The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 11th January 2021:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government:
what key (1) economic, and (2) health, indicators they plan to use to inform their planned assessment of how best to support low-income families; and whether such any such assessment will include determining whether to make the £20 uplift to Universal Credit permanent.
what is the timeline for their assessment of (1) how best to support low-income families, and (2) whether to make the £20 uplift to Universal Credit permanent.
On 8th January 2021, the Bishop of Rochester took part in a debate on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, raising the difficulties faced by multinational families:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I wish to address an issue which, despite all that is covered by the agreement, remains, at least in part, unresolved. It concerns the position of UK nationals living and/or working in the EU. I declare a personal interest which will become clear. I am indebted to the Bishop in Europe for briefing me on a range of situations which have a serious impact on UK nationals living in his diocese, which covers 25 out of 27 EU states plus the EEA and Switzerland.
On 8th January 2021 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Charitable Donations
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Con, The Cotswolds): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the potential merits of establishing an app to enable contactless donations to be given via a QR code in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
On 7th January 2021, the Bishop of Durham asked about methods of reducing rates of COVID-19 in schools, following a government statement on the impact of the pandemic on educational settings:
The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: I declare my interests as chair of the National Society. I thank the Minister for the Statement and the commitment on the delivery of laptops and 4G to children. Some schools are reporting over two-thirds attendance today, due to children of key workers and vulnerable children. This runs counter to the policy of children staying at home as much as possible and, as such, is seen by school staff as highly risky to them. I have been in touch with a number of them just this afternoon with regard to this. What proportion of school attendance do Her Majesty’s Government think is needed to reduce schools’ role as a virus vector, and what more can be done to enable more vulnerable children to learn from home where hardware and 4G are the issue?
The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on how faith communities might continue to address the needs of communities in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic on 7th January 2021, and spoke in a debate on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation and Linked Households) (England) Regulations 2020:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, if any may have doubted the seriousness of the current situation, they had only to watch last night’s BBC report from University College Hospital, or to note that we are once again seeing multiple deaths in care home settings. Along with the Prime Minister’s Statement, it was announced that places of worship in England may remain open. I know that that has been welcomed by some faith communities, although others have already gone largely online. However, all such communities continue to engage with energy in acts of pastoral and community service. In the light of this, would the Leader of the House care to suggest what she and her colleagues would most wish to ask of our faith communities? What further might we offer? I believe that the noble Lord, Lord Boateng, may already have provided part of an answer.
The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on the costs of problem gambling to the taxpayer on 7th January 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost to taxpayers of problem gambling.
Baroness Barran (Con, DCMS): My Lords, Public Health England has undertaken a review of evidence on the public health harms relating to gambling and their social and economic burden. Publication has been delayed by Covid but is expected in the first part of this year. We have also launched our review of the Gambling Act. We are calling for evidence on how best to reduce harms and how we will recoup the cost to society.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 7th January 2021:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government further to the statement in Government Response to the House of Lords Gambling Industry Committee Report: Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry, published on 8 December:
that gambling advertising did not correlate to gambling participation among 11 to 24 year olds, what plans they have to undertake a review of the effects of gambling advertising on children as part of the Gambling Act Review.
how many gambling operators have been sanctioned due to breaches of rules committed by contracted affiliates.
On 6th January 2021, the Bishop of St Albans spoke during a debate on the Trade Bill, supporting an amendment aimed at protecting children on online and digital platforms:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of Amendment 23. The Government’s proposed online harms Bill will provide a welcome framework to protect the most vulnerable from exposure to dangerous content by placing the burden of responsibility on social media companies. This crucial legislation will better equip Britain to deal with the digital age.
The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on support for smaller charities on 6th January 2021, during a discussion on financial support for religious groups during the COVID-19 pandemic:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord McCrea, as his Question enables me to acknowledge with thanks to the support which has been received by religious groups and charities, not least through the furlough arrangements, which have been a considerable help for many of them. However, in looking to the future, I join others in urging Her Majesty’s Government to keep particularly in mind the needs of smaller charities, which are often religious, community and locally based in character, whose work with young people, the homeless, those in debt, the elderly and other groups has been growing in this time, while their voluntary income has often been diminishing. Perhaps I can tempt the Minister by suggesting that Her Majesty’s Government might consider using their new-found freedoms to exchange the current scheme, whereby VAT is reimbursed on works relating to listed places of worship, for one where it is not charged in the first place.
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