Question – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about United Nations World Water Development Report

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s assessment of the United Nations World Water Development Report on 28th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations World Water Development Report, published on 15 March.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): My Lords, the UK supports the findings of the UN World Water Development Report 2023. We agree that partnership and co-operation are key to achieving sustainable development goal 6: equitable access to water and sanitation for all. However, delivery is far off track, particularly on accountability, political leadership and finance. At last week’s UN water conference I called for increased action in these areas and announced a new £18.5 million water sanitation and hygiene—WASH—system for health programme, as well as seed funding for a new £38 million water programme.

Bishop of Derby asks about support for border staff

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on safeguarding and support for border staff at ports and airports, during a debate on conditions at entry points to the UK on 28th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, whatever the causes may be for queues as they arise at ports and airports, the people working there can come under great pressure as those queues and stress levels rise. Can the Minister say what support is being given to those who work at our borders to safeguard their well-being in the midst of all this pressure?

Bishop of Derby asks about treatment of children in the criminal justice system

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on the treatment of children in the criminal justice system on 27th March 2023, following a Children’s Commissioners report on the strip searching of children, many from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, by police:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I declare an interest as vice-chair of the Children’s Society. I join other noble Lords in expressing horror at the findings of the Children’s Commissioner’s report. It is vital that children are treated as children at all times. Can the Minister reassure the House that children are treated and recognised as children within every aspect of the criminal justice system?

Bishop of Derby asks about supply chain issues affecting food banks

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on the effect of food supply chain issues on food banks, during a debate on food provision by charities on 27th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, 80% of our churches currently support food banks. The Food 4 Thought Alliance was set up to respond to the immediate needs of people in Derby at the start of the Covid pandemic. It reports a 30% increase, already mentioned here, in the distribution of food parcels since last year.

The National Farmers’ Union cautioned last year that we were

“sleepwalking into a food supply crisis”.

Bishop of Durham asks about funding for local authorities supporting Ukrainian refugees

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 27th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish details of how the £150 million funding for local authorities to support people on Ukraine visa schemes into longer term accommodation will be allocated.

Bishop of Exeter asks about broadband supply to rural and unconnected areas

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 24th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the 500,000 properties currently unable to access a broadband service running at a minimum of 10Mbps via a fixed line will be able to access broadband.

Viscount Camrose (Con): The Government has set out its plan to deliver Project Gigabit, our £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK, and we are making good progress. Our target is for 85% of UK premises to have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and over 99% by 2030. This will include some premises currently unable to access more than 10Mbps.

Bishop of Manchester asks about problems with Avanti West Coast train services

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on issues with services on Avanti West Coast trains, during a debate on ongoing problems with the train service in the region on 23rd March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, as a fellow traveller on Avanti, often in the same coach as the noble Lord, Lord Goddard, I agree entirely with his comments. It is not only that trains are delayed or cancelled; sometimes the services on those trains are not provided, particularly food. These are long journeys and often at the very last moment, when you are sitting on the train and have been told that there will be food, you are then told, “We haven’t been able to load the food; there are no refreshments on the journey”. Can we please bear in mind that it is a whole service? The staff are wonderful, but they are labouring against impossible circumstances at the moment.

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Religious Freedom

On 23rd March 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Jim Shannon MP (DUP): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church has made of freedom of religion and belief (a) globally and (b) in China and Hong Kong.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given (129832(opens in a new tab)) on 31st January 2023.

Hansard

Bishop of Durham asks about universal credit and free school meals

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 23rd March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust report An Essentials Guarantee: Reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times, published on 27 February, what assessment they made of the recommendation contained in that report to “introduce an Essentials Guarantee” to ensure those on Universal Credit are not going without essential items.

Bishop of St Albans asks about funding for the BBC World Service

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 23rd March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how much funding they provided for the BBC World Service in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): Since 2016, the FCDO has provided over £468 million to the World Service through the World2020 programme, funding 12 language services and enhancements to services in Arabic, Russian, Thai and English, to enable digital transformation and counter disinformation.

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