On 15th December 2016 the Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, received a written answer to a question on relations between Rwanda and Burundi:On 15th December 2016 the Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, received a written answer to a question about those removed from the UK to the Democratic Republic of Congo:
On 13th and 14th December 2016 the Bishop of Winchester, Rt Rev’d Tim Dakin, received responses from the Department for Education and Treasury to three written questions about overseas student numbers and their effect on the economy:
The Lord Bishop of Winchester To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of overseas students, excluding EU students, coming to study in the UK over the next five years. Continue reading “Bishop of Winchester asks about overseas student numbers and effect on the economy”
On 20th December 2016, Lord Best moved that the House “take note of the Report from the Communications Committee Press Regulation: where are we now? (3rd Report, Session 2014–15, HL Paper 135)”. The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, who is a member of the Communications Committee, spoke in the debate.
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Best, for bringing this debate to the House and for his wise and winsome chairing of the Select Committee on Communications. I speak as a member of that committee. I was not part of the committee that produced this report—that illustrates just how long it has taken for it get here—so I also thank my predecessors on the committee for all their work.
However, as the report makes clear and as has been well illustrated by the contributions so far, the situation is far from satisfactory and questions to government remain unanswered. As the noble Lord, Lord Best, has already explained, in the past few weeks the committee has again been burrowing into the detail of the issues and considering the present impasse. I shall not go over those details again; the noble Lord outlined them superbly, but I think that we could conclude that the carrot is not very tasty and the stick seems so severe that it is unlikely ever to be wielded. Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford: in a ‘post-truth’ era, proper regulation can offer newspapers salvation”
On 13th December 2016 the Government’s Digital Economy Bill was debated at its Second Reading in the House of Lords. The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev’d Peter Forster, contributed to the debate, focusing on issues in Part 3 of the Bill relating to online pornography and social media.
On 13th December, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Sharkey, asked Her Majesty’s Government “what assessment they have made of the United Kingdom’s performance in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment rankings published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development”. The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Donald Allister, asked a follow up question:
The Lord Bishop of Peterborough My Lords, is the Minister aware that, in a number of the countries that have much higher academic standards at secondary school level, particularly those in the Far East—I know the story of South Korea quite well—there is also a much higher suicide rate among teenagers? Does he agree that our schools need to help people learn in ways that they enjoy and are healthy holistically, and that schools should encourage a love of learning rather than a fear of failure?
On 13th December, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, received two written answers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to questions about the President of Burundi.
The Lord Bishop of Durham To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the security situation in Burundi in the light of the recent attack on presidential aide, Willy Nyamitwe. Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about UK engagement with President of Burundi”
On 20th December, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, received an answer to a written question conerning the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many refugees have been resettled through the Syrian vulnerable person resettlement scheme and community sponsorship scheme in each region of the UK. Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks Government about resettlement of Syrian Refugees”
On 12th December 2016 four bishops took part in three votes on amendments to the Government’s Policing and Crime Bill at its Report Stage in the House of Lords. Continue reading “Votes: Policing and Crime Bill”
On Tuesday 13th December 2016, UKIP Peer Lord Pearson asked the Goverment “whether, as part of their strategy against Islamic terrorism, they will encourage United Kingdom Muslim leaders to re-examine the Muslim tenet of abrogation.” The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow up question. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans highlights need to build positive relationships with faith communities”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.