agreements.

Lord Benyon (Con): The Government has been clear that any access to UK markets agreed through trade agreements will be fair and reciprocal, taking into account sectoral sensitivities and differences in food production standards. For example, within the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement we secured the exclusion of pork, chicken and eggs from tariff liberalisation reflecting the importance of animal welfare to the UK and the level of trade between Australia and the UK on these products.

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