The Church of England in Parliament

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Church Land, Environment, Persecuted Christians (Africa and China), Women in Ministry, Equality, Energy

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs on 1st December 2022:

Jim Shannon MP (DUP): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church is taking steps to plant more trees on its land in rural areas.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): During 2021 the Church Commissioners planted approximately 2 million trees across their land holdings. In 2021 the Commissioners also purchased land in Wales with the intention of establishing a new woodland of c.85,000 new trees (subject to the grant of planting permissions).

Bishop of St Albans asks about data from NHS Gambling Clinics

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 1st December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Markham on 16 November (HL3261) and 17 November (HL3260), why they do not have the data requested; and what plans they have to collect such data.

Lord Markham (Con): The information requested is currently collected by service rather than by clinic. In 2023/24, NHS England plans to report data from all National Health Service gambling services through the Mental Health Services Dataset.

Bishop of Southwark asks about delayed resolutions to asylum applications

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 1st December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government, following the publication of figures by the Refugee Council on 14 October, how many applications for asylum have not had an initial decision reached for more than five years; and what factors have led to delays of that length.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): The Home Office is unable to state how many applications for asylum have not had an initial decision reached for more than five years because the Home Office does not publish this information.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about school development

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question about government plans to implement parts of the Schools Bill, during a debate on improving the education system on 30th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, the Schools Bill was partly intended to remove barriers to enable church schools to fully embrace the journey towards academisation. Given that there has been no further progress on that Bill, what plan do the Government have for introducing the legislative parts of that Bill that were broadly agreed and are needed to secure the development of all schools?

Bishop of Gloucester responds to Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

The House of Lords debated the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 29th November 2022

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, growth is good and necessary, and it is clear that money does not grow on those proverbial trees. We find ourselves in extremely challenging times, and it seems to me that some of the measures that are set out in the Autumn Statement are prudent and necessary to rebalance the budget. I thank the Government for their desire to focus on supporting the poorest households, which is right and just, including their decision to increase benefits in line with inflation. Yet I have a number of concerns. I want to use my time to focus on just two key issues: first, food and feeding people, and, secondly, the criminal justice system. I declare an interest both as a trustee of Feeding Britain and as Anglican Bishop for prisons in England and Wales.

Bishop of St Albans asks about Russian drone attacks against Ukraine

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s assessment of Russia’s use of drone attacks in Ukraine on 29th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Russia’s use of drone attacks against Ukraine.

Baroness Goldie (Con): My Lords, Russia’s forces are resorting to striking Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, especially the power grid. It should be noted that these facilities have no direct military role, but the impact is multiplying the misery of ordinary Ukrainian citizens. Notably, these strikes are partially being conducted by one-way-attack unmanned aerial vehicles—so-called kamikaze drones. These weapons are being provided by Iran, another sign of the strategic degradation of Russia’s military.

Bishop of Southwark asks about effectiveness of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 29th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the seasonal workers’ scheme.

[This answer is a correction from the original answer.]

Lord Callanan: The Seasonal Worker visa route was specifically designed to support the horticulture sector in the United Kingdom where growers typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks.

Bishop of Southwark asks about reductions in manufacturing output in the UK

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 29th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reduction of 2.3 per cent in manufacturing output for the three months to September 2022 compared to the previous three months; and the impact of this reduction on economic activity.

Lord Callanan (Con): Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise in global energy prices and supply chain issues have strained all corners of the UK economy including manufacturing.

Bishop of Exeter asks about crime prevention in rural areas

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 29th November 2022:

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

what assessment they have made of the rising levels of crime and low conviction rates in rural areas.
what consideration they have given to setting up rural crime units.
what steps they are taking to increase the conviction rate for rural crime.
what guidance they plan to issue to farmers to protect themselves from violent crime.

Lord Benyon (Con): The Statistical Digest of Rural England, published in August 2022 by DEFRA, states “average crime rates (police recorded crime) are lower in rural areas than urban areas”. However, we recognise that some crimes are unique and specific to rural areas.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about implementation of the Lammy Review

On 28th November 2022, the Bishop of Gloucester asked what progress the government had made towards implementing the recommendations of the 2017 Lammy Review:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards implementing the Lammy Review, published on 8 September 2017.

Lord Bellamy (Con, Ministry of Justice): My Lords, the Lammy Review, which the Government warmly welcomed, made 35 recommendations and the Government undertook actions in respect of 33 of them; only two others relating to the judiciary were left on one side. We have now completed 29 out of the 33, and outstanding actions continue in respect of the remaining four. Since the Lammy Review in 2017, our work has evolved considerably and the Government’s Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March this year, is central to this work.

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