Category: Questions

Oral & written questions in the Lords and Commons

Bishop of Lincoln asks about supportive care for long-term prisoners upon release

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on provision of supportive care for those released after a long time in the prison system, during a discussion on indeterminate prison sentences on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, recently in Lincoln prison I met a man who has been continuously in the prison system for the last 48 years—since I sat my A-levels. He is not mentally ill in any obvious way. He told me that he keeps sane by keeping God between himself and the other prisoners—that was the gist of what he said anyway—but that he is so socialised by being in prison for so long that he has almost forgotten what he was in there for. He asked that if he were to be released could there be specialist units in nursing homes where there would be the proper care for someone who has not known freedom in his entire adult life?

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Bishop of Bristol asks about report on modern slavery linked to car wash sites

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

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

  • what assessment they have made of the report Car Wash Code of Practice Project Report: Home Office Modern Slavery Prevention Fund, published by Nottingham Trent University and submitted to the Home Office in October 2022.
  • when they will respond to the report Car Wash Code of Practice Project Report: Home Office Modern Slavery Prevention Fund, published by Nottingham Trent University and submitted to the Home Office in October 2022.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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?

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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:

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