Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of Norwich asks about police action in cases of institutional abuse

The Bishop of Norwich asked a question on police action in cases of institutional abuse on 8th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, recent events have rightly turned the spotlight on the Church of England’s record around safeguarding. Those of us on these Benches are highly committed to listening to survivors and bringing about the further institutional and cultural changes that need to be made, beyond the enormous progress that has been made over the past 10 years. What assurance can the Minister give that the police will act on information that they receive, which, it is alleged, was not the case in 2013, when the horrendous crimes of John Smyth were correctly reported to them?

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Bishop of Leicester asks about reasonable adjustments in the workplace

The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on reasonable adjustments for those with disabilities in the workforce on 9th January 2025, during a discussion on assessments of eligibility for benefits claimants:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, the Government have made clear their ambition to get more people with health conditions and disabilities into work. What plans are in place to ensure employers consistently implement the reasonable adjustments required of them in the Equality Act and do not discriminate against disabled people?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about threats posed by flooding

On 7th January 2025, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on threats to food production from extreme weather events such as flooding:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the UK Food Security Report, published on 11 December, identified extreme weather events as major threat to good food production, and therefore a risk to our own national security. The Minister has just been talking about cross-departmental work. Can she assure the House that, as the Government develop the national food security strategy, they will liaise with the food resilience task force? This all needs joined-up thinking if we are going to guarantee our security.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about digital exclusion in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on digital exclusion in rural areas on 7th January 2025, following a government statement on health and adult social care reform:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am grateful to His Majesty’s Government for trying to get cross-party agreement on this really important issue; it is important that it does not get lost in party politics. It is good to hear about the improvements to the NHS app, which is working quite well in some areas already. However, some people are digitally excluded, and there is a lack of connectivity in rural areas. How are we going to ensure that these groups are not excluded as we go forward with this important work?

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Bishop of Southwark asks about membership of the ECHR:

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the value of ongoing membership of the ECHR on, particularly pertaining to the continuation of the Belfast agreement, on 7th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, does the Minister agree that the benefit of ongoing membership of the ECHR is, among other things, that it is vital for the continuation of the Belfast agreement?

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab, MoJ): I thank the right reverend Prelate for that question. He is right that the Good Friday agreement is underpinned by the convention, and it is important that that should continue.

Hansard

Bishop of Southwark asks about space standards in housing

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on mandatory space standards in housing construction on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, many in the House will wish the Government well in their ambitious commitment to housebuilding, but in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework, will the Minister outline how the social objectives of the framework are guaranteed and monitored, specifically

“accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being”?

As regards well-being, will the Minister further consider restoring mandatory space standards for the construction size of British homes?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling advertising and taxation

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government

  • whether they have made an assessment of the impact that banning gambling advertising before 9pm would have on reducing gambling harms among under 18s.
  • what consideration they have given to implementing a similar policy for gambling advertising to the recently announced ban on junk food advertising before 9pm.
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Bishop of Sheffield asks about youth employment

The Bishop of Sheffield received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield asked His Majesty’s Government what partnerships they plan to establish with local government to deliver the new Youth Guarantee outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper (CP 1191).

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Bishop of St Albans asks about financial regulation

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 6th January 2025:

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

  • what assessment they have made of the Report on the Call for Evidence about the Financial Conduct Authority, published by the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, and what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
  • what assessment they have made of the recommendation from the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services to establish a Financial Regulators’ Supervisory Council and to conduct periodic reviews of the operational effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority.
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Bishop of Chelmsford asks about immigration detention review

The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL2389), in which he says that the Home Office review into immigration detention will not assess all areas of the Brook House Inquiry, whether they intend to review the recommendations in another review or assessment, and what would the timescale be for this work.

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