Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what are their current plans for exercising powers to be granted to them under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Repeal) Bill in relation to the Habitats Directive.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about conservation plans under Retained EU Law Bill”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many gambling or gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK.
Baroness Goldie (Con): I can confirm that some gambling and gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, I would wish to provide reassurance that work is underway to understand the scale of problem gambling within the Armed Forces and to address it accordingly.
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government:
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): The Illegal Migration Bill creates new detention powers which will allow the Home Secretary to detain a person pending a decision as to whether they meet the four conditions and the new duty to remove applies, and thereafter to detain pending their removal.
All Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) must operate in compliance with the Detention Centre Rules 2001, this includes any additional sites that are opened as IRCs to increase detention capacity.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about immigration detention under the proposed Illegal Migration Bill”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing were (1) reported, and (2) investigated, by the Financial Conduct Authority in (a) 2020 (b) 2021, (c) 2022, and (d) 2023.
Baroness Penn (Con): The FCA has reported and investigated the following number of whistleblowing cases for each year given:
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of whistleblowing in financial institutions and services”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised people are living in the England.
Lord Markham (Con): During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable patients were advised to shield or take extra precautions. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme has meant that people who were part of this patient cohort are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and so are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else on staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about immunocompromised individuals”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; and what humanitarian and financial support they are providing in response.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about recent floods in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what alternative provisions they are making for individuals who live in areas affected by closures of rural bus routes.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether DRT can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about bus services in rural areas”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many acres of agricultural land which were previously being farmed were set aside for rewilding in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
Lord Benyon (Con): The Government does not instruct farmers to ‘set aside’ land for rewilding. We are phasing out subsidies so that we can invest the money in policies that work for farm businesses, food production and the environment. We are co-designing our reforms with farmers and, as we said in the Agricultural Transition Plan, the intention of our environmental land management schemes is to be flexible and to provide more choice and control to farmers.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about land use and diseases affecting trees”The Bishop of Manchester asked for clarification on the issue of justice being seen to be done regarding breaches of the ministerial code, on 25th May 2023. This was in response to a government statement on how breaches of the code are managed, and a question in the House of Lords on the need for independent investigatory processes following an incident involving a potential breach of the code by the Home Secretary:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I am struggling here. It seems to be a basic principle that justice should not only be done but seen to be done. These processes seem so arcane and opaque that I wonder whether the noble Baroness can assure us how this process passes that test—or does it not apply to the Ministerial Code?
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks for clarification on issues relating to the ministerial code”The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on government assessments of those at risk of falling into poverty during a debate on rising food prices on 25th May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, in the diocese which I serve, charities in Harlow alone have fed more than 1 million people in the last year, which, frighteningly, represents a slower than the average demand for food banks nationally. I draw the Minister’s attention to the Bounty Club, which works with local businesses and people on the edge of crisis, helping them access a large bag of fresh food for £2.50, saving households on average £20 to £40 a week. Demand in Harlow is such that queues are regularly seen from St Paul’s Church right down the street. What assessment have the Government made of the number of people who are on the cusp of falling into poverty? What strategies are they considering to prevent people requiring the use of their local food bank or even charities such as the Bounty Club?
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about government approach to those at risk of poverty”
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