On 16th September 2016 the Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, received a written answer to a question on aid to tackle inequality in Rwanda:Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about inequality in Rwanda”
On 16th September 2016 the Bishop of Durham, Rt Revd Paul Butler, received a written answer to a question on aid to Burundi:
On 15th September 2016 Lord Kennedy of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government “what action they are taking to reverse the decline in home ownership.” The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow-up question:
On 15th September 2016 the Bishop of Rochester, Rt Revd James Langstaff, received a written answer to a question on vetting of prison chaplains:Continue reading “Bishop of Rochester asks about extremism vetting process for prison chaplains”
On Wednesday 14th September 2016, Lord Taverne asked the Government “whether, in their negotiations to leave the European Union, they will seek to preserve the United Kingdom’s membership of the single market.” The Lord Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question.
Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, many parts of our country are deeply concerned about the negotiations, not least the farming community, as evidenced by the Back British Farming demonstration going on outside. We produce food of the highest quality, by environmental and welfare concerns, of almost anywhere in the world. For the sake of our health, our livestock and the environment, can the noble Lord assure the House that Her Majesty’s Government will be very careful to ensure we will not be flooded with cheap imports of food produced to much lower standards than that which our excellent farming industry produces? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks if Brexit will lead to cheap and low quality food imports”
On 13th September 2016, Lord Haskell asked the Government whether the Pension Protection Fund will be able to meet its obligations to pensioners. The Lord Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow up question.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: Perhaps I may push the Minister a little more. I totally accept that the value of pension funds goes up and down according to a number of factors, but recent statistics show that 56 of the FTSE 100 companies had a combined pension deficit of £42.3 billion, which was up from £25 billion in the previous year—so growing fairly steadily. Just last year those FTSE companies were able to pay out dividends of £53 billion—a sign of their success. Does the Minister think that those companies have the balance right between shareholders and employees? If not, will the Government consider doing something about it to ensure that their responsibilities are taken more seriously? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about growing pension deficits of FTSE100 companies”
On 12th September 2016 Baroness Massey of Darwen asked the Government “how they will respond to the unpublished report on the effectiveness of the Troubled Families programme.” The Lord Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow-up question.
Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, one of the successes of this programme, which I have seen in a number of places, has been to try to get proper co-ordination. With so many different silos addressing this and so many resources going to a limited number of families, one success has been the way that progress has been made by bringing real focus and integration. Can the Minister assure us that that lesson has been learned and that we will continue to see how we can get movement on this relatively small but very problematic and difficult group, and find the way forward? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans calls for better coordination to improve Troubled Families programme”
On the 9th September 2016 the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received an answer to three written questions about state pensions of British citizens overseas.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review their policy of freezing state pensions of British citizens residing in overseas countries, where there is no existing reciprocal social security arrangement in place. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about state pensions for British citizens overseas”
Welcome to the Church of England’s weekly round-up of activity in Parliament.
This week bishops in the House of Lords led a debate on banking reform and spoke in debates on school admissions and civil society. Bishops also paid tribute to the departing Lord Speaker and asked questions on executive pay, children at the Calais refugee camp and pensions for UK nationals living abroad. Church Commissioner questions were answered on children in care and churches in Blackburn. Answers to questions tabled during the parliamentary recess on religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Bangladesh were also published. Continue reading “Church of England Week in Westminster, 5th-9th September 2016”
On 8th September 2016, Lord Lucas led a short debate on the question to Her Majesty’s Government: “what plans they have to support parents in navigating schools’ admissions arrangements”. The Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, contributed to the debate.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, for bringing this Question to the House for debate. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Ely normally takes the lead on these matters but he is unable to be here today, so I want to make just a few comments. The subject of admissions is a complex one. As a child’s education is so vital and important, not surprisingly it often leads to impassioned responses. That can be true of the subject of admission to church schools, on which I know that several Members of this House have expressed opinions in the past. Before I turn directly to the topic of faith-based admissions, which your Lordships will not be surprised I wish to address, I would like briefly to set out some points by way of context. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on school admissions”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.