Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Persecuted Christians

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 4th July 2022:

Jim Shannon MP (DUP): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church Commissioners have had with Christians Against Poverty on protecting Christians from persecution.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK-based debt advice charity independent of the Church of England. Staff of the National Church Institutions have held discussions with CAP but these have not been on the protection of Christians from persecution.

Hansard

Church Commissioners Questions: Archbishops’ Council

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 1st July 2022:

Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to Section 1(1) of the National Institutions Measure 1998 and the statement on page six of the Archbishops’ Council Annual Report 2022 that the Council was established under the National Institutions Measure 1998 to provide focus for leadership and executive responsibility and a forum for strategic thinking and planning, whether the Church Commissioners have made an assessment of the authority of the Archbishops’ Council in respect of the exercise of its executive functions.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about the effects of advertising on mental health and body image

The Bishop of Gloucester asked the following question on 30th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any link between advertising, body image, and mental health.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks a question on women in prisons

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 30th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 and above, went to prison in each of the last 10 years; what was the average length of sentence for each of those categories; and what were the 10 most common offences that led to the imprisonment of women during this period.

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Bishop of St Albans asks a question on gambling addiction

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 30th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce (1) a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement for gambling addiction, or (2) a Gambling Treatment Requirement, similar to community sentence treatments for offences where alcohol, drugs or mental health issues were an underlying factor.

Lord Bellamy (Con): Offenders with a gambling addiction may be suitable for a Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) as part of a community or suspended sentence order where mental health has been identified as an underlying factor.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about young people using E-cigarettes

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th June 2022:

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

  • what estimate they have made of how many people in England under the age of 18 regularly use a vape or e-cigarette.
  • what research they are currently undertaking into the long-term health effects caused by smoking e-cigarettes and vapes.
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Bishop of St Albans asks about government response to financial challenges

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question during a debate on the Trades Union Congress: Levelling Up, on 29th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Government are to be congratulated on raising the minimum wage and I thank them for what they have done. There is, however, a really serious point here. As we are facing a serious range of strikes across many industries, the worry is that those people in positions of leadership and authority are not necessarily giving a lead.

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Bishop of Guildford asks about gender-based violence

The Bishop of Guildford asked a question about gender-based violence during a debate on Rape: Criminal Prosecutions, on 28th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, gender-based violence has been a major theme in our discussions across the Anglican Communion, from a wide range of cultures. Many international communities look to the United Kingdom to lead in this area, given the deeply traumatising effect that such violence can have—obviously on the victims but also on whole communities over generations.

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Bishop of Guildford asks about freedom of religion in the Commonwealth

The Bishop of Guildford asked the following question on 28th June 2022, during a debate on the Commonwealth:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, as the Minister knows extremely well, this week marks a brief lull between the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda last week and the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London next week. Given the overlap between those two conferences, what progress has been made on this basic human right, not least given that three of the Commonwealth nations—India, Pakistan and Nigeria—are among the worst when it comes to protecting the rights, and even the lives, of Christians and those of other faiths and beliefs?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about smoking and young people

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 28th June 2022:

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

  • how the consumption by individuals under the age of 18 differs between smokers of tobacco and users of e-cigarettes or vapes.
  • what concerns they have, if any, regarding the marketing of e-cigarettes and vapes to under-18s.
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