Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of St Albans asks about levels of childhood alcohol consumption in England

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the World Health Organization report A focus on adolescent substance use in Europe, central Asia and Canada, published on 25 April, what plans they have to address the high levels of child alcohol consumption in England.

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Bishop of Leicester asks about rollout and funding of family hubs in the UK

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 17th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 29 April (HL3846), what plans they have to (1) roll out Family Hubs to the remaining 242 local authorities, and (2) sustain the funding for the Family Hubs programme beyond 2025.

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Bishop of Newcastle asks about coastal erosion in Northumberland

The Bishop of Newcastle received the following written answers on 17th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • how heritage significance is taken into account when calculating the value of (1) a coastal erosion protection project, and (2) a grant received through grant-in-aid funding for such a project.
  • what funding they have made available to protect churchyards from coastal erosion where (1) the church is of historical significance, or (2) family members of those recently buried in the churchyard reside in the local community.
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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Layan Nasir

On 17th May 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Layan Nasir

Sir Desmond Swayne MP (Con, New Forest West): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what representations the Church has made to the Israeli government to secure the release of Layan Nasir from administrative detention.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about ramifications of ongoing conflict in Sudan

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on international efforts to support civilians and avert a famine in Sudan on 16th May 2024, during a discussion on the ongoing conflict in the country:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I note that I will be in Port Sudan in a couple of weeks’ time. Yesterday, I was at a round table on Sudan with NGOs and expatriates. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre made it clear in its research that there is genocidal intent behind much of what is going on in Darfur. The plea there was: how do we get international protection? We cannot say that we do not know this is coming. There is the perfect storm of famine as well as the massive artillery bombardment around El Fasher going on at the moment.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about ensuring free and fair elections in Georgia

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the need to ensure free and fair elections in Georgia, following a government statement on the conflict in Ukraine and clashes between police and protestors in Georgia on 16th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, given Georgia’s recent history and its rather precarious geographical position, the importance of the upcoming elections in October cannot be overstated. To push a bit further the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, can the Minister explain what active steps the Government are taking to ensure that those elections are free and fair?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about forced returns of Rohingya refugees by Bangladeshi authorities

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 16th May 2024:

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

  • what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh regarding reports of officials involved in beatings and forced returns of Rohingya refugees.
  • what assessment they have made of research by Fortify Rights, published on 26 April, that found Border Guard Bangladesh responsible for the assault and forced returns of Rohingya Refugees.
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Bishop of Southwark asks about funding for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 15th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government whether they intend to resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), following the publication of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality on 22 April.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about diplomatic efforts to secure a resolution to the conflict in Sudan

The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 15th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what diplomatic action they are taking, along with international partners, to secure a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sudan; and what consideration they have given to appointing a dedicated envoy for Sudan.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about local government finance in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 15th May 2024:

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

  • what assessment they have made of the adequacy of core funding for delivering rural services; and what plans they have to create equitable funding between rural and urban councils.
  • what consideration they have given to extending the Rural Services Delivery Grant to all rural councils in future years.
  • whether they plan to fully implement the changes to the Needs Assessment component of the funding formula made in 2013; and subsequently whether they will increase funding to rural councils to reflect inflation in the years since these changes were made.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con, DLUHC): The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country. Furthermore, we recognise the importance and difficulties of councils serving dispersed populations. That is why we have increased the value of the Rural Services Delivery Grant by over 15%, from £95 million to £110 million in 2024-25. This is the highest increase since 2018-19, and the second successive year of above-inflation increases.

We last calculated the Settlement Funding Assessment in 2013/14. The Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament to deliver simpler, fairer and longer settlements.

The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated to local authorities ranking in the top-quartile of sparsely populated areas in England, using the Government’s ‘Super Sparsity’ measure. The methodology is unchanged from 2023-24 and any funding decisions beyond the 2024-25 financial year are a matter for the next Spending Review.

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