Questions – Page 153 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Carlisle asks about changes to the Localism Act for national parks

On 18th January 2023, the Bishop of Carlisle asked a question on changes to the Localism Act 2011 to better enable national parks to engage in conservation:

The Lord Bishop of Carlisle: My Lords, some of our national parks believe that they could better address climate and nature emergencies if they were added to the list of authorities which have a general power of competence under the Localism Act 2011. Can the Minister tell us whether His Majesty’s Government have any plans to bring that about?

Bishop of Carlisle asks about PPE purchasing systems

The Bishop of Carlisle asked a question on whether the government have revised their PPE purchasing systems for possible future pandemics on Monday 16th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Carlisle: My Lords, can the Minister tell us whether His Majesty’s Government have yet put in place a revised system to purchase PPE during a pandemic?

Lord Markham (Con): PPE is an example of where we all agree that we could have done better, to say the least. At this stage, I should declare an interest in that I set up a Covid testing company—not PPE—which never supplied the Government. I want to be clear about that, so that the House is fully aware of it in terms of my replies, now we are talking about PPE and related areas. Yes, we can learn a lot about PPE. At the same time, we did buy 35 billion items, 97% of which worked very well. It is important that we keep all this in context; we got 97% of things right.

Hansard

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about appointment of a migrants commissioner

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on the potential appointment of a migrants commissioner, during a debate on the Windrush Lessons Learned Review on 12th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, many of the recommendations in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review also have implications for how the UK should steer its current refugee and asylum policy: recommendation 9 concerning the creation of a migrants’ commissioner, recommendation 19 regarding direct contact with migrants and recommendation 25 requiring consideration of risks to vulnerable groups or individuals. What assurances can the Minister provide that there will not be a repeat of the mistakes made with the Windrush generation, this time with asylum seekers and refugees, and can he comment on any progress made on recommendation 9 and the appointment of a migrants’ commissioner?

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about mortgage lending

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on mortgage lending on 12th January 2022, during a debate on issues faced by residential leaseholders:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, in light of the commitment made by the big six lenders to accept mortgage applications for flats with building safety issues from Monday 9 January, will the Minister confirm that the Government will monitor their lending decisions to ensure that this time their commitments will be fulfilled, so that this part of the housing market can be unfrozen?

Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): The right reverend Prelate brings up an interesting point. I do not know exactly what the Government will do, as the announcement was made only this week. However, I will find out exactly how we will monitor them and the process, and come back to her.

Hansard

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about resettlement of Afghan refugees

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question about support for resettlement of Afghan refugees who had worked for the British Council, during a debate on UK Aid to Afghanistan on 11th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, as we discuss aid to Afghanistan, surely it is also right that we consider those who have worked with us so faithfully on the ground over the years to deliver educational goals. It remains the case that the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme has not resettled any of those who worked for the British Council. Can the Minister please set out what is being done to ensure the promised resettlement of those individuals?

Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling related suicides

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many customer suicides have been reported by gambling operators in each of the past five years.

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

A response to the noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question of 21 December is attached.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about funding for chaplaincy support for prisoners re-entering the community

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked about support for prisoners re-entering the community on 10th January 2022, during a debate on prison chaplaincy:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, on Christmas Day, I was pleased to be able to visit my local prison and young offenders’ institute in Chelmsford, where I was taking a service. I had several conversations with both prisoners and members of staff who expressed concern about ensuring continued support for those who are leaving prison and re-entering the community. As the work of multifaith community chaplaincy and indeed the Welcome Directory continues to be developed to support those leaving prison, can the Minister say what discussions there have been, if any, regarding possible funding support from HMG?

Bishop of St Albans asks about the BBC World Service in the Arab States

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 10th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the strategic importance of the BBC World Service during the Arab Spring protests.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The FCDO strongly values the BBC World Service’s role in bringing high quality and impartial broadcasting to global audiences, particularly where free speech is limited. The Integrated Review stated that the BBC’s foreign language services are part of what makes the UK a soft power superpower.

Bishop of Chelmsford asks about debt management process for universal credit recipients

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on reform to debt management for universal credit recipients during a debate on food banks and the rise in poverty on 9th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, given the data published by the Trussell Trust in December which revealed that 57% of people referred to food banks who are in receipt of universal credit face government deductions from their or their partner’s benefits income, could the Minister outline what steps the Government will take to reform the debt management process for universal credit?

Bishop of St Albans asks about undocumented migrants

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 9th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the Prime Minister’s statement on illegal migration on 13 December, whether they will respond to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ appeal to the UK to uphold its legal obligations.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): I can assure the Honourable Bishop that the statement is under consideration and any response deemed necessary will be made by the Government in due course.

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