On 6th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Retained EU Law Bill following Commons amendments. Votes were held on motions to add additional amendments to the bill, in which a bishop took part:
Votes: Retained EU Law Bill (Revocation and Reform)
Author: parliamentaryunit
Bishop of St Albans asks about status of journalists in Sudan and South Sudan
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 6th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the status of journalists, particularly women journalists, in Sudan and South Sudan.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): In April 2023, the UK led the mandate renewal for the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) at the UN Human Rights Council. The Commission reported that journalists in South Sudan experience severe harassment, including arbitrary detention and death threats, with some going into hiding or fleeing the country. In South Sudan, the UK consistently raises the importance of media freedom with the Government of South Sudan and funded a project with the Female Journalists Network to enhance media literacy skills among civil society women leaders and improve the technical ability of female journalists.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about status of journalists in Sudan and South Sudan”Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham asks about means of identifying bereaved children
The Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham received the following written answer on 6th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to identify bereaved children in official statistics for the purposes of meeting their needs.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con): The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham asks about means of identifying bereaved children”Bishop of Exeter asks about land use by solar farms
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 6th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government:
- how many acres of agricultural land which were previously being farmed were given over to solar farms in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
- what assessment they have made of the impact on UK food security of giving over farm land to solar farms.
Lord Benyon (Con): Defra has previously published statistics for the amounts of land changing use during individual years from 2013 to 14 through to 2017 to 2018. The Department intends to provisionally publish similar figures for the three year period 2019 to 2022 using a revised methodology during June or July 2023, however, the figures are not detailed enough to provide the information requested.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about land use by solar farms”Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments to ensure high standard of “safe” countries
On 5th June 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill on the second day of the committee stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Baroness Hamwee, Lord Carlile of Berriew, and Lord Alton of Liverpool that would ensure that, when removing migrants to “safe” countries, the country in question meets high definitions of safety:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: I apologise that I was unable to be present on day one of Committee and I arrived today rather later than I had planned, so was unable to speak earlier. However, I am grateful to my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry for so doing.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments to ensure high standard of “safe” countries”Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Coventry supports amendments covering human rights claims
On 5th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the second day of committee. On behalf of the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of Coventry spoke in support of an amendment to the bill tabled by Lord Dubs which would require the Home Secretary to consider a protection claim or a human rights claim if the applicant has not been removed from the UK within six months of the claim being deemed inadmissible:
The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, I apologise for not being able to speak previously on the Bill, but I support Amendment 23 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, on behalf of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, who has added his name to this little band, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, referred to them. I have been holding back in the hope that he would land, but his aircraft has been delayed.
Of course, it is right that every nation should have jurisdiction over its own borders and the ability to decide who may or may not have a credible claim to reside in the country, but Clause 4 ends any such due process which would consider the merits of an asylum application. By denying those who are deemed inadmissible from ever claiming asylum, as we have heard, thousands of men, women and children will simply not have their case heard, let alone assessed, regardless of how grave their protection needs might be—and regardless of the fact that there is no way to travel to the UK with prior authorisation in order to claim asylum in many cases. That point is made regularly in your Lordships’ House.
Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Coventry supports amendments covering human rights claims”Bishop of St Albans asks about prevention of famine in Somalia
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Somalia about the prevention of famine in that country; and what future engagements they have scheduled.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): In 2022 the collective efforts of humanitarian partners and donors, including the UK, averted famine in Somalia. Despite the reduced famine risk, humanitarian needs remain extraordinary.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about prevention of famine in Somalia”Bishop of St Albans asks about conservation plans under Retained EU Law Bill
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what are their current plans for exercising powers to be granted to them under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Repeal) Bill in relation to the Habitats Directive.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about conservation plans under Retained EU Law Bill”Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling machines on UK military bases
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many gambling or gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK.
Baroness Goldie (Con): I can confirm that some gambling and gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, I would wish to provide reassurance that work is underway to understand the scale of problem gambling within the Armed Forces and to address it accordingly.
Bishop of Durham asks about immigration detention under the proposed Illegal Migration Bill
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government:
- whether additional detention sites to detain those subject to the duty to remove under clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill will operate under the Detention Centre Rules 2001.
- whether an individual subject to the duty to remove under clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill will be considered for release from detention if a rule 35 report is brought to the attention of the Home Office.
- what guidance they follow in assessing whether a place of immigration detention is appropriate.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): The Illegal Migration Bill creates new detention powers which will allow the Home Secretary to detain a person pending a decision as to whether they meet the four conditions and the new duty to remove applies, and thereafter to detain pending their removal.
All Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) must operate in compliance with the Detention Centre Rules 2001, this includes any additional sites that are opened as IRCs to increase detention capacity.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about immigration detention under the proposed Illegal Migration Bill”
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