Bishop of Leeds, Bishop of St Albans, and Bishop of Winchester ask about conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Bishop of Leeds, the Bishop of St Albans, and the Bishop of Winchester received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

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

  • what military support they are providing to the government of Rwanda for (1) training, (2) technology, (3) tactics, and (4) weapons licensing, and whether they have reviewed these arrangements following the support by the government of Rwanda for M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • what financial support, debt relief and development assistance they are providing to Rwanda, and what steps they will take to review these arrangements as a result of the support by the government of Rwanda for M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Bishop of Gloucester asks about situation in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government, in the light of the resumed fighting in Gaza, what plans they have to ensure access to humanitarian aid and a return to a ceasefire.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and domestic abuse

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between domestic abuse and victim suicide.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about cosmetic procedure licencing and problem gambling services

The Lord Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 7 November 2024 (HL1998), when they intend to publish feedback to the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about energy costs and global warming

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the publication in Environmental Research Letters on 31 March of Reconsidering the macroeconomic damage of severe warming, what assessment they have made of the finding that global warming will have a significant negative impact on the size of the global economy.

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Bishop of Leeds asks about attacks on religious communities and places of worship in Ukraine by Russian forces

The Bishop of Leeds received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of reported attacks on religious communities and places of worship in Ukraine by Russian forces on freedom of religion or belief in that country.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about safety of internet communities

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:

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

  • what assessment they have made of the threat posed by online communities known as Com networks.
  • what steps they are taking to tackle the risks posed by online communities to teenage boys, and what assessment they have made of the role these play in encouraging sexual and physical abuse, violence and extremism.
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Archbishop of York asks about work of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan

The Archbishop of York received the following written answer on 12th April 2025:

The Lord Archbishop of York asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan advocating for the continued operation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the country.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about impact of US tariffs on vulnerable populations

The Bishop of Southwark asked a question on the need to protect the vulnerable in the event of economic downturn on 3rd April 2025, following a government statement on UK-US trade and tariffs:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his cautionary words in the other place, repeated here, about eschewing simplistic solutions and “loud voices”, following the imposition of these arbitrary and unwarranted tariffs, and to the shadow Secretary of State for advocating cool heads. That is vital.

Does the Minister agree that, if the impact of this very regrettable development is to depress economic activity—which is all too likely, sadly—there needs to be a priority assigned to protect the most vulnerable in this country from its effects? Will she further comment on any co-ordinated action with other countries to mitigate the effects on those territories, particularly in the Commonwealth, whose economic resilience is far less than our own?

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Bishop of Southwark emphasises importance of meeting environmental targets

The Bishop of Southwark spoke in a debate on the affordability of the net-zero emissions target on 3rd April 2025, advocating for continued pursual of the 2050 goal of net-zero emissions:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, this is a timely debate. I am very glad to be able to speak in it. I am reminded that the preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes says:

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven”,

including—I dare to mention in your Lordships’ House—a time to speak and a time to keep silence.

For the Church, increased costs have a material effect on what we can do, but I am as reluctant as anyone else to tilt at windmills or turbines. Not only the scientific consensus about human activity and climate but the dramatic changes of one’s lifetime—expanding deserts, retreating glaciers, rising sea temperature, extreme weather events—lead me to believe that this is a situation where the option is not “when”, or even “what”, but “how”. As with other great crises, we must shoulder the burden, and it is a challenge to our political leadership to share this task. In the Church of England, we have an exceptionally challenging target set by General Synod of achieving net zero by 2030. The national Church has ring-fenced £190 million to support its churches and clergy housing towards this goal.

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