Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of Chichester asks about missing asylum-seeking children

On 10th July 2023, the Bishop of Chichester asked a question on the plans for accommodation of asylum seeking children who are found after going missing from Home Office accommodation, and whether the government could confirm that such children would be returned to local authority care rather than the care of the Home Office:

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, our duty of care in the welfare of children is provided for in a number of ways: the Children Act is one, as is the routine of Ofsted inspections of schools and children’s care homes. Can the Minister confirm that, if an asylum-seeking unaccompanied child is found after going missing from Home Office accommodation, they will not be returned to hotel accommodation but instead will be returned to local authority care, where all their rights under the Children Act can be met and the quality of their accommodation will be subject to Ofsted regulation and inspection?

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Bishop of Derby asks about levels of youth unemployment

The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 10th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what are the levels of youth unemployment in the most recent period for which data are available.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con):The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

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Bishop of London asks about upcoming workforce strategy for social care

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 10th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of London asked His Majesty’s Government whether the upcoming workforce strategy for social care will implement recommendations contained in the Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care, published by the NHS Confederation on 9 May, including (1) support for pharmacists to implement the Pharmacy First initiative, and (2) additional locum cover for GPs as they transition into ‘modern General Practices’.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about Russian threats to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine

The Bishop of St Albans tabled a private notice question on 6th July 2023 concerning recent developments at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, and the risks posed if the plant were to be damaged by Russian forces:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government (1) what assessment they have made of recent developments at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and (2) what contingency plans are being made in the event of the power plant being damaged.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about importance of upholding human rights in international relations

On 6th July 2023, the Bishop of Exeter asked a question on the importance of supporting and upholding human rights during an exchange on the status of pro-democracy activists in China and Hong Kong:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his answers, but does he not agree that this case is yet further evidence for the revisionist tendencies of the Chinese Government when it comes to human rights? This tendency will only intensify as China tries to use its economic and political muscle to mute its critics, so does it not underscore the importance of His Majesty’s Government working tirelessly to revive the spirit of universality that originally inspired the human rights project in upholding core rights and freedoms?

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Same Sex Relationships, Homelessness & Poverty, Young People, Investment, and Rural Areas

On 6th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Clergy: Homosexuality

Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions he has had with the Church of England General Synod on its expected timetable for bringing forward proposals on (a) blessings, (b) marriages and (c) rules for clergy in same-sex relationships.

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): In February 2023 the General Synod agreed proposals that would enable same-sex couples to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about resolution to doctors’ strikes

The Bishop of Exeter tabled a question on what progress the government had made towards resolving strikes by NHS doctors on 5th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards resolving the strikes by doctors in the NHS.

Lord Markham (Con): My Lords, the Government have been clear that we want to resolve the strikes by doctors. We negotiated in good faith with the BMA’s junior doctors committee in May. The Government stand ready to meet junior doctors again if they move from their unreasonable ask of a 35% pay rise this year. We also want to open negotiations with consultants. We encourage unions to come to the negotiating table rather than proceeding with strike action.

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Bishop of Ely asks government to engage with Archbishop’s office and church contacts on laws criminalising homosexuality in Uganda

On 5th July 2023, the Bishop of Ely asked that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office utilise contacts available within the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office and the wider church to engage with people in Uganda on the country’s recent institution of the death penalty for homosexuality:

The Lord Bishop of Ely: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reference to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury’s letter to the Archbishop of Uganda, and for hearing us, as Bishops, say how much we deplore what has been decided by the Archbishop of Uganda in support of this ignoble law. In the light of the most reverend Primate the Archbishop’s intervention, and all that has been said about engaging with civil society, will the FCDO engage with the Archbishop’s office and make use of the Church’s contacts to offset some of the very conservative religious engagement from other countries in Uganda and engage with people on the ground in Uganda to seek to change this abhorrent law?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about average ambulance response times

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what was the average ambulance response time in (1) NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, and (2) NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, and (d) 2022.

Lord Markham (Con): Ambulance response times by Integrated Care Board (ICB) area are not centrally collected.

Hansard

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Gender Pay Gap

On 5th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Church of England: Equal Pay

Cat Smith MP (Lab, Lancaster and Fleetwood): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church has taken to close the gender pay gap.

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