British Iranian Relations: Bishop of St Albans stresses importance of media and need to support those demonstrating in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on British-Iranian relations on 23rd February 2023, emphasising the importance of holding the Iranian regime to account, and the critical role played by media services such as BBC Persian:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for obtaining this debate, for his superb introductory talk and not least for his powerful call that we should oppose the persecution of Baha’is and Christians. I will raise just two issues in the few moments I have.

First, as we conduct British-Iranian relations, it is vital that we support loudly and clearly those who are demonstrating for their freedoms, in particular those who face the most opposition: the young and the women who are being opposed by their own Government. They are rightly demonstrating for freedom of speech and for their rights to an education and a job.

It is difficult to know exactly how many people have been caught up in the demonstrations although it is widely reported that, so far, between 600 and 800 protesters have been killed, more than 30,000 have been arrested and more than 40 have been executed. Those are probably very modest figures. I echo the question to the Minister from the noble Lord, Lord Alton: what attempts are being made to record the regime’s crimes so that they can be taken to the UN Security Council? What representations have His Majesty’s Government made to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Does the Minister agree that Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi should be held to account?

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Bishop of Exeter speaks on healthcare in rural areas

The Bishop of Exeter spoke in a debate on healthcare in rural areas on 23rd February 2023, emphasising the need to address challenges in staff retention in the NHS and the care service:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I begin by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for securing this important debate. We all acknowledge that the NHS is operating under enormous pressure at the present time. Perhaps inevitably, publicity focuses on our inner cities but, as we have been hearing this afternoon, rural communities are also pinch points. My own county of Devon has the second-oldest population in the country. We should not underestimate the challenge, both logistical and financial, of delivering healthcare to an ageing population, particularly in coastal communities and remote rural areas.

In his 2021 report on coastal communities and their patchy provision of medical services, the Chief Medical Officer for England observed that some

“of the most beautiful … and historically important places”,

including in the south-west region,

“have some of the worst health outcomes in England, with low life expectancy and high rates of many major diseases”.

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Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on healthcare in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans took part in a debate on healthcare in rural areas on 23rd February 2023, highlighting issues of age, access and infrastructure:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for obtaining this debate. She is a powerful champion for these issues; we are grateful that she continues to raise them. I also add my thanks to and appreciation of all those who work on the front line in our rural areas. They often have to drive huge distances, sometimes along quite difficult roads; it is not always easy and is certainly not always as wonderful as our memories of remote rural areas from our holidays. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.

Although many people in this country dream of retreating to the rural idyll that is deeply embedded in the English psyche, they do not always realise that, if their dream comes true, they may face many challenges in living in rural areas: poor access to banks and cash; patchy broadband; sporadic mobile signal; virtually non-existent public transport; and little childcare. Then, of course, there is the topic we are exploring today: the stresses on the healthcare system, which is primarily and unsurprisingly designed for an urban context. Rurality faces a unique challenge in the delivery of healthcare, demanding that the Government adopt a clear strategy for improvement. I welcome His Majesty’s Government’s promise to rural-proof our healthcare system; my hope is that that promise will be able to deliver what is needed.

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Retained EU Law Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks on parliamentary sovereignity

The Bishop of Leeds spoke briefly during a debate on the Retained EU Law Bill on 23rd February 2023, highlighting the need for clear definitions of governmental and parliamentary sovereignty:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, the reason these amendments and this debate are important is that one always explores the general by probing the specific to see if it holds water. I wonder if, in that respect, it might be helpful for the Minister and the Committee if he defined in his response parliamentary sovereignty as against executive sovereignty. If we understood that more clearly, we would understand the status and the rationale behind what is proposed in this Bill, which I personally see as unnecessary.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about combatting domestic violence

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the government’s approach to addressing abuse and domestic violence on 23rd February 2023, during a debate on violence against women and girls:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, according to the Office for National Statistics, only 18% of domestic abuse victims report to the police. Can the Minister say whether the Government are taking a whole-system approach to tackling and preventing abuse—through the health system, education and better housing and welfare provision? A whole-system approach is needed.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about funding for UK academia and sciences

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on the funding available to UK science following the loss of funding from programmes such as Erasmus and EU Horizon, following a question on the losses from leaving the Horizon programme on 23rd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, I am hearing what has been said about the EU not following through on its commitments, but our own Government have not done so. Look at the Erasmus programme. Promises were made that, in the interim, facilities would be put in place and there would be no deficit, but there clearly has been. Can the Minister tell us when the scientific community and academia will have some certainty, which is what they need?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about protection for the vulnerable during cold weather

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 23rd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what further steps they will be taking to protect vulnerable people during the cold weather.

Lord Callanan (Con): The Government has set up a number of Energy Affordability schemes to support vulnerable people with the cost of their energy bills during the cold weather. The Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. The Energy Bills Support Scheme provided households with £400 non-repayable Government discount paid in instalments to UK households from October 2022 to March 2023. Households using alternative fuels will be also entitled to a £200 Alternative Fuel Payment.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about government efforts to reduce knife crime

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 23rd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce incidences of knife crime against shop workers.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): The Home Office has provided £130m this financial year (22/23) to tackle and drive down serious violence, including funding for Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and the Home Office ‘Grip’ programme.

We have introduced legislation to tackle these crimes. Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are new court orders introduced via the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 that will give the police the power to stop and search adults already convicted of knife or offensive weapons offences. We will pilot SVROs in four police force areas to build an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of the new orders before making a decision on whether we should introduce them nationally.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about deaths attributed to antibiotic-resistant infections

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 23rd February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many deaths were attributed to antimicrobial resistance in England in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, and (5) 2021.

Lord Markham (Con): The UK Health Security Agency runs national surveillance programmes to collect and analyse data on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Data is reported in the annual English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance report.

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Levelling up and Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Leeds speaks in support of amendment on health disparities

On Wednesday 22nd February 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill in the second day of committee. The Bishop of Leeds spoke in the debate, supporting amendments by the Bishop of London and other peers relating to health disparities:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, at Second Reading, I remember applauding, broadly speaking, the ambitions of the White Paper. However, I share the concerns of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London, who of course brings to this much more experience than I do.

I am pleased that, already, the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, has alluded to the interconnectivity of all these different missions; they cannot be seen in silos or in isolation. For example, if you have children who are turning up at school unfed or living in poor housing, you can try teaching them what you will but it may not be very successful, and that has an impact not only on individuals but on communities and their flourishing.

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