Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of London asks about health and social care workforce concerns

The Bishop of London asked a question on sustainable workforce concerns among health and social care workers on 19th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, we have heard how important a sustainable workforce is, both in social care and healthcare. Can the Minister tell us what the Government are doing to listen to the concerns of health and social care workers about patient safety and their own working conditions at this time?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about detention of author Xing Hongwei in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the detention of Xing Hongwei in China.

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Bishop of Durham asks about child poverty in the North East of England

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers of 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government:

  •  further to the Department for Work and Pensions annual official statistics ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021’, what assessment they have made of the reasons for the increase in (1) the number of, and (2) the proportion of, children living in relative poverty in every local authority area of the North East between 2014/15 and 2020/21.
  •  further to the Department for Work and Pensions official statistics ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021’, what assessment they have made of the reasons for the increase in (1) the number of, and (2) the proportion of, children living in absolute poverty in every local authority area of the North East in every year since 2017/18.
  • what recent discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on child poverty.
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Bishop of St Albans asks about marriage tax allowances

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

  •  what plans they have to increase the marriage tax allowance.
  • what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the current rate of marriage tax allowance in supporting couples financially.
  • what financial assistance they are providing to couples who (1) are getting married, or (2) have recently married.

Lord Harlech (Con): The Marriage Allowance (MA) is designed to recognise marriage, and the commitment it entails, in the tax system. The MA is targeted at married couples and civil partners where one partner earns below the Personal Allowance (PA) and the other is a basic rate taxpayer. In 2022-23 the MA is £1,260 and is worth up to £252 per year.

The transferable amount has been fixed at 10 per cent of the Personal Allowance since it was introduced in 2015. Setting the value of the allowance considerably higher would increase the cost and the Government must ensure the tax system supports strong public finances.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about human rights of children in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of children detained in prisons in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The treatment of juvenile offenders in Iran falls short of international standards. The Iranian judicial system is deeply flawed with frequent and well-documented violations of fair trial rights. The use of death sentences against minors is also a regular occurrence. Because of the lack of transparency of the Iranian judicial system, it is difficult to calculate with accuracy the number of children detained in Iran. In recent months, we have observed a significant increase in the rate at which children are arrested and a disproportionate number who have died during the protests. This was also noted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 October. The UK will continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account for its actions.

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Bishop of Durham asks about Help to Save scheme

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of expanding the Help to Save scheme to all Universal Credit claimants and broadening points of access to include credit unions and other providers of low-cost credit.

Lord Harlech (Con): Help to Save aims to support individuals to kickstart a regular, long-term savings habit and build a rainy-day savings fund by providing a generous government bonus on savings over four years.

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Church Commissioners Written Answers: Energy Cost Grant

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 18th December 2022:

Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether he expects dioceses to pass the Energy Costs Grant direct to parishes.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): The Church Commissioners were pleased to provide £15m to the Archbishops’ Council for distribution to dioceses for Energy Costs Grants. All dioceses received a share of this Grant in October. The main purpose of the Grant is to help Parochial Church Councils to cover the increased cost of heating and lighting church buildings this winter.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about new legislation on NGOs in Pakistan

The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 16th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the government of Pakistan’s rules regarding the registration and operation of international NGOs in that country and the impact that these rules have had on the work of NGOs that His Majesty’s Government supports.

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Bishop of Guildford asks about civil society organisations in Pakistan

The Bishop of Guildford received the following written answers on 16th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford asked His Majesty’s Government what support they provide to the Centre for Social Justice in Pakistan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The UK is a long-term supporter of civil society in Pakistan, and we engage with the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) as part of our work on human rights. I conducted a roundtable discussion with human rights stakeholders – including Peter Jacobs, Executive Director of CSJ – on 15 October, discussing open societies and the work of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). We continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan to ensure NGOs such as CSJ can operate effectively.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about price caps on alternative fuels

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 16th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 17 November (HL3214), why they have no plans for a price cap on alternative fuel.

Lord Callanan (Con): The markets for alternative fuels – including heating oil, coal, LPG, and biomass – contain a large range of suppliers not subject to the same regulation as electricity and gas suppliers. This means there is no single regulated standard price to modify by the imposition of a price cap.

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