Questions – Page 83 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about policies to encourage breastfeeding

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to put in place policies that encourage breastfeeding, including supportive work environments where women are able to breastfeed or express milk.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): The Government’s vision, set out in the policy paper, The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, is that every parent and carer has access to high quality infant feeding services in their local area. A copy of the paper is attached.

Bishop of St Albans asks about links between alcohol consumption and breast cancer

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between women’s increasing consumption of alcohol and incidences of breast cancer.

Bishop of St Albans asks about pharmacy provision in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of rural pharmacy closures on access to primary care.

Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): It is the statutory duty of every local authority in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas including those that are rural in nature, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.

Bishop of St Albans asks about prevalence of female genital mutilation and forced marriage in the UK

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 27 February (HL2409), when the Government-funded feasibility study on estimating the prevalence of female genital mutilation and forced marriage in England and Wales will be published.

Bishop of Manchester asks about plans to ban conversion therapy in the UK

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce legislation which would ban the practice of conversion therapy.

Baroness Barran (Con, Women & Equalities): The Government is taking account of the recently published final report from the independent Cass Review.

Bishop of St Albans asks about sustainable farming and countryside stewardship programmes

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

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

when they will publish further information on the combined Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship offer.
when farmers will be able to apply for the new combined Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship offer.
when guidance for the Sustainable Farming Incentive online application portal will be set out.
when farmers in existing Higher Level Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements can transfer to the new offer.
when the new Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship actions can be added to areas already in the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement, particularly in upland areas where the HLS agreement has a linked Upland Entry Level Stewardship agreement.

Bishop of Derby asks about racial bias in youth justice

The Bishop of Derby asked a question on steps to eliminate racial bias against gypsy, Roma and traveller children in the youth justice system on 25th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I hold responsibility in the Bishops’ prison team for children in the youth justice system, so my question arises not only from access to what I find to be quite disturbing data but also from direct contact with children in the justice system. What steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to eliminate racial bias, including in charging, against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in the youth justice system, who are often hidden within official statistics?

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Slavery, Tree Planting, Churches in Cumbria & Lincolnshire, and Redundant Churches

On 25th April 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Church of England: Slavery

Dr Matthew Offord MP (Con, Hendon): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to publicly acknowledge historic links with the chattel slave trade.

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): The Archbishop of Canterbury has been unequivocal on the theology of this issue, noting on his visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in February 2023:

Bishop of Leeds asks about funding of the BBC World Service

On 24th April 2024, the Bishop of Leeds asked a question on whether the government would consider taking back long term funding of the BBC World Service, rather than having the service funded through the licence fee:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I notice that the funding agreement with the FCDO runs only until April 2025, which is not very far ahead. Can the Minister tell us whether the Government are considering, at the very least, taking back full funding of the World Service in the longer term rather than leaving it to the licence fee?

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