Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of Durham receives response to written question on school meals for children in poverty

 

14.06.10 Bishop of Durham 5

On 14th March 2018, the Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, received a response to a written question on school meals for children in poverty: 

Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answers by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 26 February (HL Deb, cols 425–28), what measures they plan to take to ensure that all children living in poverty over the age of seven can receive a healthy meal at lunch time, as part of combatting child obesity and poor levels of nutrition.
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Bishop of Newcastle expresses support for Muslim communities in light of hate crimes

On 13th March 2018, Lord Young of Cookham repeated an answer given to an urgent question about inflammatory letters inciting a ‘Punish a Muslim’ day. The Bishop of Newcastle, Rt Revd Christine Hardman, denounced these letters, expressed her solidarity with the Muslim community, and asked the Government what action it is taking to support grass-roots relationships.

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, on behalf of these Benches and, I am sure, on behalf of the Church, I want to say that any attack on a person or community on the basis of their faith or their race is abhorrent and has no place in a decent, civilised society.

As a Christian leader I stand in solidarity with my Muslim friends and with all those in and outside this building who have been directly affected or are fearful and anxious.

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Bishop of Oxford asks Government to affirm Muslim communities’ condemnation of child sexual ​exploitation scandals

 

On 13th March 2018 Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty’s Government “what assessment they have made of the national scale of the “grooming gang scandal”, including sexual exploitation of non-Muslim children by Muslim men, as emerged recently in Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and elsewhere; and what steps they are taking to enable the prosecution of those in the police and local authorities who have failed to prevent it.” The Lord Bishop of Oxford, Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I am enormously grateful for the Minister’s Answer to the Question. I had the great privilege to be the Bishop of Sheffield for seven years during the child sexual ​exploitation scandal in Rotherham and I am now the Bishop of Oxford. I spent a great deal of time in Rotherham following Professor Jay’s report and registered the shock across all sections of the community, including, of course, the Muslim community there, who were as deeply appalled by what had happened as the rest of the community. I vividly remember visiting some parents at a mosque in Rotherham and hearing how their children were insulted by the rest of the community in words I will not repeat in this House. Will the Minister affirm the condemnation with which these scandals are greeted across the Muslim communities in each of these towns and cities?

 

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Church Commissioner Written Answers – buildings and rural wi-fi / broadband

On 13th March 2018 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Dame Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question from Daniel Kawczynski MP about wi-fi and broadband in rural areas: Continue reading “Church Commissioner Written Answers – buildings and rural wi-fi / broadband”

Church Commissioner Written Answers: wi-fi and broadband in Blackburn diocese

On 13th March 2018 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Dame Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question from Sir Mark Hendrick MP about using church spires in the Blackburn diocese for wi-fi and broadband: Continue reading “Church Commissioner Written Answers: wi-fi and broadband in Blackburn diocese”

Bishop of Durham receives response to written questions on accommodation for asylum seekers

durham-230117-bOn 12th March 2018 the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, received responses to two written questions on accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK:

(i) Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many bedrooms in accommodation allocated to asylum seekers in (1) the North East of England, and (2) Yorkshire, under Home Office COMPASS contracts, are shared by two or more unrelated individuals; and what proportion of the total number of bedrooms available in those areas that figure represents.

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Week in Westminster, 5th – 9th March 2018

Westminster-abbeyThis week in the House of Lords bishops spoke in debates on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and the incident in Salisbury. They asked questions on the Holy Sepulchre, civil unrest in the DRC, support available for female offenders and received answers on the incarceration of British citizens in the US, freedom of religion and belief and Child Tax Credits.

In the House of Commons the Second Church Estates Commissioner answered questions on the Church Investors Group, digital connectivity, environmental taxation, homelessness, the Holy Sepulchre , church infrastructure and financial education, and asked her own question about plastics reduction. Continue reading “Week in Westminster, 5th – 9th March 2018”

Dame Caroline Spelman questions government about plastics reduction campaign

17.12.07 Carolinespelman1On the 8th March the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP asked a question of the Government regarding the Church of England’s Lent Campaign for plastic reduction.

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Church Commissioner Questions, Church Investors Group, Digital Connectivity, Environmental Taxation, Homelessness, the Holy Sepulchre, Church Infrastructure and Financial Education

17.12.07 Carolinespelman2On the 8th March the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the Rt Hon Dame Caroline Spelman MP answered written and oral questions in the House of Commons. Questions covered a range of issues including the Church Investors Group, digital connectivity, environmental taxation, homelessness, the Holy Sepulchre, church infrastructure and financial education in church schools.

Continue reading “Church Commissioner Questions, Church Investors Group, Digital Connectivity, Environmental Taxation, Homelessness, the Holy Sepulchre, Church Infrastructure and Financial Education”