Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about home education

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on increasing numbers of families choosing home education for their children, during a debate on alternative educational provision on 15th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, returning to home schooling, I have been very struck by the number of people I have met in the last year or two who have decided to take their children out of mainstream schooling to educate them at home—often, from what I hear, with spectacular academic results. But what assessment has been made about the trends of whether this is increasing, and what assessment has been made about the reasons why people are doing this? We need to listen to what is happening at a grass-roots level to understand this phenomenon.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about home education”

Bishop of Leeds asks about support for transport in the north-east of England

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on improvements to transportation infrastructure in the north-east of England on 14th December 2021, during a debate on the effects of new COVID-19 restrictions on the arts and entertainment sector:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the cultural venue future for the north of England would be considerably enhanced if communications were improved—that is, if you could actually get to venues in the first place? What weight are he and his department giving to discussions about northern rail and other transport infrastructure?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about support for transport in the north-east of England”

Bishop of Leeds asks about local advocacy for vaccination

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the utility of organisations such as the Anglican Communion to aid in the uptake of vaccines in their local areas, during a debate on worldwide vaccine donations on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, it is not just a matter of quantity, supply and logistics but, as the Minister indicated, of vaccine hesitancy. What consideration have the Government given to working with partners such as the Anglican Communion, which is well placed at local level to work with local leaders to use the right language and to persuade local people to take the vaccines?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leeds asks about local advocacy for vaccination”

Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on vaccination requirements, highlighting issues regarding vaccination and people of faith

On 14th December 2021, the House of Lords debated a motion to approve the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, which would extend vaccination requirements in health and social care settings. The Bishop of St Albans gave a speech on the issue of vaccine hesitancy, highlighting concerns people of faith might have regarding vaccination:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I think many of us are grateful for the comments from the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, about process and impact assessments, and I echo those.

I shall make one or two comments about the substantive issues. Incidentally, we have been thanking the Government and medics for the rollout, but I want to pay tribute to the people who are going to be sitting up half the night: the managers of GP practices—they are the ones who get people there to get the vaccine. Very often they are forgotten, so I want to make that point.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on vaccination requirements, highlighting issues regarding vaccination and people of faith”

Bishop of St Albans asks about government monitoring of cryptocurrencies

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to monitor fiat currency to cryptocurrency (1) deposits, and (2) withdrawals, to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used to (a) launder money, and (b) hide transactions in illicit markets.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about government monitoring of cryptocurrencies”

Bishop of St Albans asks about Crown Estate purchase from company linked to Azerbaijani President

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Crown Estate regarding its purchase of a property from a company linked to President Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con): Under the Crown Estate Act of 1961, The Crown Estate is operationally independent of government. Decisions regarding the sale and purchase of property are a matter for them.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about monitoring of property owned by businesses suspected of human rights abuses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) audit, and (2) monitor, the commercial UK real estate holdings of companies directly associated with regimes with poor human rights records.

Lord Callanan (Con): Monitoring of individuals, and any companies they may be associated with, for human rights abuses overseas is a matter for FCDO and HM Treasury, under the recently introduced Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about expanding tertiary education to allow Britain to educate overseas doctors

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on capacity to educate doctors from overseas as part of the Global Britain Initiative on 13th December 2021, during a debate on the amount of training places available in UK medical schools:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, this latest Covid omicron variant has made us realise that we are one human race, and we are now facing a scandal whereby we are relying on bringing in doctors from some of the poorest parts of the world to look after our needs. For centuries, this country was renowned for sending doctors and nurses abroad and founding hospitals in all parts of the world. What consideration have Her Majesty’s Government given to ensuring not only that we are producing enough of our own doctors =but that we are expanding our tertiary education and bringing in more people to send them back to help some of these countries as part of our global Britain initiative?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about expanding tertiary education to allow Britain to educate overseas doctors”

Bishop of Durham asks about COVID-19 disease control

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 10th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government whether 14 residents in a dormitory meets the UKHSA recommendations for a COVID-19 compliant environment; and if so, what guidance informed this recommendation.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about COVID-19 disease control”

Bishop of Durham asks about droughts in Lesotho

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 10th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the droughts in Lesotho; and what steps will they take to ensure that those living there have enough water to maintain hydroelectric power.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about droughts in Lesotho”