The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 15th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to increase regulation for unregulated digital Buy-Now-Pay-Later products; and if so, when they intend to introduce such measures.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about regulation of online credit offers”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question regarding lack of communication with local authorities regarding people seeking asylum on 14th December 2022, following a government statement on immigration and plans for the future of the asylum system:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, there are a number of aspects of this Statement which I welcome, not least that there are going to be increased numbers of people processing and that the aim is to process within weeks rather than months and get people through the system much more quickly. But there really has been quite a problem, not least at Manston, where at one stage 4,000 people were staying in a centre designed for 1,600. As they were being shipped out around the country, a whole lot were delivered into Luton, in my diocese, with no warning. Even the local authority was not able to help. So my question is: what lessons have been learned? Can we be sure that we are really communicating well with local authorities, so that we can work on this together, give people dignity and try and process them as quickly and effectively as we can?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans urges better communication with local authorities when processing people in the asylum system”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on help for food banks to freeze and store food, during a debate on health and malnutrition on 14th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, food banks across my diocese are reporting a huge increase in need and a huge decrease in the amount of food being donated, simply because of the cost of living crisis. One of the things that makes a difference for food banks is having enough capacity to freeze food. There is an urgent need to see whether we can help them with freezers. Is there anything the Government can do to work with food banks to help them increase their capacity for storing food when it is spare so that is available at other times?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about greater support for food bank facilities”
The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of London asked His Majesty’s Government how many people are currently receiving statutory sick pay; how many people are eligible to receive only statutory sick pay when unwell; and how many people earn less than the lower earnings threshold, making them ineligible for statutory sick pay.
Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): Statutory Sick Pay is administered and paid by employers, so this information is not held by the Government. Therefore, we are not able to make a robust assessment on the number of people who are currently receiving SSP.
Continue reading “Bishop of London asks about statutory sick pay”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 8 November (HL2809), what support is available to individuals subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions as part of their total cost of living package of £37 billion this year, but excluding the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): In addition to the Government supporting those in receipt of public fund benefits with cost-of-living payments, the package also includes a range of measures that those with no recourse to public funds could also benefit from, if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about support for individuals with no recourse to public funds”
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 16 November (HL3212), why they have kept the £25 Cold Weather Payment amount the same; and what plans they have to increase it in light of the increasing cost of energy bills.
Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): There are currently no plans to increase payment of the Cold Weather Payment scheme. The current Cold Weather Payment scheme represents a contribution towards additional heating costs, paid at the time of need.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks why cold weather payments have not increased”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of people likely to be granted resettlement in the UK for (1) the remainder of this year, and (2) the following two years thereafter.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about resettlement estimates for refugees”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following correction to a written answer on 14th December 2022:
Lord Markham (Con): I would like to amend a written answer that I gave to the House on the 7 November 2022.
An incorrect figure was provided in my reply to HL2636, which was asked by The Lord Bishop of Gloucester. The question was: “To ask His Majesty’s Government how many recipients of Healthy Start vouchers are not in receipt of prepaid cards despite remaining eligible for the scheme.”
The reply stated that “The NHS Business Services Authority estimates that as of 18 October 2022, there were 2,954 households previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme. “
However, it has since been brought to my attention that the figures supplied by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) had a typographical error. The answer should have stated that “the NHS Business Services Authority estimates that, as of 18 October 2022, there were 42,954 households which previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme.” I apologise that the incorrect figures were inadvertently supplied.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about Healthy Start Scheme – Correction”On 13th December 2022, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Public Order Bill in the third day of Committee. The Bishop of Chelmsford spoke in support of two sets of amendments to the bill:
The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question about the cost of employing agency staff to cover NHS shifts, as compared to the cost of a pay rise for NHS staff, during a debate on the upcoming NHS industrial action on 13th December 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, even prior to the strikes, agency nurses were being brought in to ensure that shifts were safely staffed. I should be grateful if the Minister would set out what assessment the Government have made of the cost to the NHS of employing agency staff, compared with that of a pay rise that would work towards an arguably better and more stable workforce?
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about cost of using agency staff to cover NHS shortages”
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