Bishop of St Albans asks Government about plans to tackle antisemitic hate crime

On 11th February 2020 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a question he had tabled to Government on plans to tackle antisemitism. The response, his follow-up question and those of other Members is below:

Hate Crime: Anti-Semitism

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to address antisemitic hate crime.

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Bishop of Leeds asks Government for strategy to resurrect Victorian mill buildings

In the House of Lords on 11th February 2020, Baroness Pinnock asked the Government “what plans they have to bring back into use empty Victorian mills in the Pennine area of the North of England.” The Bishop of Leeds, Rt Revd Nick Baines, asked a follow up question:

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Bishop of Winchester asks about college financial monitoring

On 11th February 2020 the Bishop of Winchester, Rt Revd Tim Dakin, received an answer to a written question on college financial monitoring:
The Lord Bishop of Winchester:  HL1235 To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the review by Dame Mary Ney into college financial monitoring, commissioned in August 2019.

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Bishop of Southwark questions Government policy of deporting foreign national offenders with longstanding roots in UK

On 10th February 2020 Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford, repeated a Government statement made in the House of Commons on planned deportation flights to Jamaica. The Bishop of Southwark, Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, asked a follow up question:

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Week in Westminster, 3rd-7th February 2020

This week in Parliament the Bishop of Blackburn was introduced to the House of Lords, and the Second Church Estates Commissioner Andrew Selous answered questions from MPs on LGBT+ equality, civil partnerships, church buildings, church schools and universities, HS2, Christians in Nigeria, and youth workers. Andrew also spoke about persecuted Christians overseas in a House of Commons debate.

The Bishop of Southwark praised the community response to the terror attack in Streatham, and also asked Government about the aim and intent of newly proposed counter-terrorism laws. He also asked questions about freedom of religion and belief policy in international development, and access to cash machines in the poorest areas.

The Bishop of Oxford spoke in a debate on climate change, the Bishop of Carlisle highlighted the need for more investment in adult social care, and the Bishops of Carlisle and Portsmouth spoke in the Second Reading debate of the Government’s Divorce Bill, expressing concerns about the provisions.

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question about food security and scarcity in areas of East Africa affected by locusts, and also on fly-tipping. The Bishop of Durham asked a question about universal credit, and the Bishop of Leeds received answers to written questions to Government about security of Christians and freedom of religion and belief.

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Andrew Selous raises persecution of Christians in House of Commons debate

On 6th February 2020 the House of Commons debated a Government motion “That this House has considered the matter of the persecution of Christians.”. The Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, spoke in the debate. The full text of the debate can be seen on the Hansard website.

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Bishop of Oxford on climate emergency and work of church

In his letter to the whole world in 2015, Pope Francis notes how

“the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor”.​

Our response must be nothing less, he argues, than an “ecological conversion” of every person and every part of society. Responding to the current emergency is the responsibility of every family, workplace, village, town and city, company and public institution.

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Bishop of Carlisle speaks on need for investment in adult social care

On 6th February 2020 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Hunt of King’s Heath, “That this House takes note of the National Health Service’s performance in relation to its priority area targets; and the impact of adult social care pressures on patients of the National Health Service, and their safety.” The Bishop of Carlisle, Rt Revd James Newcome, spoke in the debate:

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Bishop of Southwark asks about freedom of religion and belief policy in international development

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Introduction of the Bishop of Blackburn

On Thursday 6th February 2020 the Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Revd Julian Henderson, was introduced to the House of Lords, sponsored by the Bishops of Carlisle and St Albans.

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