Bishop of St Albans urges government to work to provide financial and citizenship education in schools

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on life skills and citizenship teaching in primary and secondary schools on 7th September 2023, urging the government to work with organisations to provide financial education in schools, and drawing attention to the Church of England’s Living Well Together project:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the diocese which I am privileged to serve has 138 church schools in it and another group of independent schools with Christian foundations. I am glad to have the opportunity to visit them regularly—I have been in one already this morning. As I go round, I am heartened by the teaching I see already going on on citizenship and value-based education. I want to comment, though, on just a couple of things and to suggest that, while it is important that the Government are clear what they are doing, there is actually a vital role for families and a vital role in collaborating with other bodies that are seeking to do similar sort of work.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about international efforts to combat food insecurity in conflict areas

The Bishop of Exeter asked a question on government efforts to work internationally to combat food insecurity in areas of conflict on 7th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, as the president of the International Rescue Committee rightly noted, conflict is one of the primary drivers of food insecurity around the globe, so what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking, in co-operation with our partners, to convene dialogue and work with local peacebuilders and faith leaders to help in areas of conflict?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con, Foreign Office): We are working in many areas, including an area in which I lead on the initiative of preventing sexual violence in conflict. 

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Bishop of St Albans asks about use of drug Vorasidenib to treat brain tumours

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of Vorasidenib for the treatment of brain tumours.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): In the United Kingdom, medicines need to have a licence before they can be marketed, and these are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA has not issued a scientific opinion for Vorasidenib. Should an application for Vorasidenib be received, the MHRA will consider this accordingly.

Hansard

Children and Families Act Committee Report: Bishop of Durham speaks on importance of childhood experience

On 6th September 2023, the Bishop of Durham spoke in a committee debate on a report from the Children and Families Act 2014 Committee: A Failure of implementation, referencing the findings of the Archbishops Commission on Families and Households and the need to safeguard children as being at the heart of Christian teaching:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, for securing this debate, and the whole Children and Families Act Committee for its work on this excellent report and for highlighting all the issues.

Our experiences of childhood and family life shape who we are and who we become. When children and families flourish, society flourishes. This is not a new understanding: in the little we hear of Jesus as a child, the gospel writer Luke highlights how he grew physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. His childhood shaped his adult ministry.

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Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Southwark supports amendments on housing

On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of Southwark spoke in support of amendment 201, which would require the government to update the definition of affordable housing, recalling the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2021 debate on housing and stressing the need for a bipartisan approach to ensure consistent housebuilding policy over time:

My Lords, the noble Baronesses, Lady Hayman and Lady Bennett, and the noble Lord, Lord Stunell, have all spoken eloquently on Amendment 201, which I support. I thank them for tabling it.

The independent Archbishops’ Commission on Housing reported in March 2021, and your Lordships’ House may recall the debate that the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury secured on 24 March 2021, on the subject of housing. I simply wish to highlight a few points from that which I believe are relevant to the debate on this amendment.

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Bishop of Durham asks about reinstation of asylum applications

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on time allowed for consideration of asylum requests, during a discussion on the asylum applications backlog on 6th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: Returning to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, how long does the Home Office consider a reasonable length of time for an asylum seeker to provide reasons and evidence as to why their asylum request should be reinstated after receiving a decision and the application is withdrawn? Will the Government publish statistics on the number of applicants reinstated?

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Votes: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

On 6th September 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill in the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

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Bishop of London responds to government statement on crimes at Countess of Chester Hospital

On 5th September 2023, the Bishop of London spoke in response to a government statement on the inquiry into the Countess of Chester Hospital and the crimes of Lucy Letby, welcoming the inquiry and asking why existing policies on whistleblowing and safeguarding were not enough to prevent the crimes, and what could be done in future to mitigate this:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I also declare my interests as noted in the register, specifically as a previous Chief Nursing Officer for England and as a non-executive director of a number of NHS trusts for a number of years. I also extend my sympathy and prayers to those who have been impacted by these awful and unimaginable atrocities.

I join others in welcoming that this is now a statutory inquiry. I also support the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, particularly around NHS manager regulation. I ask the Minister whether, when the Government look at that regulation, they will consider that it should go beyond the NHS executive, who themselves are managers, so providing external scrutiny.

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Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asks about training programmes for installation of carbon efficient heating

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich asked a question on training programmes for installers of home heating systems during a debate on the 2030 Emission Reductions Target on 5th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: I will be very brief. A crucial component of the decarbonisation of heat in homes agenda is to have enough skilled technicians and engineers to install the various heating solutions. Can the Minister update the House on the progress of creating the necessary training opportunities?

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Bishop of London asks about effects of cutting overseas development aid

On 5th September 2023, the Bishop of London asked a question on maternal mortality rates following cuts to overseas development aid:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, the impacts of cuts in aid have been and will continue to be significant. The equality impact assessment published by the International Development Committee revealed some of the effects, particularly on women. For example, the number of maternal deaths that will be averted by the women’s integrated sexual health programme will fall by more than half. In Afghanistan, the maternal mortality rate will worsen. How will the Government look to mitigate the impact of these cuts, particularly on women and girls?

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