The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between domestic abuse and victim suicide.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and domestic abuse”The Lord Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 7 November 2024 (HL1998), when they intend to publish feedback to the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about cosmetic procedure licencing and problem gambling services”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the publication in Environmental Research Letters on 31 March of Reconsidering the macroeconomic damage of severe warming, what assessment they have made of the finding that global warming will have a significant negative impact on the size of the global economy.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about energy costs and global warming”
The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of reported attacks on religious communities and places of worship in Ukraine by Russian forces on freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about attacks on religious communities and places of worship in Ukraine by Russian forces”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:
The Archbishop of York received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:
The Lord Archbishop of York asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan advocating for the continued operation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the country.
Continue reading “Archbishop of York asks about work of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan”
The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the need to protect the vulnerable in the event of economic downturn on 3rd April 2025, following a government statement on UK-US trade and tariffs:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his cautionary words in the other place, repeated here, about eschewing simplistic solutions and “loud voices”, following the imposition of these arbitrary and unwarranted tariffs, and to the shadow Secretary of State for advocating cool heads. That is vital.
Does the Minister agree that, if the impact of this very regrettable development is to depress economic activity—which is all too likely, sadly—there needs to be a priority assigned to protect the most vulnerable in this country from its effects? Will she further comment on any co-ordinated action with other countries to mitigate the effects on those territories, particularly in the Commonwealth, whose economic resilience is far less than our own?
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about impact of US tariffs on vulnerable populations”
The Bishop of Southwark spoke in a debate on the affordability of the net-zero emissions target on 3rd April 2025, advocating for continued pursual of the 2050 goal of net-zero emissions:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, this is a timely debate. I am very glad to be able to speak in it. I am reminded that the preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes says:
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven”,
including—I dare to mention in your Lordships’ House—a time to speak and a time to keep silence.
For the Church, increased costs have a material effect on what we can do, but I am as reluctant as anyone else to tilt at windmills or turbines. Not only the scientific consensus about human activity and climate but the dramatic changes of one’s lifetime—expanding deserts, retreating glaciers, rising sea temperature, extreme weather events—lead me to believe that this is a situation where the option is not “when”, or even “what”, but “how”. As with other great crises, we must shoulder the burden, and it is a challenge to our political leadership to share this task. In the Church of England, we have an exceptionally challenging target set by General Synod of achieving net zero by 2030. The national Church has ring-fenced £190 million to support its churches and clergy housing towards this goal.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark emphasises importance of meeting environmental targets”
On 3rd April 2025, the Bishop of Southwark spoke in a debate on the withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty on anti-personnel landmines and the Convention on Cluster Munitions by several NATO allies:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Verdirame, for setting out this important matter so clearly and to other noble Lords for their very evident expertise in this area.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark speaks on value of treaties placing limits on use of landmines and cluster munitions”
The Bishop of Hereford spoke in a debate on the effects of the government’s economic measures on farming and rural communities on 3rd April 2025, noting the current low morale among farmers and urging the government to listen to their concerns:
The Lord Bishop of Hereford: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, for introducing this important debate. I speak as the Bishop of the most rural diocese in the Church of England.
Agriculture provides significant employment and is extremely diverse, from substantial agribusinesses to small family farms, and from large arable enterprises to small livestock hill farms. Prior to ordination, I worked as an agronomist, advising farmers on all aspects of crop production, translating scientific research into the practical solutions commended by the noble Lord, Lord Carrington. I have the privilege this year of being president of the Three Counties Show at Malvern, an event I warmly commend to noble Lords as a splendid day out.
However, over 40 years of involvement in the sector, I can honestly say that I have never seen morale so low nor such disillusionment with the Government’s capacity to understand and respond to the needs of the agricultural industry. A thriving agri-farming industry is essential to the wider health of the rural economy. Family farms are at the heart of this ecology. The inevitable consolidation of units that will ensue from proposed changes in APR and BPR will have huge knock-on effects on support industries, lead to rural depopulation and undermine the viability of many local services and businesses.
Continue reading “Bishop of Hereford raises issue of morale among farmers and those in rural communities”
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