Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons
On 17th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith received answers to two written questions, on lowering the drink-drive limit:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.[HL3742] Continue reading “Drink driving – questions from the Bishop of St Albans”
On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on criminalising the purchase of sex:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to criminalising the purchase of sex in order to protect vulnerable women.[HL3283] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about criminalising purchase of sex”
On Wednesday 17 December 2014, the Second Church Estates Commissioners, the Rt Hon. Sir Tony Baldry MP, answered written questions from Robin Walker MP about grants available for church repairs, and from Chi Onwurah MP about the savings being made from the new Parliamentary Q&A system.
Continue reading “Second Church Estates Commissioner answers questions on Grants available for Churches and about the savings made from the new Parliamentary Q&A System”
On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on violence against women:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the standardisation of comprehensive and analysable data on violence against women.[HL3284] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about data on violence against women”
On 16th December 2014, Baroness Knight of Collingtree asked Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take following the First Reading of the Abortion (Sex-Selection) Bill in the House of Commons on 4 November. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, given that many are concerned that we may not be protecting the most vulnerable in our society in this area, we need to understand the full extent of sex-selection abortion in this country, if indeed it is taking place. We need to collect and collate data. In the light of that, will the Minister tell the House what Her Majesty’s Government are doing to require the registration of the gender of foetuses using forms such as HSA4 or something similar so that we can actually have the evidence?On 16th December 2014, Lord Hoyle asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to reintroduce a dog licensing fee. The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a supplementary question:
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, I am one of those who wear a dog collar in this House—and for the privilege of doing so I have to be licensed. But as far as I am aware, no fees have been paid. Might I suggest that enough is enough?
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl): My Lords, the right reverend Prelate has stolen my thunder, in a sense. I was going to ask: because of the increasing number of dangerous dog incidents, would it not be worth having a look at licensing the owners? Continue reading “Bishop of Chester speaks during question time on dog licensing”
On 16th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received an answer to a written question on under-age marriages.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect girls who come to the United Kingdom already in under-age marriages. [HL3558]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash): Local authorities, with the help of other organisations as appropriate, have a duty to make enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. A belief that a girl may have been involved in an under-age marriage should lead to such an assessment.
Where a local authority encounters concerns about a child’s welfare that constitute, or may constitute, an offence against a child, social workers should discuss the case with the police at the earliest opportunity. Offences may have been committed by the girl’s parents, or by her ‘husband’. Legislation that came into force earlier in 2014 means that forced marriage is now a criminal offence. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans – Underage Marriage (Written Answer)”
On 15th December 2014, Lord Sharkey asked Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Higher Education Commission’s report Too Good to Fail: The Financial Sustainability of Higher Education in England. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. and the Rt Hon. John Sentamu, asked a supplementary question:
The Archbishop of York: My Lords, will the noble Baroness tell us how, in the light of this report, she hopes to mitigate the risks to financial sustainability? Those are very big risks. Can she tell us how she will mitigate them? Forget the canoes.
Baroness Williams of Trafford: My Lords, the Government have asked HEFCE to monitor this situation, particularly in the light of the cap being lifted in 2016. That is a very important point.
(via Parliament.uk)
On 11th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Food Poverty’s recent report, Feeding Britain. A full transcript of the exchange is reproduced below:During the regular slot for questions to the Church Commissioners in the House of Commons on 11th December 2014, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry MP, was asked about maintenance of cathedrals, church repairs, bat damage in churches and general election hustings. A full transcript is below.
Church Commissioners
The right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—
English Cathedrals (Maintenance)
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): [Question:] What representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for maintenance of the fabric of English cathedrals that are older than 500 years. Continue reading “Church Commissioner Questions – Bats, Buildings, Elections”
The Church of England in Parliament 
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