Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about greater support for food bank facilities

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on help for food banks to freeze and store food, during a debate on health and malnutrition on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, food banks across my diocese are reporting a huge increase in need and a huge decrease in the amount of food being donated, simply because of the cost of living crisis. One of the things that makes a difference for food banks is having enough capacity to freeze food. There is an urgent need to see whether we can help them with freezers. Is there anything the Government can do to work with food banks to help them increase their capacity for storing food when it is spare so that is available at other times?

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Bishop of London asks about statutory sick pay

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of London asked His Majesty’s Government how many people are currently receiving statutory sick pay; how many people are eligible to receive only statutory sick pay when unwell; and how many people earn less than the lower earnings threshold, making them ineligible for statutory sick pay.

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): Statutory Sick Pay is administered and paid by employers, so this information is not held by the Government. Therefore, we are not able to make a robust assessment on the number of people who are currently receiving SSP.

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Bishop of Durham asks about support for individuals with no recourse to public funds

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 8 November (HL2809), what support is available to individuals subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions as part of their total cost of living package of £37 billion this year, but excluding the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): In addition to the Government supporting those in receipt of public fund benefits with cost-of-living payments, the package also includes a range of measures that those with no recourse to public funds could also benefit from, if they meet the eligibility criteria.

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Bishop of St Albans asks why cold weather payments have not increased

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 16 November (HL3212), why they have kept the £25 Cold Weather Payment amount the same; and what plans they have to increase it in light of the increasing cost of energy bills.

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): There are currently no plans to increase payment of the Cold Weather Payment scheme. The current Cold Weather Payment scheme represents a contribution towards additional heating costs, paid at the time of need.

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Bishop of Durham asks about resettlement estimates for refugees

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of people likely to be granted resettlement in the UK for (1) the remainder of this year, and (2) the following two years thereafter.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about Healthy Start Scheme – Correction

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following correction to a written answer on 14th December 2022:

Lord Markham (Con): I would like to amend a written answer that I gave to the House on the 7 November 2022.

An incorrect figure was provided in my reply to HL2636, which was asked by The Lord Bishop of Gloucester. The question was: “To ask His Majesty’s Government how many recipients of Healthy Start vouchers are not in receipt of prepaid cards despite remaining eligible for the scheme.”

The reply stated that “The NHS Business Services Authority estimates that as of 18 October 2022, there were 2,954 households previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme. “

However, it has since been brought to my attention that the figures supplied by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) had a typographical error. The answer should have stated that “the NHS Business Services Authority estimates that, as of 18 October 2022, there were 42,954 households which previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme.” I apologise that the incorrect figures were inadvertently supplied.

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about cost of using agency staff to cover NHS shortages

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question about the cost of employing agency staff to cover NHS shifts, as compared to the cost of a pay rise for NHS staff, during a debate on the upcoming NHS industrial action on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, even prior to the strikes, agency nurses were being brought in to ensure that shifts were safely staffed. I should be grateful if the Minister would set out what assessment the Government have made of the cost to the NHS of employing agency staff, compared with that of a pay rise that would work towards an arguably better and more stable workforce?

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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about extending access to free school meals

The Bishop of Chelmsford asked a question on extending free school meals to all children from families in receipt of universal credit on 13th December 2022, during a debate on free school meals funding and decision making power:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: My Lords, building on the question the noble Lord has just asked, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that out of 3.9 million children living in relative poverty in the UK, only 2.3 million receive free school meals. Can the Minister say whether the Government intend to extend free school meals to all children from families receiving universal credit?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about fire safety of sky lanterns

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will list all incidents of fires having been caused by sky lanterns in the last five years.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): Data collected through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved sky lanterns.

The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available at Gov.UK.

Hansard

Bishop of Gloucester asks about Royal Commission on Criminal Justice

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bellamy on 28 November (HL Deb col 1561), what plans they have to announce (1) the timeframe, and (2) the terms of reference, for the Royal Commission on the criminal justice process, as announced in the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019.

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