Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of Durham highlights response by faith communities to Grenfell Tower fire

durham-230117-bOn 26th June 2017, a Government statement on the Grenfell Tower fire was repeated in the House of Lords by Lord Bourne. The Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, responded to the statement by emphasising the importance of learning lessons from the response of faith communities.

Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his comments about the voluntary sector. In the lessons learned exercise, will research be done to understand exactly why the voluntary and faith sector was so good at responding and could organise teams within four hours to distribute things, compared with the local authority response? Will lessons be learned about the why the concerns raised by the residents in the months—indeed, years—beforehand were never listened to, and in the future will tenants be listened to ​more appropriately? Finally, what can the Government do about the speed of the submission of samples by landlords, which is woefully slow? Continue reading “Bishop of Durham highlights response by faith communities to Grenfell Tower fire”

Bishop of Peterborough asks about human rights abuses in North Korea

On the 26th June 2017, Lord Alton asked ‘what action they are taking, in collaboration with the International Criminal Court, or through the creation of appropriate tribunals, to bring to justice perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity’. The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Rev Donald Allister asked a further question relating to North Korea.

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Bishop of Peterborough: My Lords, in 2014 the United Nations commission on human rights abuses in North Korea declared that these were without parallel in the modern world, citing numerous cases of murder, rape and disappearances. Yet nothing has been brought to the international court or to any other regional tribunal. Why is nobody being held accountable? Continue reading “Bishop of Peterborough asks about human rights abuses in North Korea”

Archbishop commends response of faith communities and emergency services to Grenfell Tower Fire

On 22nd June 2017 the Leader of the House of Commons repeated a Government statement on the Grenfell Tower fire in Kensington. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd & Rt Hon Justin Welby, spoke after the statement:

The Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I welcome the Statement and the eventual comprehensive response, and I particularly welcome the speech given by the noble Baroness, the Leader of the Opposition, which was especially powerful and helpful. Having been with voluntary groups at the Grenfell Tower during the day following the fire, I have two questions.

First, one of the fire officers we were talking to said, “This is the third once-in-a-generation event in a few weeks”. The number of emergency service people, who for the third time in a very few weeks put their lives on the line and found themselves in a situation of the most absolute horror, seeking to save the victims who were caught in the fire as well as in the previous terrorist incidents, is much higher than would normally be expected. Continue reading “Archbishop commends response of faith communities and emergency services to Grenfell Tower Fire”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about support for prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm:

On 27th April 2017 the Bishop of St Albans asked the Government what it was doing to support prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 3 April (HL6247), what are the measures that will be put in
place to help support prisoners who are at risk of selfharm or suicide. [HL6804] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about support for prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm:”

Bishop of Newcastle asks about help for LGBT citizens facing persecution in Chechnya

On 26th April 2017 Baroness Barker asked Her Majesty’s Government “what action they are planning to take in response to reports of the persecution and detention of LGBT citizens in Chechnya.” The Bishop of Newcastle, Rt Revd Christine Hardman, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, what support have Her Majesty’s Government provided and what support do they intend to provide to the Russian LGBT Network, which is helping gay men flee Chechnya? Continue reading “Bishop of Newcastle asks about help for LGBT citizens facing persecution in Chechnya”

Bishop of Southwark asks Government about local partnerships in delivering aid goals

On 26th April 2017 Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale asked Her Majesty’s Government “what action they plan to take to deliver the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 2030.” The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, asked a follow up question:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Alton, I welcome the Prime Minister’s pledge to maintain the commitment of 0.7% of GDP for overseas aid. But I would be glad to know the Minister’s views on the usefulness of targeting aid in support of the goals not solely through large organisations but through more local partners such as those highlighted in the West Bank and Gaza by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leeds on 21 March.

Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks Government about local partnerships in delivering aid goals”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about bereavement support payments

On 26th April 2017 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received a written answer from the Government about bereavement support payments:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why, when determining the length of time for which Bereavement Support Payments would be paid, they considered 18 months a suitable timeframe for bereavement support. [HL6803] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about bereavement support payments”

Bishop of Southwark asks Government about Chinese investments in Africa

southwark-20feb17On 25th April 2017, Lord Oates asked Her Majesty’s Government “what measures they intend to take to promote United Kingdom–Africa trade and development co-operation in the transitional and post-Brexit periods.” The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, asked a supplementary question:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: The Minister may know that I am a regular visitor to Zimbabwe, where my diocese has links with four of the five Anglican dioceses there. How do Her Majesty’s Government propose to respond to the preponderance of Chinese investment both there and in other African nations, both in infrastructure and major economic undertakings? Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks Government about Chinese investments in Africa”

Bishop of Chelmsford asks Government why no UK representatives attended nuclear weapon ban UN Conference

Chelmsford 251115On 24th April 2017, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, received a written answer to a question on the UN Conference to Negotiate Ban on Nuclear Weapons.

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their officials attended the UN Conference to negotiate a ban on nuclear weapons held in New York on 27 March; and if not, why not. [HL6462] Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks Government why no UK representatives attended nuclear weapon ban UN Conference”

Bishop of Durham asks Government about number of affected and poverty impact of two-child limit on benefits

durham-230117On 24th April 2017, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, received written answers to two questions on Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit: 

The Lord Bishop of Durham:

(i) To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families will be affected by the introduction of the two-child limit on Child Tax Credit and the child element of Universal Credit in (1) 2017–18, (2) 2018–19, and (3) 2019–20. [HL6344]

(ii) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what projections they have made of the effect of introducing the two-child limit on Child Tax Credits and the child element of Universal Credit on the number of children in poverty, according to the income-based measures used in the official Households Below Average Income statistics. [HL6345] Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks Government about number of affected and poverty impact of two-child limit on benefits”