Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 14 March (HL6096), what assessment they have made of why there have only been two prosecutions for female genital mutilation out of the 229 offences recorded.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about prosecutions for female genital mutilation”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 29th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the analysis by the Child Poverty Action Group, published in June 2022, which found that there are currently 800,000 children in poverty in England that are not eligible for free school meals, what steps they are taking to ensure that all children in poverty are eating a healthy and substantial lunch every day.
Baroness Barran (Con): The Autumn Statement 2022 announced £26 billion in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also included is the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24 and raising the benefit cap by 10.1% in line with inflation.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about school lunches for children in poverty”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.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about United Nations World Water Development Report”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?
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about support for border staff”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to Kenya to alleviate the effects of famine caused by drought in that country.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): In response to the ongoing drought in Kenya, 30,500 children have received life-saving nutritional assistance due to the UK’s support. UK supported programmes have also reached over half a million people in Kenya in drought-prone areas. Programmes such as the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) are bolstering the use of cash-based safety nets and have had a demonstrable impact in mitigating some of the worst effects of the drought.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many people used public transportation supported by the Rural Mobility Fund in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) was awarded via a competitive process in 2021. It is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. The majority of these pilot Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes have now launched, with most launching in late 2021 and over the course of 2022.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about homelessness and public transport in rural areas”
The Bishop of Derby received the following written answer on 28th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Derby asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the success of the Youth Offer and Kickstart scheme against their stated aims of supporting those under 25 to find employment.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about employment schemes for young people”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?
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about treatment of children in the criminal justice system”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”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Derby asks about supply chain issues affecting food banks”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.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about funding for local authorities supporting Ukrainian refugees”
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