Author: parliamentaryunit

Bishop of St Albans asks about digital exclusion in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on digital exclusion in rural areas on 7th January 2025, following a government statement on health and adult social care reform:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am grateful to His Majesty’s Government for trying to get cross-party agreement on this really important issue; it is important that it does not get lost in party politics. It is good to hear about the improvements to the NHS app, which is working quite well in some areas already. However, some people are digitally excluded, and there is a lack of connectivity in rural areas. How are we going to ensure that these groups are not excluded as we go forward with this important work?

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Bishop of Southwark asks about membership of the ECHR:

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the value of ongoing membership of the ECHR on, particularly pertaining to the continuation of the Belfast agreement, on 7th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the benefit of ongoing membership of the ECHR is, among other things, that it is vital for the continuation of the Belfast agreement?

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab, MoJ): I thank the right reverend Prelate for that question. He is right that the Good Friday agreement is underpinned by the convention, and it is important that that should continue.

Hansard

National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill: Bishop of Southwark raises potential impact on clergy and children with SEND

The Bishop of Southwark spoke at the second reading of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on 6th January 2025, raising the issue of the effects of increases in national insurance on clergy and on the transport sector for children with SEND:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I wish to make three quick points on this, the largest and probably most consequential, measure announced by the Chancellor in the Budget. My first point is very tentative, as it relates to the promises on taxation made by major parties prior to general elections. We are an unelected House, and I am deeply conscious of the peculiar pressures that political parties navigate to put across a message and compete with their opponents, but I think, wishfully perhaps, that greater restraint by parties on what they promise in the area of taxation would be appropriate since the House of Commons should have maximum freedom to pass a Finance Bill in our overall interests. I cannot be alone in thinking that placing such a burden on employer national insurance because of prior commitments ruling out other possible options is less than optimal and is already seemingly restraining economic growth.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about space standards in housing

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on mandatory space standards in housing construction on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, many in the House will wish the Government well in their ambitious commitment to housebuilding, but in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework, will the Minister outline how the social objectives of the framework are guaranteed and monitored, specifically

“accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being”?

As regards well-being, will the Minister further consider restoring mandatory space standards for the construction size of British homes?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling advertising and taxation

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government

  • whether they have made an assessment of the impact that banning gambling advertising before 9pm would have on reducing gambling harms among under 18s.
  • what consideration they have given to implementing a similar policy for gambling advertising to the recently announced ban on junk food advertising before 9pm.
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Bishop of Sheffield asks about youth employment

The Bishop of Sheffield received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield asked His Majesty’s Government what partnerships they plan to establish with local government to deliver the new Youth Guarantee outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper (CP 1191).

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Bishop of St Albans asks about financial regulation

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • what assessment they have made of the Report on the Call for Evidence about the Financial Conduct Authority, published by the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, and what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
  • what assessment they have made of the recommendation from the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services to establish a Financial Regulators’ Supervisory Council and to conduct periodic reviews of the operational effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority.
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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about immigration detention review

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL2389), in which he says that the Home Office review into immigration detention will not assess all areas of the Brook House Inquiry, whether they intend to review the recommendations in another review or assessment, and what would the timescale be for this work.

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Bishop of Newcastle asks about effects of loneliness on food bank usage, and financial viability of apprenticeships for young people

The Bishop of Newcastle receive the following written answers on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address loneliness and social isolation as a root cause of foodbank usage following a recent report published by the Centre for Social Justice which found that over twice as many people who use foodbanks feel lonely most of the time compared to other adults.

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Bishop of Winchester asks about persecution of Christians in Nigeria

The Bishop of Winchester received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Winchester asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to provide aid to Christian communities in Nigeria facing persecution and violence.

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