Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about Acute Oak Decline

On 7th December 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received three written answers to questions on Acute Oak Decline.

Bishop St Albans June 2015The Lord Bishop of St Albans: 

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the spread of Acute Oak Decline in the UK.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many oak trees have been killed by Acute Oak Decline in the past five years.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have conducted into the bacterial infection spread by the Agrilus biguttatus beetle. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about Acute Oak Decline”

Help for Syrian refugees – Church Commissioners’ written answer

On the 3rd December 2015 the Second Church Estates Commissioner answered a written question from Mark Hendrick MP, about assistance for Syrian refugees from churches in Blackburn.

 

Mr Mark Hendrick (Preston): To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps each Anglican church in the Diocese of Blackburn is taking to assist Syrian refugees.

Caroline SpelmanMrs Caroline Spelman: The Diocese of Blackburn is working alongside other dioceses of the Church of England and local faith communities to coordinate their response to assist Syrian refugees. Churches in the diocese have been advised of the type of assistance that can most usefully be offered, working in conjunction with local authorities and other faith communities.

The three bishops of the Diocese of Blackburn were amongst the signatories to the letter from Church of England bishops to the Prime Minister, which welcomed the commitment of the Government to provide aid and resettlement, while calling on it to resettle substantially more than 20,000, and made clear the Church’s commitment to help in that task.

 

(Via Parliament.UK)

Bishop of St Albans asks about preventing violence against Muslims and raises negative media coverage

On 1st December 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a question in the House of Lords about violence against Muslims and other minority groups following the terrorist attacks in Paris. He followed up with a question about negative media coverage of British Muslims.

StAlbans171115The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to prevent violence against Muslims and other minority groups following the attacks in Paris on 13 November.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport and Home Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con): My Lords, the Government take the safety of all our citizens and communities very seriously; indeed, this is at the core of counterextremism strategy. Following the tragic events in Paris, we are working to take all necessary action: police have increased their presence at important locations and events; advice has been given to places of worship; and we are working with organisations such as Tell MAMA to confront anti-Muslim hatred. The Prime Minister has also announced new funding for the security of mosques.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: I thank the Minister for his reply and am grateful for all that Her Majesty’s Government are doing already. Perhaps I may focus on one particular area. Since those terrible events on 13 November in Paris, some of our national newspapers have run some very disturbing stories about the treatment of British Muslims and minority groups, such as asylum seekers, here. Does the Minister agree that, in modern, democratic Britain, there is no place for misleading headlines and scurrilous cartoons designed to demonise minority groups? Many of us on these Benches have been involved in face-to-face meetings during the past three weeks with members of the Muslim community, who are deeply dismayed and angry at what has happened. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to counter such unhelpful stories and narratives and to strengthen community relations between minorities and the wider British public?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about preventing violence against Muslims and raises negative media coverage”

Bishop of Coventry asks question about conditions in Camp Liberty

13.10 Bishop of CoventryOn 30th November 2015, the Lord Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, received a written answer to his question about the humanitarian conditions inside Camp Liberty in Iraq.

Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian conditions inside Camp Liberty. Continue reading “Bishop of Coventry asks question about conditions in Camp Liberty”

Bishop of St Albans asks question on Home Schooling

StAlbans171115On 30th November 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received a written answer to his question about the number of children being home schooled.

Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were being home educated in each of the years 2010 to 2014 inclusive. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks question on Home Schooling”

Lords’ Prayer cinema advert – Church Commissioners’ written answer

On the 30th November 2015 the Church Commissioners answered two written questions from Mark Hendrick MP on the Lords’ Prayer cinema advert.

 

Caroline SpelmanMr Mark Hendrick (Preston): To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, in which (a) local and (b) national newspapers the Church of England plans to place advertisements with the text of the Lord’s Prayer.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The Church of England has no plans for advertisements of the Lords Prayer in local or national newspapers. Many national and local newspapers have already covered the story. As of 27th November 2015 online articles had received over 5.15 million views.
(Via Parliament.UK) Continue reading “Lords’ Prayer cinema advert – Church Commissioners’ written answer”

Vandalism of graves – Church Commissioner written answer

On 30th November 2015 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question from Mark Hendrick MP on vandalism of graves in churchyards.

 

Caroline SpelmanMr Mark Hendrick (Preston): To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many graves in each church yard in each diocese in England were vandalised in 2014.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The information requested is not retained at the national level and would incur a disproportionate cost to produce.

Wilful damage and theft of monumental stonework causes much emotional and financial distress. The Church is continuing to work with local Dioceses, police, insurers and local communities to improve security and awareness.
(Via Parliament.uk)

Syria and military action – Archbishop of Canterbury responds to Prime Minister’s statement

On 26th November 2015 the Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Stowell, repeated in the Lords a statement given earlier in the day to the House of Commons by the Prime Minister about Syria and the possibility of military action. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, responded:

Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury: I thank the Leader of the House for the repetition of the Statement, and particularly the publication of the Foreign Affairs Committee report, and welcome the seriousness of the emphasis in both the Statement and the report on a comprehensive approach—the seriousness of military action but also the integration of soft and hard power, support for jobs, education, family and community life and stability, and of communities flourishing in the neighbouring countries, which comes out very strongly. The test will obviously be the total mobilisation of effort in a focused way that recognises the long-term needs of security for indigenous populations, particularly the Christian populations, which are being harried out of the area. Continue reading “Syria and military action – Archbishop of Canterbury responds to Prime Minister’s statement”

Archbishop of Canterbury asks Government about link between food bank use and benefit changes

On 26th November 2015 Lord Beecham asked Her Majesty’s Government “what assessment they have made of the provision of food banks at, and the distribution of food to people in need by, NHS hospitals.” The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev & Rt Hon Justin Welby, asked a supplementary question:

Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury: Does the Minister recognise that the comments at the time of the previous Government about there being no link between benefit changes and food banks was significantly challenged at the time and that our experience in Church of England, which is involved in the vast majority of food banks across the country, is that between 35% and 45% of people coming to get support from food banks report that the reason for running out of food is to do with changes to the benefit system and sanctions?

Lord Prior of Brampton:All I can do is repeat what I said before which is that, as Ed Davey said, there is no statistical link, in his view, between the Government’s benefits reforms and the provision of food banks. I think that the issue is much more complex than the most reverend Primate is suggesting.

(via Parliament.uk)

 

Lord’s Prayer Cinema Advert Ban – Bishop of Chelmsford asks question in Lords

On 25th November 2015 the Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell asked a question of Government about the decision by Digital Cinema Media not to accept an advertisement from the Church of England featuring the reading of the Lord’s Prayer. The video can be seen on the website justpray.uk A full transcript of the exchange and those that followed, is below.

 

Chelmsford 251115The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religious and non-religious organisations to express their beliefs in the public sphere, in the light of the decision by Digital Cinema Media not to accept advertisements from the Church of England.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con): My Lords, freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is fundamental to democratic society. Open discussion of faith issues has the benefit of bringing communities together, thereby giving rise to greater understand among faith groups. In this case, the decision not to accept the advertisement was by an independent media organisation. The Government made clear that they do not agree with that decision and urged the cinema to look again.

Continue reading “Lord’s Prayer Cinema Advert Ban – Bishop of Chelmsford asks question in Lords”