Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about government efforts to reduce knife crime

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

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce incidences of knife crime against shop workers.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): The Home Office has provided £130m this financial year (22/23) to tackle and drive down serious violence, including funding for Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and the Home Office ‘Grip’ programme.

We have introduced legislation to tackle these crimes. Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are new court orders introduced via the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 that will give the police the power to stop and search adults already convicted of knife or offensive weapons offences. We will pilot SVROs in four police force areas to build an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of the new orders before making a decision on whether we should introduce them nationally.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about deaths attributed to antibiotic-resistant infections

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 23rd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many deaths were attributed to antimicrobial resistance in England in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, and (5) 2021.

Lord Markham (Con): The UK Health Security Agency runs national surveillance programmes to collect and analyse data on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Data is reported in the annual English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance report.

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Church Commissioners Written Answers: LGBTQ+ People

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 22nd February 2023:

Elliot Colburn MP (Con): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, in the context of the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith process and the forthcoming General Synod, what assessment the Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the Church of England’s exemptions from the Equality Act 2010 on LGBT+ people.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): The National Church Institutions have made no such assessment. The exceptions in the Equality Act are for all religious organisations rather than for the Church of England specifically. It is unlikely that any of the exceptions will be engaged by Living in Love and Faith and therefore no assessment has been carried out.

Hansard

Bishop of Durham asks about emergency resettlement scheme

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd February 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to trial an Emergency Resettlement Mechanism that is wider than existing schemes as originally proposed in the New Plan for Immigration, published on 24 March 2021.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: An Emergency Resettlement Mechanism would allow the government to provide urgent protection in exceptional circumstances to refugees referred by UNHCR as being in need of rapid emergency resettlement. The UK already works alongside the UNHCR to resettle refugees through its existing resettlement schemes; these include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

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Bishop of St Albans asks about sustainability targets for oil companies

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 22nd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have held any discussions with BP following reports that the company will fail to meet its climate targets; and what steps they are taking to promote sustainability in oil companies.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about knife crime in Hertfordshire

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 22nd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many instances of knife crime occurred in Hertfordshire in (1) 2022, (2) 2021, (3) 2020, and (4) 2019.

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

A response to the noble Lord Bishop’s Parliamentary Question of 9 February is attached.

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Bishop of Durham asks about number of asylum claims dealt with since January

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the backlog of asylum claims on 21st February 2023, during a debate on the practice of accomodating asylum seekers in hotels:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, slightly contrary to what the Minister said earlier, surely one of the main reasons hotels are being filled is because accommodation is being blocked, in a sense, because so many applications have not been processed in due time. Could the Minister update us on the reduction in the numbers awaiting their claims being dealt with, as was promised in January? Have they been reduced, and by what number?

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about offences resulting from experiences of domestic abuse

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on defence for victims of abuse who commit an offence on 21st February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government, further to the commitment by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 3 February 2021 (HL Deb col 2286) to “regularly reassess the effectiveness of any law and associated practices in protecting victims”, what recent assessment they have made of the need to review the existing defences for individuals whose offending or alleged offending results from their experience of domestic abuse.

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Bishop of Durham asks about conditions for asylum seekers

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 21st Febrary 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the asylum application waiting list of the requirement to reassess refugees with Group 2 status every 30 months.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): The Home Office will publish further details in due course on the process for Group 2 refugees applying for further temporary refugee permission to stay after 30-months.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about housing provision for vulnerable groups

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on provision of low cost housing for vulnerable groups of people such as those released from prison on 20th February 2023, during a debate on leasehold charges and transparency for leaseholders:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, some of the most vulnerable in society, including prison leavers and refugees, can be heavily penalised by the housing system. In the south-west, there is a joint project with the police and crime commissioner to manufacture low-cost eco-pods which provide not only employment and skills for prisoners on day release but a potential solution to rehousing vulnerable people. What is being done to speed up this sort of housing provision for vulnerable groups?

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