Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 14th June 2022:
Justin Madders MP (Labour): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether any properties owned by the Church of England are being used under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Continue reading “Church Commissioners Written Answers: Homes for Ukraine”On 13th June the House of Lords continued to debate the Government’s Schools Bill in committee. The Bishop of Chichester spoke in the debate, on behalf of the Bishop of Durham, introducing and responding to a number of amendments:
The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, I speak on behalf of my colleague, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, and declare his interest as chair of the National Society.
Continue reading “Schools Bill: Bishop of Chichester speaks on amendments at committee stage”
On 13th June 2022, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question regarding food security and carbon emissions – the Bishop of Southwark spoke on his behalf:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects on food security of allowing corporations to purchase arable land to offset their carbon emissions; and what plans they have to limit the amount of arable land that can be used for this purpose.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who has been unavoidably detained in his diocese and sends his apologies.
Lord Benyan (Con, Under-secretary of State – Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs): My Lords, I declare my farming interests as set out in the register. This Government are committed to safeguarding food security, as highlighted by the food strategy published today. I am very conscious of the issue raised, and we already have several protections in place, such as requirements for public consultations on any large new woodland as part of environmental impact assessments. I am also working closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury and BEIS to develop robust standards for green finance investments, and will set out the next steps in the forthcoming months.
Continue reading “The Bishop of St Albans asks about food security”
On 13th June the House of Lords continued to debate the Government’s Schools Bill in committee. The Bishop of Bristol spoke in the debate, on behalf of the Bishop of Durham:
The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, I speak in place of my colleague, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham, who unfortunately cannot be present today. I declare his interest as chair of the National Society.
I rise briefly to welcome Amendment 40 in this group, which offers real clarity on the issue. We welcome the recognition it shows that the religious body must be involved in giving an interim trustee notice to the proprietor of an academy school with a religious character. We are grateful for the Minister’s continued work on this and hope this might provide a little encouragement at this point.
Continue reading “Schools Bill: Bishop of Bristol speaks on amendments in committee”On 9th June 2022, the Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the escalating cost of living:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too want to thank the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, for his excellent introduction to the debate. I was not going to say much about social capital. Like others, I was brought up on Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone and reading his excellent work. I notice that the noble Lord’s analysis was very much on the economic aspect. From my perspective of having responsibility for over 400 churches across two counties, the voluntary aspect is also an important part of that work.
One of the things that I have observed over the last 40 years is that the decline in social capital is due to a whole lot of reasons, which we really ought to debate in this House, including things such as the Government’s attempts to professionalise volunteers. It has become increasingly difficult to find people to help. As an organisation that is running numerous food banks, debt advice centres, lunch clubs and breakfast clubs for children who are not going to get breakfast before school, we are very eager to be part of this, but it has got more difficult for us to deliver it. I must not stay on that too long, or I will be over my time.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans speaks in a debate on the cost of living”On 9th June 2022, the House of Lords debated the issue of travel disruption at UK airports and ferry ports. The Bishop of Chichester spoke in the debate:
The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Davies, for initiating this important debate. I speak from the experience of working to support the chaplaincy of Gatwick Airport—I was glad to hear the Minister speak so positively of her experience of coming through it recently. However, like so many other parts of the aviation industry, the airport was dealt a harsh blow by the Covid pandemic. Many staff who were foreign nationals, though receiving furlough payments, went back to their home countries and have not returned to work in the UK. This affected the security department, hospitality industry and the hotels especially, and it has had a devastating effect on the economic life of the town of Crawley, which was already in receipt of investment from the towns fund as part of the Government’s levelling-up programme.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chichester speaks in a debate on travel disruption”The Bishop of Gloucester asked the following question on 9th June 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, in this important issue of violence against men and boys as well as against women and girls, addressing the drivers of violence is as important as responding to it downstream. Can the Minister give an assurance that work is being done to focus on a holistic preventive framework for all domestic and sexual violence, as in Victoria, Australia?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about male victims of crime”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 9th June 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government:
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 9th June 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): The requested data, correct as of 31st March 2022, is provided in table form below [linked below].
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about women in prisons”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 8th June 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked Her Majesty’s Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 years or older, have accessed primary care mental health services in each of the last 10 years.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about mental health services in prisons”
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