The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about safe and legal routes for those seeking asylum

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question concerning safe and legal routes for people seeking asylum in the UK, during a debate on the government’s migration policy and partnership with Rwanda on 20th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in the recent Statements, and in the Prime Minister’s comment piece in the Telegraph, there was a stated commitment to create more safe and legal routes, but no information was given on the timeline or the proposed numbers, and there was no indication of the sorts vulnerabilities that have been identified. The Rwanda partnership is one among many deterrence policies, but the worry is that, in the absence of safe routes, it seems very unlikely that that will be sufficient. When will the Government bring forward plans and proposals for these additional safe and legal routes?

Bishop of St Albans asks about upholding free speech in universities

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on upholding freedom of speech in universities on 20th December 2022, following discussion of an attack on protestors at the Chinese consulate in Manchester:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, as was said, this is part of a much larger testing of what we do in this country. This is also being lived out and spelled out in our university campuses, where meetings are sometimes being disrupted, people are being shouted down and freedom of speech is under threat. What advice and support are being given to our universities to ensure that these vital values are upheld in our country?

Bishop of St Albans pays tribute to House of Lords staff and those who have left the House

On 20th December 2022, the Bishop of St Albans paid tribute to the House of Lords staff, and to those who had retired and left the house this year:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I will not detain the House for long but, on behalf of the Lords spiritual, we thank all those extraordinary staff who, through their dedication, have served us so well. I am thinking of the clerks, the doorkeepers, and the catering, security and domestic staff. We really could not function without them and the extraordinary level of professionalism and dedication that they bring.

I will not go through a list of people, although I highlight—because she was a huge help to me— Philippa Tudor and her extraordinary competence and professionalism. We on these Benches also extend our best wishes to the family and friends of Lee Barnes. We offer all those who have been mentioned today our best wishes as they move either into retirement or on to new challenges, and we wish them a very happy Christmas.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about investment education for young people

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on whether the government was promoting education on finances and investments for young people on 20th December 2022, during a debate on the regulation of cryptocurrencies:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, following the collapse of FTX there is great concern at just how volatile this sector is. Many young people presume that, because it is called a currency, it is more stable than it really is. I am told that, if you go online, you will find young people talking about eye-watering amounts of money that they have made and others have lost. What are His Majesty’s Government doing to educate younger people about proper investment understanding, so that they are aware of the risks they are taking if they enter this market?

Bishop of St Albans asks about detention of author Xing Hongwei in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the detention of Xing Hongwei in China.

Bishop of Durham asks about child poverty in the North East of England

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers of 19th December 2022:

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

further to the Department for Work and Pensions annual official statistics ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021’, what assessment they have made of the reasons for the increase in (1) the number of, and (2) the proportion of, children living in relative poverty in every local authority area of the North East between 2014/15 and 2020/21.
further to the Department for Work and Pensions official statistics ‘Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021’, what assessment they have made of the reasons for the increase in (1) the number of, and (2) the proportion of, children living in absolute poverty in every local authority area of the North East in every year since 2017/18.
what recent discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on child poverty.

Bishop of St Albans asks about marriage tax allowances

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

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

what plans they have to increase the marriage tax allowance.
what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the current rate of marriage tax allowance in supporting couples financially.
what financial assistance they are providing to couples who (1) are getting married, or (2) have recently married.

Lord Harlech (Con): The Marriage Allowance (MA) is designed to recognise marriage, and the commitment it entails, in the tax system. The MA is targeted at married couples and civil partners where one partner earns below the Personal Allowance (PA) and the other is a basic rate taxpayer. In 2022-23 the MA is £1,260 and is worth up to £252 per year.

The transferable amount has been fixed at 10 per cent of the Personal Allowance since it was introduced in 2015. Setting the value of the allowance considerably higher would increase the cost and the Government must ensure the tax system supports strong public finances.

Bishop of St Albans asks about human rights of children in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of children detained in prisons in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The treatment of juvenile offenders in Iran falls short of international standards. The Iranian judicial system is deeply flawed with frequent and well-documented violations of fair trial rights. The use of death sentences against minors is also a regular occurrence. Because of the lack of transparency of the Iranian judicial system, it is difficult to calculate with accuracy the number of children detained in Iran. In recent months, we have observed a significant increase in the rate at which children are arrested and a disproportionate number who have died during the protests. This was also noted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 October. The UK will continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account for its actions.

Bishop of Durham asks about Help to Save scheme

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of expanding the Help to Save scheme to all Universal Credit claimants and broadening points of access to include credit unions and other providers of low-cost credit.

Lord Harlech (Con): Help to Save aims to support individuals to kickstart a regular, long-term savings habit and build a rainy-day savings fund by providing a generous government bonus on savings over four years.

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