Bishop of Durham asks about status of migrants under the proposed Illegal Migration Bill

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 16th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government when a child is under the care and accommodation of the Home Office, due to the Home Secretary’s duty to detain and remove under clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill, what international or domestic legislation the Home Office is required to meet.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): The duty to make arrangements for the removal of an illegal migrant who meets the conditions in clause 2 of the Illegal Migration Bill does not apply to unaccompanied children, although clause 3(2) of the Bill confers a power to remove them in the circumstances set out in clause 3(3).

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Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports amendment to compensate victims of financial crime

On 11th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill in committee. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in support of an amendment tabled by Lord Coaker which would provide for the potential of financial compensation for victims of economic crime:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: I am sorry I have been unable to engage more fully and consistently with this Bill, but this amendment prompted me to come here when I had a few minutes. I was recently speaking to someone I met at a social gathering. In the course of the evening, we were talking about a whole range of things, and he was talking about the fact that he had been defrauded of some money and how it is now materially affecting his retirement. His comment was: “I feel so embarrassed, because I’ve always tended to think it was simple people who didn’t understand financial matters who were likely to lose money. I’m highly literate, I’ve done all the right things, but I’ve been defrauded”. This is having a big effect.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about ambulance response times

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on bringing down ambulance response times on 11th May 2023, during a debate on financial resourcing of the NHS:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I welcome what His Majesty’s Government are doing to try to get on top of this very difficult problem. Will the Minister give us a little more information, particularly about ambulance services? In Hertfordshire, which is in my diocese, category 2 call-outs, for strokes and hearts attacks, should have an 18-minute response but the response is averaging two hours and six minutes at the moment. There is a great deal of anxiety among ordinary people when these things happen. When do we think that the money going to the ambulance service is going to bring response times down?

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health and Social Care): I am pleased to say that the figures announced today show that response times are coming down. For category 1, the most serious, we achieved the 15-minute target for 90% of calls. We are moving in the right direction, albeit there is a lot more that needs to happen in this space. That is what the investment in 800 new ambulances is about, as well as the £200 million of funding. Most importantly, it is about making sure we have the right services in place. Some 50% of ambulance calls do not result in a trip to the hospital. There are fall services, which are often best placed to help, which will pick people up in their home.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about piracy in relation to automated ships

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their ability to combat piracy once fully automated ships have been brought into service, and of how fully automated ships and their cargo can be protected from illegal boarding in the absence of a crew.

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Gloucester voices concerns for victims of modern slavery and domestic violence

On 10th May 2023, during a debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Gloucester made a speech expressing concerns regarding the bill, with particular reference to the risks it would pose to women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking:

My Lords, it is a privilege to add my voice to this debate. I echo much of what has already been said, including by my friends the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham. I will focus my remarks on the impact of this Bill on women, including victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence—all of it set, as you might expect, within my belief that every person is created in the image of God. We are talking here about people with names, not faceless numbers.

I hear the Minister’s concerns about the statistics around modern slavery but this issue needs much more careful analysis, as the noble Lord, Lord Lamont, said. Other noble Lords have highlighted many of the issues around modern slavery. Surely it cannot be right that no one who arrives here by irregular means will be eligible to receive modern slavery support. As we have heard, this Bill proposes that victims of modern slavery will instead be subject to detention and removal. This seems wrong on so many levels, not least morally, but it will also be a substantial law enforcement issue. Why would anyone come forward as a victim of modern slavery and risk being sent to Rwanda? My right reverend friends the Bishops of London and Bristol will be following these issues with interest and concern.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about guidelines for protesters on Public Order Bill

On 10th May 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked whether the police or government would give guidelines to those who wish to protest regarding the scope of the public order act, following arrests under the act during the Coronation of King Charles:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am sure that we all support the police for doing a magnificent job. One of the problems we are grappling with is that we have only read reports in the media, and of course the police may know things that we do not. However, by all accounts, someone who had been planning for months, working with the police, was arrested and simply did not realise that the luggage straps they were using to create their banners would fall foul of the legislation. Therefore, trying to be constructive, will either the police or the Government give some guidelines, to people who genuinely want to have a protest, about what is likely to fall within the scope of the Act, so that they can demonstrate peaceably?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about sufficiency of NHS nurses

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s response to large numbers of people leaving nursing on 10th May 2023, during a debate on the sufficiency of the number of nurses in the NHS:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Royal College of Nursing has published figures showing that, between 2018 and 2022, 43,000 nurses left the nursing and midwifery register. We have seen this huge leaching of people moving out of nursing. What are His Majesty’s Government doing to listen to why these people are leaving and to see what we can do to retain these people who have been very expensively trained, have huge skills and are part of the reason why we have a shortage?

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham highlights threats to safeguarding and potential breaching of the refugee convention

On 10th May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in its first reading. The Bishop of Durham spoke in the debate, pointing out risks to child safeguarding and potential breaches of the refugee convention if the bill was enacted as written:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: I declare my interests as a member of the RAMP project and a trustee of Reset.

When looking to engage with a Bill, Members decide whether to focus on the detail or address the underlying principles behind the proposed legislation. This Bill leaves me with no choice but to start with the latter, as it asks fundamental questions about who we are as a nation. In order to supposedly reduce channel crossings, are we really prepared to consent to “extinguishing”, as the UNHCR puts it, the right to claim asylum and withholding support for victims of trafficking, and indefinitely detaining thousands of asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women? We have been left to consider the Bill’s provisions without an impact assessment, but these consequences will potentially lead to an unjustified intolerable level of harm which does not reflect who we are as a nation.

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Archbishop – Illegal Migration Bill plans ‘morally unacceptable and politically impractical’

On 10th May 2023 the House of Lords debated the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill at its Second Reading.

The Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, we need a Bill to reform migration. We need a Bill to stop the boats. We need a Bill to destroy the evil tribe of traffickers. The tragedy is that, without much change, this is not that Bill.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about restoring railways in South West England

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 10th May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each month for the past year.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Below is a table that shows how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each rail period from April 2022 onwards.

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