Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of St Albans asks about use of green hydrogen to cut railway emissions

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to explore green hydrogen as a solution to railway emissions.

Lord Davies of Gower (Con): The Transport Decarbonisation plan has committed to delivering a net zero rail network by 2050, with an ambition to remove all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040. While Government expects electrification to remain the dominant zero emission technology, the government supports the deployment of alternative traction such as battery and hydrogen to decarbonise the network where it makes operational and economic sense.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about prison telephone services

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what proportion of cells in (1) the female prison estate, and (2) the male prison estate, have in-cell telephony; and what proportion of cells in each prison have that facility.

Lord Bellamy (Con): There are a total of 10 Women’s Public Sector Prisons (8 closed and 2 open) in England which are run by His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about delivery of railway infrastructure in developing countries

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to draw on academic expertise to help deliver financially sustainable rail infrastructure in developing countries.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about process of transferring asylum seekers to Bibby Stockholm barge

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government on how many occasions an asylum seeker has been given fewer than five days’ notice before a transfer to the Bibby Stockholm.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about food waste

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide education and outreach programmes to consumers to reduce food waste and promote sustainable food choices.

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Bishop of Worcester asks about government approach to peace process in Israel and Gaza

The Bishop of Worcester received the following written answer on 24th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Worcester asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to assess the lessons of the Oslo peace process, especially in relation to the inclusion of regional actors, and (2) to apply those lessons in their response to current calls from regional players for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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Bishop of Chichester introduces Church of England pensions and miscellaneous provisions legislation

On 23rd January 2024, the Bishop of Chichester spoke in support of two motions to direct that the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure and the Church of England Pensions (Application of Capital Funds) Measure be  presented for Royal Assent. The Bishop of Manchester also spoke in support of one motion.

Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure

Motion to Direct

Moved by –

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure be presented to His Majesty for the Royal Assent.

My Lords, this is the latest in a series of miscellaneous provisions measures. It makes provision for a range of matters concerning the Church of England that do not merit separate, freestanding legislation. It includes provisions relating to the General Synod, ecclesiastical offices, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, Church property, elections to representative bodies, the functions of the Church Commissioners, appointments to the Church of England pensions board and the conduct of various types of meeting. I do not propose to take noble Lords through each of its 22 clauses in turn, but I thought I should draw attention to some of the more significant provisions.

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Bishop of Hereford introduced

On 23rd January 2024, the Bishop of Hereford, the Right Reverend Richard Jackson, was introduced to the House of Lords and took his seat on the Bishops’ Benches as a Lord Spiritual:

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about conditions for asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 23rd January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what risk assessments are carried out when facilitating room-sharing on the Bibby Stockholm, and at what intervals this is repeated after the outset of an asylum seeker’s relocation to the vessel.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about local housing allowance

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 23rd January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for annually indexing Local Housing Allowance to rent levels.

Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con): The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.

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