On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Month: September 2023
Bishop of London responds to government statement on crimes at Countess of Chester Hospital
On 5th September 2023, the Bishop of London spoke in response to a government statement on the inquiry into the Countess of Chester Hospital and the crimes of Lucy Letby, welcoming the inquiry and asking why existing policies on whistleblowing and safeguarding were not enough to prevent the crimes, and what could be done in future to mitigate this:
The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I also declare my interests as noted in the register, specifically as a previous Chief Nursing Officer for England and as a non-executive director of a number of NHS trusts for a number of years. I also extend my sympathy and prayers to those who have been impacted by these awful and unimaginable atrocities.
I join others in welcoming that this is now a statutory inquiry. I also support the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, particularly around NHS manager regulation. I ask the Minister whether, when the Government look at that regulation, they will consider that it should go beyond the NHS executive, who themselves are managers, so providing external scrutiny.
Continue reading “Bishop of London responds to government statement on crimes at Countess of Chester Hospital”Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asks about training programmes for installation of carbon efficient heating
The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asked a question on training programmes for installers of home heating systems during a debate on the 2030 Emission Reductions Target on 5th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: I will be very brief. A crucial component of the decarbonisation of heat in homes agenda is to have enough skilled technicians and engineers to install the various heating solutions. Can the Minister update the House on the progress of creating the necessary training opportunities?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asks about training programmes for installation of carbon efficient heating”Bishop of London asks about effects of cutting overseas development aid
On 5th September 2023, the Bishop of London asked a question on maternal mortality rates following cuts to overseas development aid:
The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, the impacts of cuts in aid have been and will continue to be significant. The equality impact assessment published by the International Development Committee revealed some of the effects, particularly on women. For example, the number of maternal deaths that will be averted by the women’s integrated sexual health programme will fall by more than half. In Afghanistan, the maternal mortality rate will worsen. How will the Government look to mitigate the impact of these cuts, particularly on women and girls?
Continue reading “Bishop of London asks about effects of cutting overseas development aid”Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on health and wellbeing
On 4th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the fifth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in the debate, in support of an amendment in the name of the Bishop of London and other peers which would introduce a duty to reduce health inequalities and improve well-being into the bill:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I also rise to speak to Amendment 198 in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Willis of Summertown, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, whom it is an honour to follow this evening, the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, who sends her apologies that she cannot be here to take part in this debate.
The urgent need to address declining health in the United Kingdom, as well as the widening health inequalities associated with this, cannot be overstated. We have heard many times about the staggering difference in healthy life expectancy, which was already up to 19 years before the pandemic. We must not become numb to such statistics or the reality that underlies them. Amendment 198 is about using the opportunity that this Bill provides to reform the planning system and thereby enable practical action by local authorities to tackle these disparities.
Continue reading “Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendment on health and wellbeing”Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
On 4th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:
Bishop of St Albans asks about safeguards against data breaches
On 4th September 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the safety and security of NHS data systems during a discussion on recent reports from the Electoral Commission regarding a data breach:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the stakes are very high when these data breaches take place, because they erode public confidence in allowing organisations to collect and use our private data. I am thinking in particular of the NHS, and its great reliance on data; if it can analyse and collect information, this could be of huge help in solving medical problems and curing diseases. To prevent these things in future, what is being done to ensure that the NHS computer system cannot be hacked and that people can have real confidence in it being allowed to collect their data?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about safeguards against data breaches”Bishop of Southwark asks about support for those suffering with dementia
The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on improving support for those suffering with dementia on 4th September 2023, following a question on the Alzheimer’s Society report Improving access to a timely and accurate diagnosis in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his answers on the diagnosis of dementia. Will he also outline what is being done to measurably improve the structures of support for those diagnosed with dementia, not least in the early stages, given the increasing social isolation that sufferers experience and the onerous costs they must often bear? This is increasingly evident in our parishes, in our wider communities, in the experience of clergy up and down the land and in my own diocese of Southwark.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about support for those suffering with dementia”Bishop of St Albans asks about ongoing conflict in Sudan and South Sudan
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 4th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how much aid they have provided to South Sudan since the start of the conflict in that country earlier this year.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con, Foreign Office): The 2018 Peace Agreement has prevented a return to large-scale national conflict in South Sudan, though there have been instances of sub-national violence this year. The Government of South Sudan need to ensure the Peace Agreement is implemented in full in order to bring justice and a lasting end to conflict to the people of South Sudan. The UK Government will provide £47 million of development assistance to South Sudan in the financial year (FY) 2023/24, and plans to increase this figure to £111 million in FY 2024/25. This assistance funds crucial health, education, humanitarian and peacebuilding work in South Sudan, as well as the placement of technical experts in both the ceasefire and Peace Agreement implementation monitoring mechanisms.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about ongoing conflict in Sudan and South Sudan”Bishop of Gloucester asks about data collection in criminal justice
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 4th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the pilot, launched in March 2021, with 15 magistrates’ courts, involving the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS and the probation service, of an alternative delivery model to increase the number of cases receiving pre-sentence reports.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about data collection in criminal justice”
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