Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

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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Bishop of St Albans asks about modern slavery

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 27th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesties Government what assessment they have made of the Safe Car Wash App by the Clewer Initiative; and how many instances of modern slavery have been linked to car washes in the last 10 years.

Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): The Government is fully committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery, including when it manifests in car washes to ensure those who commit these crimes are brought to justice.

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Bishop of Guildford asks about the Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

The Bishop of Guildford received the following written answer on 27th June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford asked Her Majesty’s Government:

  • in advance of the third anniversary of the publication of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019, whether they intend to fulfil recommendation 22 of that report.
  • who will conduct the review of the progress made since the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019; what will be their terms of reference; and when the findings of this review will be published.
  • whether they intend to implement any of the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the UK Foreign Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Office Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 4 July 2019, after 4 July this year.
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Bishop of St Albans asks about health professions recruitment

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th June 2022:

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

  • how many nurses were hired in England from countries graded as red by the World Health Organisation for each of the past 10 years.
  • what plans they have, if any, to stop hiring health care professionals from countries listed as red by the World Health Organisation.

Lord Kamall (Con): Information on the number of nurses hired in England from countries graded as red by the World Health Organization (WHO) for each of the past 10 years, is not collected in the format requested. While the National Health Service Electronic Staff Record collects self-reported data on nationality, this does not show where staff were trained or the country in which they were resident at that time.

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Bishop of Durham asks about views of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities

On 26th July 2022, the Bishop of Durham asked a question in a debate on the Roma Community: Levelling Up:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in a recent conversation with Billy Welch, who organises the Appleby Horse Fair and lives in Darlington, he asked—while recognising the deep problems that have been highlighted in all these questions—that we please start talking about the positive contributions that GRT communities make. Would the Minister like to comment on his view?

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