Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
The following written question was replied to on 30th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Hong Kong following reports of threats and intimidation of Benedict Rogers, a UK citizen and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch. [HL7070]
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about treatment of Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch”
The Bishop of Worcester asked a question concerning Church of England schools and the government’s Schools White Paper on 29th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I echo the noble Lord, Lord Storey, in his thanks for the White Paper. In doing so, I declare my interest as president of the Woodard Corporation. In expressing gratitude, I appreciate in particular how the White Paper recognises the vital role the Churches have played in the educational landscape of this country for more than 200 years and that it sets out how the role needs to continue to be enabled in the future development of the school system. I will focus on two questions regarding the move towards the fully academised educational landscape set out in the White Paper and invite the Minister to agree that it requires two key things.
Continue reading “Bishop of Worcester asks about the Schools White Paper”
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 29th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to allow Healthy Start prepaid cards to be used for making online and telephone purchases of food items covered by the scheme.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about the Healthy Start Scheme”The Bishop of Birmingham asked a question regarding improvements in cohesion in Birmingham schools on 28th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Birmingham: My Lords, will the Minister commend the people of Birmingham for their extraordinary efforts since 2014 on cohesion and attempting to learn lessons from this very complicated event, as we have heard in your Lordships’ House today? Will she particularly commend them for the United Nations rights reporting school award, which has been applied for every year and is now awarded to 51% of primary and secondary schools in Birmingham, compared with only 18% across the country? Will she commend these actions and others, and ask for them to be replicated around the country so that we might live as one people?
Continue reading “Bishop of Birmingham asks about cohesion in schools”The Bishop of Worcester asked a question in a debate on the Homes for Ukraine scheme on 28th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I pay tribute to the Minister for the enormous amount that he has done in a very short space of time. At the same time, however, I acknowledge the frustration that is felt and expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, on the part of so many people. We have tried locally to convene people in the community, and enormous support is forthcoming, but there seems to be a problem with the process. One acknowledges the need for security checks, but I have heard a lot of times, anecdotally, about the complexity of the visa process and how difficult it is. Local government is waiting for guidance from the Government here.
Continue reading “Bishop of Worcester asks about the Homes for Ukraine scheme”The Bishop of St Albans asked about funding of NHS gambling treatment services on 28th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcements that the NHS (1) will no longer accept money from GambleAware, and (2) is establishing two additional NHS gambling clinics to meet demand, what plans they have to agree a long-term independent funding settlement for NHS gambling treatment services.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling treatment services”Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 28th March 2022:
Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to change the definition of a parish; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 on the definition of a parish.
Andrew Selous MP (Con): There are no plans to change the legal definition of a parish.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Answers: Definitions of a Parish”On 24th March 2022, the Bishop of Manchester asked a question during a debate on the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Report:
The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I want to echo from these Benches our concern for the Daniel Morgan family, and also to reiterate my interest in policing ethics at both force and national level, as set out in the register.
I am particularly interested in the comments on vetting made in the report. In Greater Manchester we commissioned our own investigation into the force’s vetting procedures a few years ago. While on the whole that was satisfactory, as the report here has done, it identified that people from UK minority ethnic backgrounds were disproportionately getting vetted out of the system, both at recruitment level and promotion level.
Continue reading “Bishop of Manchester asks about police vetting”
On 24th March 2022, the Bishop of Leeds asked a question regarding the government’s assessment efficiency and effectiveness during a debate on the reduction of numbers in the Civil Service:
The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, have the Government made any assessment of the relationship between efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy?
Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about government assessment of efficiency in the Civil Service”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL6312), what attempts they have made to document the destruction of Armenian historical sites in Azerbaijan.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The protection of cultural heritage affected by conflict and the prevention of acts of destruction are priorities for the UK. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged over the course of the conflict. Following the 2020 war, the UK has engaged with the Governments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan on this matter. UNESCO are the body best placed to look into this issue and we call on all sides to reach an agreement to enable UNESCO to visit the region soon.
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.