Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of St Albans co-sponsors amendment to protect Public Forest Estate

On 5th November 2014, the Bishop of St Albans took part in a debate on an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill, which he co-sponsored with Baroness Royall of Blaisdon. The amendment sought to guarantee the protection of the Public Forest Estate, following the recommendations made by the Independent Panel on Forestry, which was chaired by the former Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones. Following the debate on the amendment, the Government agreed to bring forward amendments to the Bill at Third Reading.

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am glad to speak in support of this amendment proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Royall. I am also glad to pay tribute to her persistence on this matter which I, too, believe is crucial. When the discussions about the future of the forestry estate have come before the public they have made their views absolutely clear that trees, woods and forests are a vital part of the make-up of the English countryside. Although they now cover only 9% of the land area of England, trees have an iconic place in our relationship with the landscape. Whether living in towns, cities, villages or hamlets, many people express affection and deep regard for the well-being of trees in the locality. Protecting the Public Forest Estate will bring many benefits to the public and the environment. I will mention three of them briefly. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans co-sponsors amendment to protect Public Forest Estate”

Bishop of Truro leads call for stronger regulation on telephone sales of high-cost short-term credit

On 5th November 2014, the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, sponsored an amendment to the Consumer Rights Bill, during its Committee Stage. The amendment sought to place a duty on the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to make regulations to prevent the sale of high-cost short-term credit through unsolicited marketing calls. Following assurances from the Minister, the Bishop withdrew his amendment.

Bishop of Truro 20.6.13The Lord Bishop of Truro: My Lords, Amendment 105C is in my name and those of the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. I declare an interest: I am chair of the trustees of the Children’s Society, which has co-ordinated this amendment as part of its campaign—of which I am very proud—on the impact of debt on children and families. We produced a report entitled The Debt Trap earlier this year.

In September this year, the Children’s Society launched another report, entitled Playday not Payday, which looked at the effects of the advertising of payday loans on children, and in particular at the telemarketing of payday loans. The report identified a gap in the regulations which allows payday loan companies to use unsolicited marketing calls to offer people payday loans through phone calls and texts. For mortgage products, this type of unsolicited marketing is completely banned by the Mortgage Conduct of Business rules. The Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates payday lenders, said: Continue reading “Bishop of Truro leads call for stronger regulation on telephone sales of high-cost short-term credit”

Bishop of Truro supports child protection amendments to Consumer Rights Bill

On 5th November 2014, the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, spoke during the Committee Stage of the Consumer Rights Bill, in support of Baroness Howe of Idilcote’s amendment which would require internet service providers and mobile phone operators to provide default adult content filtering. Following the debate, Baroness Howe withdrew her amendment, but suggested that she would re-table it at Report Stage.

Bishop of Truro 20.6.13The Lord Bishop of Truro: My Lords, I support the amendment and am grateful to the noble Baroness for providing a comprehensive and excellent introduction to it. I do not want to repeat the important points that have already been made; I simply want to underline one particularly important point.

These days, we all have a responsibility to take child protection and safeguarding very seriously. Your Lordships may or may not be aware that you cannot be made a bishop in the Church of England unless you have had statutory safeguarding training. The most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury has made that very clear in all that he has said and done, and that seems absolutely right and proper. Continue reading “Bishop of Truro supports child protection amendments to Consumer Rights Bill”

Bishop of St Albans raises concerns about Work Capability Assessment

On 5th November 2014, Lord McAvoy asked Her Majesty’s Government how many people were awaiting a Work Capability Assessment on the latest date for which figures are available. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, great concern has been expressed by some people about how work capability assessments are being carried out and whether those undertaking them have the right skills and expertise. Indeed, in one anecdotal case, the health professional who undertook a complex mental health assessment was a physiotherapist. If that is the case, surely it cannot be right. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to ensure that those undertaking the assessments have the right skills and experience to be able to do them properly?

Lord Freud: The important thing about doing these assessments is that someone assesses correctly in terms of capability of performing functions and capability of working; that is, what people are able to do. As I said earlier, we have more specialist professional support going into the system to make sure that those assessments are done accurately.

(via Parliament.uk)

Bishop of Norwich calls for extension of PSVI initiative to Central African Republic

On 4th November 2014, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale asked Her Majesty’s Government what support they will provide to the United Nations mission in the Central African Republic. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, asked a supplementary question:

14.06.12 Bishop of Norwich

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, given the widespread violation of both women and children in this tragic conflict, will the Minister indicate whether there are ways in which the Government could extend the success of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative to the Central African Republic?

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The right reverend Prelate makes a very important point. The work done by my noble friends in the Foreign Office and DfID this summer is bearing good results but we need to be able to take those further forward. I listened to what he said and I will certainly take his views back to the FCO.

(via Parliament.uk)

Bishop of Norwich supports ban on pre-watershed payday loan advertising

“These loans are not being taken seriously by young people, serious though they are. We have allowed them to take over our televisions and radios, normalising them to the point where their use is seen as casual. Just this morning I was told the story of a young woman who took out a payday loan to pay for a Domino’s pizza. That could prove to be a very expensive pizza indeed.”- Bishop of Norwich, 3/11/14

On 3rd November 2014, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, took part in the Committee Stage of the Government’s Consumer Rights Bill, speaking in favour of an amendment to regulate the advertising of payday loans to children. The Bishop highlighted the pervasiveness of pre-wateshed advertising of payday loans, and the fact that young parents were far more likely to take out a loan than older parents. He also called for greater investment in financial education.

