Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of Rochester asks about treatment of human rights activists in Zimbabwe

The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on the treatment of human rights activists in Zimbabwe on 28th April 2021, during a discussion on the current political situation in the country:

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, my diocese has a close and long-standing friendship with the diocese of Harare. When I asked friends there about this subject, they spoke of those human rights activists and others who allege mistreatment when taken into custody, and then nothing is done to address their allegations. Is the Minister able to suggest how we might better underline and, indeed, demonstrate that allowing dissent is good for the health of a society, to be encouraged rather than met with suppression or even violence? This is something that, of course, has a wider application than just to Zimbabwe.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about impact of education on gambling for under 18s

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 28th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have that the requirement in the statutory guidance Relationship Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education, published in June 2019, that “pupils should know … the risks related to online gambling including the accumulation of debt” has assisted in reducing gambling among those under 18 years old.

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Bishop of Durham asks about temporary accommodation for asylum seekers

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 28th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government:

  • how many asylum seekers with school-age children are currently housed in contingency accommodation; and how long they expect it will be before such asylum seekers are allocated dispersal accommodation.
  • whether there is a list of requirements that dispersal accommodation must meet.
  • what requirements they have established with Migrant Help (1) to log and record every call made to the service by asylum seekers in contingency accommodation, and (2) to set a target time for responding to issues raised in these calls, as part of its contracts with that charity; and what assessment they have made of whether Migrant Help is fulfilling any such requirements in carrying out such contracts.
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Votes: Fire Safety Bill

On 27th April 2021, the House of Lords debated Commons reasons and amendments to the Fire Safety Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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Fire Safety Bill: Bishop of St Albans raises issue of leaseholder costs

On 27th April 2021, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Fire Safety Bill. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, raising the difficulties faced by leaseholders struggling to meet remediation costs and to sell their properties:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: Well, my Lords, here we are again. I do not want to detain your Lordships’ House for too long, because everything has been said several times already, but I want to make a few comments, if I may.

I, too, want the Bill to pass. I pay tribute to Her Majesty’s Government and the money they have already found and put on the table, which is very significant. But since we last gathered here, the sheer scale of the crisis, which is in its very early stages, is slowly beginning to unfold before us and become ever clearer. I believe that is why the majority in the other place declines each time an amendment goes back, because those long-serving, seasoned campaigners in the other place realise what is going on. The stories are coming out absolutely relentlessly, and new research is being published.

At a few minutes to four this afternoon, I received an email from someone who works in Parliament. I will call her Claire; that is not her real name, but she will know who she is, because she emailed me at 3.56 pm and asked if I will speak up. She said, “Will you speak up for the leaseholders again and table an amendment? I bought a flat under the shared ownership scheme. I own a 25% share, yet I am liable for 100% of the costs. I am already paying an additional amount each month, and I know this amount will soon increase as further remediation work takes place. I simply cannot afford to pay for the remediation works, nor should I have to. The stress of this situation is becoming intolerable. My mental and physical health are approaching a state of collapse”. “Will you speak up?”, she said. I have not met her yet—I hope she will say hello to me one day, perhaps when she guesses who I am or sees me around the place. This is someone who we bump into, who works in this place and who serves us.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about reduction in overseas development aid

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the government’s decision to cut amounts of overseas development aid on 27th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: The Minister will be aware that we are already in the financial year in which the reductions in budget are meant to take place. I note from an answer to an earlier question his commitment and desire to inform the House as soon as possible of the nature of the cuts in funding and how they will affect various development and aid projects. Does he agree that to implement a 25% reduction in the annual budget if one is, for example, three months into the financial year would amount to reducing by a third the funds remaining? This causes greater dislocation to whichever activity is supported than implementing planned funding before the financial year commences.

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Bishop of Rochester asks about standards in public office

The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on the need to uphold standards in public office on 27th April 2021, following a Commons statement on dealing with potential breaches of the ministerial code:

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I will not advise on internal decorations, but I observe that, by virtue of being here, we are all inhabitants of glass houses. We note the adage that being in a glass house makes us visible, so it is wise to behave in ways that do not disgrace this place or ourselves. We often hear words from or about Ministers and others in public office to the effect that he or she did not “break the rules”. Is that not to set the bar fairly low? Does the Minister agree that, while we are all fallible human beings, we, in public office, should aspire to the highest possible standards of probity and behaviour and not simply settle for keeping the rules? If we do not, public opinion will lead to ever tighter rules.

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Bishop of London asks about maternal mortality rates

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 27th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of London asked Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish a report on the work to reduce health inequalities around maternal mortality rates, in particular the higher rate of death in childbirth for Black women, led by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE; and what action will be taken as a result of this report.

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Bishop of Rochester asks about updates to war memorials

The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on the inclusion of names of fallen soldiers from the former British Empire on war memorials, following a government statement on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Historical Inequalities Report:

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I associate myself with the comments just made by the noble Lord, Lord Singh. Like many others, I have stood in places such as the Menin Gate and been overawed by the reading of the names there. In seeing the names of the fallen from many parts of the then Empire, I had assumed that all such were indeed properly commemorated. I know now of course that I and many others were wrong in that assumption. I have present and past diocesan connections with Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. I have also visited memorials and cemeteries in those places where I have seen the names of some local nationals. I am now asking myself how many names were not there when I visited those places. Is the Minister able to give me confidence to assure my colleagues in those places that their fallen compatriots will be as fully commemorated as possible, as soon as possible? Is there anything they can do to help this process?

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Bishop of Rochester asks about role of local authorities in implementation of new local structures

The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on the government’s plans to implement new local structures on 26th April 2021, during a discussion on the annual report from the Industrial Strategy Council:

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, although I was once a voluntary sector member of a regional assembly, I do not hanker after a return to that particular bit of structure. However, are Her Majesty’s Government contemplating any new local structures as part of the response to the questions raised, or do they trust local authorities, executive mayors and existing bodies, such as the LEPs, to deliver on this agenda? I notice that the Minister did not mention local authorities in his original response.

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