parliamentaryunit

Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of whistleblowing in financial institutions and services

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing were (1) reported, and (2) investigated, by the Financial Conduct Authority in (a) 2020 (b) 2021, (c) 2022, and (d) 2023.

Baroness Penn (Con): The FCA has reported and investigated the following number of whistleblowing cases for each year given:

Bishop of St Albans asks about immunocompromised individuals

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised people are living in the England.

Lord Markham (Con): During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable patients were advised to shield or take extra precautions. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme has meant that people who were part of this patient cohort are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and so are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else on staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.

Bishop of Durham asks about recent floods in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; and what humanitarian and financial support they are providing in response.

Bishop of St Albans asks about bus services in rural areas

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 alternative provisions they are making for individuals who live in areas affected by closures of rural bus routes.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether DRT can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

Bishop of Exeter asks about land use and diseases affecting trees

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many acres of agricultural land which were previously being farmed were set aside for rewilding in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.

Lord Benyon (Con): The Government does not instruct farmers to ‘set aside’ land for rewilding. We are phasing out subsidies so that we can invest the money in policies that work for farm businesses, food production and the environment. We are co-designing our reforms with farmers and, as we said in the Agricultural Transition Plan, the intention of our environmental land management schemes is to be flexible and to provide more choice and control to farmers.

Bishop of Manchester asks for clarification on issues relating to the ministerial code

The Bishop of Manchester asked for clarification on the issue of justice being seen to be done regarding breaches of the ministerial code, on 25th May 2023. This was in response to a government statement on how breaches of the code are managed, and a question in the House of Lords on the need for independent investigatory processes following an incident involving a potential breach of the code by the Home Secretary:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am struggling here. It seems to be a basic principle that justice should not only be done but seen to be done. These processes seem so arcane and opaque that I wonder whether the noble Baroness can assure us how this process passes that test—or does it not apply to the Ministerial Code?

Bishop of St Albans supports measures to restrict invasive grey squirrels

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the issue of invasive grey squirrels and the need for woodland cover protection on 25th May 2023:

My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition, although I am not speaking on its behalf today. I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale. I seem to remember that we have debated these issues before and I have always been grateful for his contributions.

There are many reasons why increasing our woodland cover is important. For example, being able to walk in woodlands is associated with mental health, at a time when this is a huge issue for us as a society; it is clearly deeply bedded into the issues of net zero; and it is intimately associated with the need to increase again our biodiversity. It is of inestimable importance.

The threat posed by grey squirrels is therefore an issue that exercises many of us, along with the longing that we might one day be able to reintroduce red squirrels. I have to say that the problem is not just grey squirrels; in North Hertfordshire we have black squirrels. I do not know if the Committee has come across them but they are breeding across both North Hertfordshire and South Cambridgeshire, and are a feature of our local area in my diocese. Sadly, there are now only a few conservation areas for red squirrels left, as we have heard, following the introduction of the grey squirrel in the 18th century and indeed the wider issue of the reduction in woodland.

Bishop of St Albans raises serious issues regarding imprisonment for public protection and calls for urgent reform

On 25th May 2023, the Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the government’s Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan, pointing out a high rate of suicide among prisoners serving IPP sentences and urging reform of the system:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, for his tenacity and for keeping this terrible situation before us. I rise with a certain reluctance because I do not have the expertise that many other noble Lords in this debate have, though like all bishops I have a right to visit the prisons in my diocese, which I do, and I am regularly in touch with people working in the legal and penal systems. My colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester, the lead bishop on prisons, has raised this matter on numerous occasions and sadly cannot be here today.

It is now seven months since the House of Commons Justice Select Committee issued its report on IPP sentences. There were some alarming conclusions in it, such as noting:

“The indefinite nature of the sentence has contributed to feelings of hopelessness and despair”,

leading to some suicides within the IPP population. There are reports that perhaps as many as 81 people have taken their own life when serving an IPP sentence. If we could identify in any other area of life that 81 lives had been taken, we would be calling for inquiries and wanting answers. Many of us are concerned to hear of further, more recent suicides.

Online Safety Bill: Bishop of Chelmsford supports Bishop of Oxford’s amendments on safety and risk

On 25th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Online Safety Bill in committee. The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by the Bishop of Oxford, Lord Clement Jones, and Lord Colville of Culross, which would introduce new duties to Ofcom to assess risk and monitor online safety:

My Lords, I shall speak in favour of Amendments 195, 239 and 263, tabled in the names of my right reverend friend the Bishop of Oxford, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, and the noble Viscount, Lord Colville of Culross, who I thank for his comments.

My right reverend friend the Bishop of Oxford regrets that he is unable to attend today’s debate. I know he would have liked to be here. My right reverend friend tells me that the Government’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, of which he was a founding member, devoted considerable resource to horizon scanning in its early years, looking for the ways in which AI and tech would develop across the world. The centre’s analysis reflected a single common thread: new technologies are developing faster than we can track them and they bring with them the risk of significant harms.

This Bill has also changed over time. It now sets out two main duties: the illegal content duty and the children duty. These duties have been examined and debated for years, including by the joint scrutiny committee. They are refined and comprehensive. Risk assessments are required to be “suitable and sufficient”, which is traditional language from 20 years of risk-based regulation. It ensures that the duties are fit for purpose and proportionate. The duties must be kept up to date and in line with any service changes. Recent government amendments now helpfully require companies to report to Ofcom and publish summaries of their findings.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about government approach to those at risk of poverty

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on government assessments of those at risk of falling into poverty during a debate on rising food prices on 25th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, in the diocese which I serve, charities in Harlow alone have fed more than 1 million people in the last year, which, frighteningly, represents a slower than the average demand for food banks nationally. I draw the Minister’s attention to the Bounty Club, which works with local businesses and people on the edge of crisis, helping them access a large bag of fresh food for £2.50, saving households on average £20 to £40 a week. Demand in Harlow is such that queues are regularly seen from St Paul’s Church right down the street. What assessment have the Government made of the number of people who are on the cusp of falling into poverty? What strategies are they considering to prevent people requiring the use of their local food bank or even charities such as the Bounty Club?

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