The amendment, which was co-sponsored by the Bishop of Truro, was withdrawn at the end of the debate, with its supporters calling for the Government to take further action before the Bill returned for its Report Stage.

14.06.12 Bishop of NorwichThe Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I rise to support the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and to speak to Amendment 105B, in the name of my colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Truro, on the advertising of payday loans. He cannot be here today but has been working very closely with the Children’s Society on this issue. Amendment 105B seeks to make provisions to restrict the times at which payday loan advertisements are shown, most specifically in relation to the watershed.

It surprised me to discover that, according to Ofcom, no less than 80% of all payday loan advertisements are shown before the watershed. It is therefore no surprise—to pick up on some of the statistics that the noble Lord, Lord Alton, mentioned—that the Children’s Society found in its survey that over half of all children aged 10 to 17 reckon that they see payday loan advertisements either “often” or “all the time”. It is the sheer quantity of these advertisements that normalises payday loans for children and young people. The research shows that one-third of all teenagers think that the payday loan adverts themselves are tempting and exciting—they are very well designed. Those teenagers are much more likely than their counterparts to say that they would consider taking out a payday loan in the future. Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich supports ban on pre-watershed payday loan advertising”

Bishop of Norwich calls for focus on family well-being in handling of Chilcot Inquiry

On 3rd November 2014, Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to expedite the publication of the report by the Chilcot Inquiry. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, asked a supplementary question:

14.06.12 Bishop of NorwichThe Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, does the Minister accept that repeated press reports of rows between the Cabinet Office and the inquiry over the declassification of documents are deeply hurtful to the families most affected by the Iraq conflict? Does he agree that until the inquiry is completed, many bereaved and grieving families will not be able to move on?

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, I appreciate that many have been affected by the issues studied by this inquiry. I am not aware of any rows between the Cabinet Office and the inquiry. I am aware of a long series of complex discussions within the British Government, between the British Government and our allies and with the inquiry about the exact nature of what should be published. I am conscious that what will be published includes notes from more than 200 Cabinet meetings, for example, including some extracts from Cabinet minutes.

(via Parliament.uk)

Bishop of Coventry receives written answer on reform and reconciliation in Iraq

On 3rd November 2014, the Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, received an answer to a written question on the subject of reform and reconciliation in Iraq.

13.10 Bishop of CoventryThe Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical assistance and support they are providing to the government of Iraq in taking forward a credible programme of political reform and reconciliation in that country.[HL2201]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Anelay of St Johns): Political reconciliation and reform are crucial if there is to be a long-term solution to the current instability in Iraq. We therefore welcome the new Government of Iraq’s commitment to inclusive governance. We will support them in implementing their programme wherever we can and have called for others in the international community to do the same. We are already providing assistance with the development of parliamentary democracy, community policing and dialogue between religious leaders. We are in regular contact with the new Iraqi government over national reconciliation and, in particular, with Vice-President Allawi, whose responsibility it is. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the importance of reform and reconciliation with Vice-President Allawi during his recent visit to London and our ambassador in Baghdad has also discussed it with him on a number of occasions.

(via Parliament.uk)

Bishop of St Albans receives written answer on financial advisory services

On 3rd November 2014, the Bishop of St Albans received an answer to a written question on the subject of financial advisory services.

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the provision of money management, budgeting and debt advice by local authorities and social sector landlords is being monitored.[HL2156]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon): The Department for Work and Pensions are currently undertaking a review into how local welfare provision has been used in 2013/14 and its anticipated use in 2014/15 which will be published in due course. In addition, as part of its work on Universal Credit, the Department is commissioning budgeting support for claimants who need help and is establishing local delivery partnerships with local government to help provide this.

The Government-funded Money Advice Survey offers advice on managing personal debt, money management and budgeting. Face to face debt advice is provided by Citizens Advice, under contract with the Money Advice Service.

Department for Business Innovation and Skills also provide funding for the Citizens Advice Bureau, which provides people with advice on debt and other issues.

More generally, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance to councils last year on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears. The actions of local authorities (in relation to service failures, maladministration or injustice) can be investigated by the Local Government Ombudsman, whilst the Housing Ombudsman Service looks at complaints about social landlords.

(via Parliament.uk)

Church of England Week in Westminster, 27th-31st October 2014

Welcome to the Church of England’s weekly round-up of activity in Parliament.

In the past week, the Second Church Estates Commissioner has answered questions in the House of Commons on the subjects of the ordination of women, extremism, episcopal vacancies and Church investments.

In the House of Lords bishops have supported amendments to the Government’s Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, Deregulation Bill and Serious Crime Bill and spoken about music education, devolution and the Scottish referendum, and slavery in supply chains. Bishops have also asked questions about the Green Climate Fund, the Troubled Families programme, blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Iraq, youth unemployment, Syria, Boko Haram and migrants and refugees.

Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster, 27th-31st October 2014”