Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about ongoing conflict in Ethiopia

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 29th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): We are extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. The Minister for Africa spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November. She stated that there is no military solution and the UK has been clear on this from the start. We have consistently called on all warring parties to end hostilities and seek a political dialogue and peaceful solution.

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Bishop of Coventry asks about UK participation in European crisis-talks on migration

The Bishop of Coventry asked a question urging the government to commit to participation in European crisis talks on migration on 25th November 2021, following a government statement on the recent deaths of migrants crossing the English Channel:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, the sense of grief that has been hanging over this House for most of the afternoon is testimony to our sense of common humanity. I assure the families of those who died—whoever and wherever they are—of the prayers of this Bench, and I am sure that many other prayers have been offered around your Lordships’ House. We have heard, quite rightly, from the Minister, echoing the Home Secretary, that this requires a co-ordinated international effort. It also clearly has a European dimension. Can the Minister confirm that if, as the French President has suggested, high-level European crisis talks take place on migration, the UK will take a full part and even encourage those conversations to happen?

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Bishop of Coventry asks about UK’s international development strategy

The Bishop of Coventry asked a question on plans relating to the UK’s international development strategy on 25th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, the integrated review made many ambitious claims about the UK’s international role. I found it gave less away about the principles to meet those claims. Does the Minister accept that to be credible the new development strategy must be rooted in effective development principles, including the Paris declaration and the Accra agenda, and draw on the evidence of what works on the ground?

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Bishop of Exeter asks about rising sea levels on the Solomon Islands

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 25th November 2021:

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

  • what assessment they have made of rising sea levels on the Solomon Islands.
  • how much financial support they provided to the Solomon Islands in (1) 2016, (2) 2017, (3) 2018, (4) 2019, and (5) 2020.
  • what support they have offered to the Solomon Islands to mitigate risks from rising sea levels.
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Bishop of St Albans asks about conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 25th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan regarding that government’s reported occupation of Armenian territory.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about offshore tax havens in British Overseas Territories

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the use of British Overseas Territories as tax havens on 24th November 2021, during a debate on prevention of money laundering:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, earlier this year we held a debate on the Church Action for Tax Justice report Tax for the Common Good. When we discussed British Overseas Territories, we looked at the whole issue of tax havens and were assured that this was being addressed, yet the latest Pandora papers reveal that they are still used by shell companies to hide property sales and to avoid tax. Would the Minister agree that, since we are responsible for the defence of these territories, they have a duty to stop siphoning this money off from the UK?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about application of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th November 2021:

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

  • whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has (1) retained ring fenced funding for rural areas, and (2) matched previous EU funding before 2024–25; and, in each case, if not, why not.
  • whether they have undertaken rural proofing of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and, if so, whether they plan to publish the findings of this.
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Bishop of Gloucester asks about numbers of women in prison

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 24th November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 and above, went to prison in each of the last 10 years; what was the sentence length in each case; and what type of offence was committed.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con): The attached tables [on Hansard] show data on the numbers of women convicted by offence type and the length of sentence from 2011 to 2020 for those aged 18 to 24 and above 25 years of age.

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Bishop of Coventry asks about role of ministers of religion in emergency services

The Bishop of Coventry asked a question on the role of spiritual comfort provided by ministers of religion to the dying, and the potential for increased role of police chaplaincy, on 22nd November 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: My Lords, I greatly welcome the joint study group announced by the cardinal archbishop. Does the Minister agree that good outcomes from that study would include both further training and education to ensure that police officers understand the significance of spiritual comfort at the point of death, for the dying of whatever faith, and an increased role for police chaplaincy?

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Bishop of Leeds asks about conflict in Tigray region of Ethiopia

On 22nd November 2021, the Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the impact of the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on peacekeeping in East Africa, and on the refugee population of the area:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, this is a very unstable region of Africa. Ethiopia has proved crucial to stability in UN peacekeeping as well. Can the Minister say, first, how any diminution in the Ethiopian contribution to UN peacekeeping is being mitigated or compensated for elsewhere? Secondly, what is his assessment of the refugee crisis caused despite the welcome restoration of the transitional Government in Sudan?

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