The Bishop of Bristol received the following written answer on 15th March 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Bristol asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office on 7 October 2020 (96911), what further plans they have to publish guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme.
Continue reading “Bishop of Bristol asks about EU Settlement Scheme”
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 15th March 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to include consideration of issues relating to gambling harm in the professional sports community in the development of the cross-Government addiction strategy.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling rehabilitation”
On 12th March 2021, the Bishop of Portsmouth spoke in a debate on the state of the economy, following the delivery of the new Budget by the Chancellor:
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth [V]: My Lords, I welcome from the Bishops’ Bench the noble Lords, Lord Beynon, Lord Cruddas and Lord Khan of Burnley, and congratulate them on their speeches. I am looking forward to hearing them. I also welcome the noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, and my namesake, the noble Baroness, Lady Foster of Oxton.
Every Budget has consequences in every community, including those I serve as Bishop of Portsmouth. In these last comments that I shall make on a Budget Statement, I have four points on how this Budget is likely to make the sharp end sharper still for many, with little slack, even in better times. A decade on from the Dilnot report, there is still no proposal to address the social care challenge, even though apparently the Government have a package ready. We should have bitten this bullet years ago. We must bite it now.
Continue reading “Bishop of Portsmouth responds to budget on issues of tax, benefits, and social care”
On 12th March 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:
Church of England: Land
Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the church is taking to encourage (a) regenerative agriculture, (b) more treeplanting and (c) good stewardship of hedgerows across its rural estates.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Questions: Land”On 11th March 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:
Church Land
Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the church is taking to provide affordable, sustainable and beautiful housing on land it owns.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Land, Religious Freedom, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Remote Education”
On 11th March 2021, the Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to their revised target to reach a “minimum of 85 per cent gigabit broadband coverage by 2025”, as set out in the National Infrastructure Strategy, published in November 2020, whether they still intend to use an “outside-in approach” to support full-fibre rollout.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about full fibre broadband rollout”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th March 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to undertake a longitudinal study to consider the impact of exposure to gambling advertising from an early age.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about long term impact of gambling advertising”
The Bishop of Gloucester spoke during a debate on amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill on 10th March 2021, supporting an amendment on community services, and further amendments seeking to clarify the statutory defences for victims of domestic abuse who commit an offence:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester [V]: My Lords, my friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby, who regrets that she cannot be here today, was pleased to support the noble Lord, Lord Polak, when his amendment on specialist and community-based services was discussed in Committee. We really warmly welcome the government amendments, which represent significant improvements on the Bill. All that being said, I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, introduced Amendment 85 so that we might just press a little further. I do not want to repeat what other noble Lords have said, so I will make just a few brief comments.
We have heard repeatedly in debates in this House of the value of specialist and community-based services which allow survivors to remain in their homes and retain their community, their faith links and their workplaces and to keep children in their schools. Finding a long-term solution, as others have said, to supporting these services is essential. With colleagues on the Bishops’ Bench, I look forward to engaging with the victims’ law consultation and to reviewing the promised Clause 8 report from the domestic abuse commissioner to Parliament on the provision of, and need for, community-based support services.
Continue reading “Domestic Abuse Bill: Bishop of Gloucester supports amendments on community services and self defence law in cases of domestic abuse”On 10th March 2021, the House of Lords debated the Domestic Abuse Bill in Report. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on displacement of civilians following unrest in Myanmar on 10th March 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]: Is the Minister aware that in addition to the military’s crackdown on protesters, military offensives are taking place in northern Shan, Kachin and Karen states, causing the mass displacement of civilians? What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to ensure the protection of these civilians and to allow for urgent humanitarian assistance to reach them?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about displacement of civilians in Myanmar”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.