Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have made to the government of India regarding the forced deportation of Rohingya refugees.
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The Bishop of Oxford received the following written answers on 1oth July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford asked His Majesty’s Government:
The Bishop of Oxford asked a question on the ethical questions around use of medical data and outsourcing of this data to private companies on 9th July 2025, following a government statement on the NHS 10-Year Plan:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I welcome the Minister to her place and, like others, send good wishes to the noble Baroness, Lady Merron.
I welcome very much, as others have done, the three aspirations in Fit for the Future. I think that they are significant and that they are the right ones. I think they are bold and visionary. However, while I welcome the move from analogue to digital, for me, the document raises significant questions. We are looking to build a National Health Service which cares for whole people, not machines. We need, therefore, to be concerned for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, at every stage of life, across the NHS. That demands continuous investment in people, including, of course, chaplains.
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On 9th July 2025, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on approaches to welfare provision and the need to tackle child poverty:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, reference has already been made to the Children’s Commissioner’s report published yesterday, which gives voice to the experiences of children and young people in poverty. It makes for harrowing reading, including one boy who was faced with the choice of going hungry or eating mouldy food, and many other such difficult stories. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that all the Government’s work on welfare will be based on the human dignity and equal value of every person in this country?
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The Bishop of Oxford tabled a question on the measurement and regulation of the amount of energy and water consumed by data centres in the UK on 8th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have (1) to measure, and (2) to regulate, the amount of (a) energy, and (b) water, consumed by data centres in the United Kingdom.
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The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham tabled a question on the effectiveness of recruitment and retention policies for the armed forces on 7th July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their recruitment and retention policies for the armed forces.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham asks about”The Bishop of Oxford asked a question on the government’s view of watermarking AI generated content in media on 7th July, during a discussion on the impact of AI on the sustainability and reliability of news media:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, the Minister will be aware of the risks in AI of the impersonation of human reporting. A number of jurisdictions are experimenting with and exploring the watermarking of AI content, so that it is clear what is produced artificially and what is produced by people. The former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says in an article in the Times today that he is very sceptical of that approach. There is a counter-comment from Professor Michael Wooldridge of Oxford University commending it. Do the Government have a view on watermarking, and are their plans to introduce such legislation in the forthcoming AI Bill?
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On 4th July 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Church of England: Slavery
Neil O’Brien MP (Con, Harborough, Oadby and Wigston): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, for what reason the Church Commissioners have spent £5 million on Project Spire prior to approval from the Charity Commission.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church of England – Slavery, Churches – Flags”On 3rd July 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following answers to MPs in the House of Commons:
People on Low Incomes in Rural Communities
Chris Vince MP (Lab/Co-op, Harlow) asked: 2. What steps the Church of England is taking to support people on low incomes in rural communities.
Marsha De Cordova MP (Lab, Battersea): Our most recent figures show that the Church of England was involved in more than 31,000 community projects across the country, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency of Harlow. In addition, funding for churches in the lowest income communities is set to increase from £91 million in the past three years to £133.5 million.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Questions: Support for those on Low Incomes, Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, Community Cohesion, Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Project Spire, Al-Ahli Hospital, Poverty”
The Bishop of Guildford asked a question on engagement with the government of India on freedom of religion and belief and treatment of religious minorities on 2nd July 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, what assessment have the Government made of Indian laws on freedom of religion or belief, and how to engage with the Indian Government on the misuse of those laws to target religious minorities, especially Christians and Muslims?
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