Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of Sheffield asks about sustainable development

The Bishop of Sheffield asked a question on pauses in debt repayment, during a discussion on the most recent international development white paper, on 23rd November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, those of us on these Benches also welcome the Statement and the renewal of the UK’s commitment to sustainable development set out in the White Paper. In particular, we welcome the proposal to permit pauses in scheduled debt repayments in situations of crisis due to conflict or extreme weather events. However, will the Government acknowledge that piecemeal pauses to debt repayments are bound to prove insufficient to enable the progress now urgently needed if we are to achieve the SDGs by 2030? Is not something more comprehensive now needed?

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Bishop of St Albans urges efforts to improve inpatient mental health care

The Bishop of St Albans made a speech following a motion to take note on the mental health of children and young people in the UK on 23rd November 2023, advocating for urgent reform of the Mental Health Act to address issues with inpatient mental health care, and raising the issue of problem gambling and its effects on mental health:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too congratulate the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale, on her excellent maiden speech, and the noble Earl, Lord Russell, on securing this debate on an area of huge importance for all of us. As has been noted by many noble Lords already, and raised in the Question asked in the House by the noble Lord, Lord Bradley, on Tuesday, the omission of the mental health Bill from the King’s Speech has caused a great deal of worry and concern. It seems that we have time to debate pedicabs but not the urgent need for this review of our mental health provision.

With the number of children and young people being referred to mental health services increasing, alongside increasing waiting times for treatment, it is clear how urgent and pressing the reform of the Mental Health Act is. The Government have said that the Bill would be published when parliamentary time allows. I would argue that this is of the highest priority. Improved mental health in our young people and children—and the rest of the population, more broadly—would not only decrease the huge levels of suffering and anguish but bring immense economic benefits, saving taxpayers’ money and bringing more people into the workforce.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about structural pay gaps

On 23rd November 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on addressing structural pay gaps following the Chancellor’s autumn statement:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, we on these Benches welcome a number of aspects of the announcements yesterday in the Autumn Statement, not least the rises in the living wage and in pensions. There is an issue, though, over structural pay gaps which hide even greater disparities: pay gaps to do with gender, disability, social mobility and regional disparities, which are vital as we think about our levelling-up strategy. Can the Minister give us some indication of how the Government hope to address those structural pay differentials and gaps?

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Pedicabs (London) Bill: Bishop of St Albans welcomes legislation

On 22nd November 2023, the Pedicabs (London) Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords. The Bishop of St Albans made a speech welcoming the bill, and identifying several safety concerns around Pedicabs affecting buildings owned by the Church Commissioners:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I pray for the indulgence of the House to speak very briefly in the gap. I apologise that I just missed the deadline to get my name down. Speaking so late, I find that many of the points have been made very eloquently so I have been putting lines through various paragraphs. I will be very succinct. I need to declare my interests because I want to refer to some of the Church Commissioners’ properties in London and the reports that have come from tenants and also to my role as a vice-president of the LGA.

We welcome this Bill. We think it needs a fair bit of work, and there are a number of issues that need to be resolved. I agree that for many people pedicabs are a cause for fun, not least for tourists, but the Church Commissioners, being one of the local landlords in London, have received many complaints from local people affected by unregulated pedicabs. We have listed some of them: playing loud music at night; causing local traffic congestion; charging extortionate prices; blocking pavements; sometimes blocking cycle lanes, which is a real problem and causes real danger to cyclists who are going to and from work; and, not least, their lack of insurance, so many passengers and other users are left without protection.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about digital connectivity in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on digital connectivity in rural communities on 22nd November 2023, following a government statement on the levelling-up agenda:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the LGA. The 9.6 million people living in rural areas are glad that there is a mention of rural in the opening paragraph, but we cannot quite see how that rolls out. I wonder whether the Minister can help us a little. One of the crucial things about rural sustainability, improving levels of employment and offering healthcare in rural areas is digital connectivity, yet 17% of rural houses are not on superfast broadband, and nor are 30% of rural commercial premises. How does this relate to the need across the country to roll out a much higher level of rural connectivity? It has been done with a fantastic project in Cornwall and a lot was done in Shropshire at one stage, so it can be done. How do we get that sort of rural levelling up in digital connectivity?

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Bishop of London asks about financial pressures facing social care providers

On 22nd November 2023, the Bishop of London tabled a question on the financial pressures facing adult social care leaders and providers:

The Lord Bishop of London: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial situation facing adult social care leaders and providers, following information published by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care Services that 83 per cent of councils expect to overspend by an average of 3.5 per cent on adult social care in 2023-24.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about success of networking hubs to deal with asylum claims for children and young people

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the success of dedicated networking hubs to speed up asylum claims for children and young people on 22nd November 2023, during a discussion on safe routes available for child refugees and asylum seekers to come to the UK:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in May 2021, recognising the need to speed up the applications for child asylum seekers, the Government set up two dedicated caseworking hubs to try to process these claims more quickly. What assessment, two and half years on, has been made of the success of these dedicated hubs, and what more could be done to speed up the claims of young people as they seek asylum?

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Bishop of Durham asks about delivering health services in disadvantaged communities

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to use schools and nurseries as hubs for delivering health services to support families and meet the health needs of children and young people, especially within disadvantaged communities.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about plans to tackle homelessness among asylum seekers

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the need for a joined up policy to tackle homelessness among asylum seekers on 21st November 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: Both the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, have raised the really troubling issue of asylum seekers leaving accommodation and being made homeless. In the Government’s strategy, Ending Rough Sleeping for Good, there was talk about having a transparent and joined-up system. What plans do His Majesty’s Government have to ensure that homelessness policy and asylum policy are working together so that we can minimise this dreadful problem?

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Bishop of Lincoln introduced to Lords

On 21st November 2023 the Right Reverend Stephen Conway was re-introduced to the House of Lords in his new role as Bishop of Lincoln. He had previously served as Bishop of Ely.

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