On 11th September 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments and reasons to the Procurement Bill. Votes were hold on motions relating to amendments, in which a Bishop took part:
Votes: Procurement Bill
Month: September 2023
Votes: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
On 11th September 2023, the House of Lords debated Commons amendments and reasons to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Votes were held on motions relating to Commons amendments, in which a Bishop took part:
Bishop of Leeds asks about effects of sanctions on Russia
On 11th September 2023, Bishop of Leeds tabled a question on the effectiveness of sanctions placed upon Russia following their invasion of Ukraine:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of sanctions against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con, Foreign Office): My Lords, sanctions by the United Kingdom and its international partners have starved Russia of key western goods and technology, degrading Russia’s military and restricting its capacity to fight a 21st-century war. UK exports of machinery and transport equipment have decreased by 98%. Sanctions also limit Russia’s financial resources. The UK has sanctioned 29 Russian banks, accounting for over 90% of the Russian banking sector. We have also frozen over £18 billion-worth of Russian assets in the UK. Without sanctions, we estimate that Russia would have over $400 billion more to fund its war machine.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about effects of sanctions on Russia”Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of whistleblowing in NHS Hospitals
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing occurred in NHS hospitals in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): The information requested is not collected or held centrally.
Bishop of St Albans urges government to work to provide financial and citizenship education in schools
The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on life skills and citizenship teaching in primary and secondary schools on 7th September 2023, urging the government to work with organisations to provide financial education in schools, and drawing attention to the Church of England’s Living Well Together project:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the diocese which I am privileged to serve has 138 church schools in it and another group of independent schools with Christian foundations. I am glad to have the opportunity to visit them regularly—I have been in one already this morning. As I go round, I am heartened by the teaching I see already going on on citizenship and value-based education. I want to comment, though, on just a couple of things and to suggest that, while it is important that the Government are clear what they are doing, there is actually a vital role for families and a vital role in collaborating with other bodies that are seeking to do similar sort of work.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans urges government to work to provide financial and citizenship education in schools”Bishop of Exeter asks about international efforts to combat food insecurity in conflict areas
The Bishop of Exeter asked a question on government efforts to work internationally to combat food insecurity in areas of conflict on 7th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, as the president of the International Rescue Committee rightly noted, conflict is one of the primary drivers of food insecurity around the globe, so what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking, in co-operation with our partners, to convene dialogue and work with local peacebuilders and faith leaders to help in areas of conflict?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con, Foreign Office): We are working in many areas, including an area in which I lead on the initiative of preventing sexual violence in conflict.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about international efforts to combat food insecurity in conflict areas”Bishop of St Albans asks about use of drug Vorasidenib to treat brain tumours
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of Vorasidenib for the treatment of brain tumours.
Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): In the United Kingdom, medicines need to have a licence before they can be marketed, and these are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA has not issued a scientific opinion for Vorasidenib. Should an application for Vorasidenib be received, the MHRA will consider this accordingly.
Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience
On 6th September 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in a committee debate on a report from the Children and Families Act 2014 Committee: A Failure of implementation, referencing the findings of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and the need to safeguard children as being at the heart of Christian teaching:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for securing this debate, and the whole Children and Families Act Committee for its work on this excellent report and for highlighting all the issues.
Our experiences of childhood and family life shape who we are and who we become. When children and families flourish, society flourishes. This is not a new understanding: in the little we hear of Jesus as a child, the gospel writer Luke highlights how he grew physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. His childhood shaped his adult ministry.
Continue reading “Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience”Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendments on housing
On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of amendment 201, which would require the government to update the definition of affordable housing, recalling the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2021 debate on housing and stressing the need for a bipartisan approach to ensure consistent housebuilding policy over time:
My Lords, the noble Baronesses, Lady Hayman and Lady Bennett, and the noble Lord, Lord Stunell, have all spoken eloquently on Amendment 201, which I support. I thank them for tabling it.
The independent Archbishops’ Commission on Housing reported in March 2021, and your Lordships’ House may recall the debate that the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury secured on 24 March 2021, on the subject of housing. I simply wish to highlight a few points from that which I believe are relevant to the debate on this amendment.
Continue reading “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendments on housing”Bishop of Durham asks about reinstation of asylum applications
The Bishop of Durham asked a question on time allowed for consideration of asylum requests, during a discussion on the asylum applications backlog on 6th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: Returning to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, how long does the Home Office consider a reasonable length of time for an asylum seeker to provide reasons and evidence as to why their asylum request should be reinstated after receiving a decision and the application is withdrawn? Will the Government publish statistics on the number of applicants reinstated?
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about reinstation of asylum applications”
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