Archbishop of Canterbury pays tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh

On 12th April 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury joined in House of Lords tributes to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had recently passed away:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, it is a privilege to follow four such eloquent speeches from the Front Benches, and it is with great sadness and much sympathy that I convey from these Benches the condolences of the Lords spiritual especially to Her Majesty the Queen, but also to all her family on the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. In thousands of churches and homes around the nation and the world yesterday, as on every Sunday, prayers were said for the Queen. This weekend we have also thanked God for Prince Philip’s life of extraordinary service. There are some rare people who bring energy into a room. As we have already heard, the Duke of Edinburgh was very much one of those people. His presence lifted a gathering. He might have challenged and interrogated, but whatever he said he never bored anyone.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about assistance available for Roma community under EU Settlement Scheme

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assist members of the Roma community to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June; and what assessment they have made of the barriers (1) to obtaining the required documentation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) to accessing, and completing, online applications, experienced by that community.

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Bishop of Coventry asks about conflict in Tigray region

The Bishop of Coventry received the following written answers on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Coventry asked Her Majesty’s Government:

  • what assessment they have made of the statement by the International Council on Monuments and Sites on 5 March that Tigray’s heritage is falling victim to fighting and “cultural cleansing”.
  • what representations they have made to the governments of (1) Ethiopia, and (2) Eritrea, about the need (a) to take immediate steps to prevent any further damage to the cultural sites of Tigray, (b) to safeguard and respect all cultural property in Tigray, and (c) to ensure that looted objects are restored to their communities.
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Bishop of London asks about public health grants for local authorities

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of London asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have (1) to reverse the real terms cuts to public health grants for local authorities, and (2) to maintain the amount allocated for public health grants as a percentage of the total budget of NHS England.

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Bishop of Durham asks about housing and services provided for asylum seekers

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government how many members of staff working for asylum accommodation providers have received the training specified in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Statement of Requirements; and whether training for staff who have face-to-face contact with service users is stipulated in Home Office contracts with providers.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about reports of destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th April 2024:

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

  • what assessment they have made of reports that Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and monuments, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has been destroyed by Azerbaijan during the dispute over that territory.
  • what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan about reports of the (1) destruction of an Armenian church, and (2) destruction of cultural heritage, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
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Bishop of London asks about political situation in Mozambique

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of London asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to facilitate a coordinated response from UK political, economic and faith leaders to the situation in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique; and, in coordinating any such response, how they will take account of the influence of (1) natural disasters, (2) insurgents aligned with Islamic State, and (3) the recruitment of poor and disaffected young people to armed groups in the region.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about rates of forced marriage offences

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 March (HL13499), how many cases were brought forward for (1) forcing someone to marry, and (2) breaching a forced marriage protection order, under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017, (e) 2018, (f) 2019, and (g) 2020.

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Bishop of Winchester asks about impact of research funding cuts on UK aid to developing countries

The Bishop of Winchester received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of Winchester asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cuts to UK Research and Innovation funding on (1) the role of the UK in supporting the global health response to COVID-19, and (2) the capacity of the UK to provide expertise to assist international development as proposed in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

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Bishop of London asks about potential mental health risks of asthma drug

The Bishop of London received the following written answer on 12th April 2021:

The Lord Bishop of London asked Her Majesty’s Government what recommendations have been made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regarding the prominence of warnings concerning mental health risks associated with the use of Montelukast in children; and what is the timescale for implementation of any such recommendations.

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