Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
On 27th November 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Dr Matthew Offord MP (Con, Hendon): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Anglican diocese of Jerusalem is taking to help people impacted by the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
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The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 27th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to allocate additional funding in the period 2025–30 to secondary and post-16 education providers to address the lag before the new National Funding Formula takes effect.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about education funding”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 27th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked is Majesty’s Government how many complaints the Health and Care Professionals Council has received since 2020 regarding professionals under their regulation providing evidence of parental alienation in court cases.
Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): The Department does not hold the information requested. As the independent regulator of 15 health and care professions, the Health and Care Professions Council is responsible for receiving and handling complaints about practitioners on its register.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 27th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to request a meeting of the UN Security Council to address the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about the situation of the Rohingya people in Myanmar and Bangladesh”Th Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 27th November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of careers advice in increasing the number of apprenticeships taken on.
Baroness Barran (Con, Department for Education): There is encouraging evidence that careers advice is increasing young people’s awareness of apprenticeships and other technical options. In the 2022/23 academic year, 92% of schools reported that most students had information about the full range of apprenticeships. 86% of schools reported that most students had meaningful encounters with further education colleges. In a 2021/22 survey of 35,000 young people, responses show that awareness of apprenticeships doubles from 39% in year 7 to 81% by year 11.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about role of careers advice in numbers of apprenticeships taken on”The Bishop of Sheffield asked a question on pauses in debt repayment, during a discussion on the most recent international development white paper, on 23rd November 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, those of us on these Benches also welcome the Statement and the renewal of the UK’s commitment to sustainable development set out in the White Paper. In particular, we welcome the proposal to permit pauses in scheduled debt repayments in situations of crisis due to conflict or extreme weather events. However, will the Government acknowledge that piecemeal pauses to debt repayments are bound to prove insufficient to enable the progress now urgently needed if we are to achieve the SDGs by 2030? Is not something more comprehensive now needed?
Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield asks about sustainable development”On 23rd November 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on addressing structural pay gaps following the Chancellor’s autumn statement:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, we on these Benches welcome a number of aspects of the announcements yesterday in the Autumn Statement, not least the rises in the living wage and in pensions. There is an issue, though, over structural pay gaps which hide even greater disparities: pay gaps to do with gender, disability, social mobility and regional disparities, which are vital as we think about our levelling-up strategy. Can the Minister give us some indication of how the Government hope to address those structural pay differentials and gaps?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about structural pay gaps”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on digital connectivity in rural communities on 22nd November 2023, following a government statement on the levelling-up agenda:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the LGA. The 9.6 million people living in rural areas are glad that there is a mention of rural in the opening paragraph, but we cannot quite see how that rolls out. I wonder whether the Minister can help us a little. One of the crucial things about rural sustainability, improving levels of employment and offering healthcare in rural areas is digital connectivity, yet 17% of rural houses are not on superfast broadband, and nor are 30% of rural commercial premises. How does this relate to the need across the country to roll out a much higher level of rural connectivity? It has been done with a fantastic project in Cornwall and a lot was done in Shropshire at one stage, so it can be done. How do we get that sort of rural levelling up in digital connectivity?
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On 22nd November 2023, the Bishop of London tabled a question on the financial pressures facing adult social care leaders and providers:
The Lord Bishop of London: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the financial situation facing adult social care leaders and providers, following information published by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care Services that 83 per cent of councils expect to overspend by an average of 3.5 per cent on adult social care in 2023-24.
Continue reading “Bishop of London asks about financial pressures facing social care providers”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the success of dedicated networking hubs to speed up asylum claims for children and young people on 22nd November 2023, during a discussion on safe routes available for child refugees and asylum seekers to come to the UK:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in May 2021, recognising the need to speed up the applications for child asylum seekers, the Government set up two dedicated caseworking hubs to try to process these claims more quickly. What assessment, two and half years on, has been made of the success of these dedicated hubs, and what more could be done to speed up the claims of young people as they seek asylum?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about success of networking hubs to deal with asylum claims for children and young people”
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