On 17th October 2024, the Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that removing VAT on defibrillators would have on the national rollout effort.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about impact of removing VAT on defibrillators”On 16th October 2024, the Bishop of Oxford took part in a debate on a report from the Environment and Climate Change Committee EV strategy: rapid recharge needed, urging the government to work to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and to ensure parity and fairness in the emerging sector:
The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, I too warmly welcome this debate as a member of the committee that produced the report. I pay tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, for her introduction to the debate and her very careful, wise and gracious—and patient—leadership of the committee in its first three years.
My experience of serving on the ECC Committee across the three years was that each of the challenges we addressed proved to be both more significant and more complex than we first appreciated. It was a tremendous learning curve. Each issue had multiple questions and problems associated with it and needed complex solutions. That was clearly the case with the EV report before the House today.
Some very good work has been done by the previous Government, manufacturers and local authorities, but much more needs to be done—and urgently—to keep this transition on track. I would highlight that need for urgency in the transition. As the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, has just said, the effects of climate change across the world are accelerating, as all of us in this Chamber recognise, often affecting those who have least, who are least resilient and whose emissions in the present and in the past have been lowest across the world.
Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford urges government to commit to accelerating transition to electric vehicles”The Bishop of Norwich asked a question on ensuring provision of supplies to Gaza’s al-Ahli Hospital on 16th October 2024, following a government statement on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Lebanon:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, just over a year ago I was in Gaza, three days before Hamas’s evil attacks, visiting the Anglican-run al-Ahli hospital. Today that hospital is the only functioning hospital in northern Gaza, but it is weeks since it has been supplied. What are His Majesty’s Government doing to ensure that healthcare supplies are getting into Gaza and in particular that al-Ahli hospital, which is doing the incredible work of healing, is supplied?
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about provision of healthcare supplies into Gaza”On 16th October 2024, the Bishop of Sheffield asked a question on the potential risks of changes to laws around marriage celebrants undermining the solemn nature of marriage:
The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, on these Benches we would welcome humanist wedding ceremonies being given legal status, but the recommendations of the Law Commission go beyond that and would create a free market celebrant-based approach to the wedding industry. I gather that Humanists UK shares our concern that such a move could undermine the solemn nature of marriage, which is never a trivial transaction. Given this unlikely alliance between the Lords spiritual and Humanists UK, can the Minister confirm that the Government will not enact the recommendations of the Law Commission without considering carefully the impact of a further commercialisation of weddings?
Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield asks about risks of changes to marriage celebrant legislation”The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answers on 16th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of introducing a minimum floor for Universal Credit so that benefit deductions and the benefit cap do not push people into financial hardship.
Continue reading “Bishop of Norwich asks about support for low income households”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 16th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve survival rates for those who have out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about improving survival rates for cardiac arrests”The Bishop of Newcastle received the following written answer on 16th October 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government:
The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on government priorities for rural communities on 15th October 2024, raising the need for concentrated investment in key sectors such as housing in rural areas:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for getting this debate and I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, on his excellent speech. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.
Rural communities make up nearly 20% of the population. That is similar to the number of people living in London, yet our biggest metropolis, among others, often feels far more integral to our policy and governance than our rural communities do. Rural communities are not just the responsibility of Defra; they are a significant proportion of our population, businesses, services and economy, and they cut across every government department. The specific impacts and challenges of policy rollout in rural areas need to be baked into the decision-making process of every single government department—not an afterthought but integral to the development of policy from the very beginning. Rural concerns are so often given to Defra which, while it has the lead on rural affairs, has very few of the levers necessary to bring about change. The sustainability of our rural communities should be of critical concern to us all, regardless of where we live.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans highlights need for investment in rural communities”The Bishop of Sheffield spoke in a debate on the Infected Blood Inquiry on 15th October 2024, querying whether the government would establish a wide reaching duty of candour and the need to tackle a defensive culture in the public sector:
The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for scheduling this vital debate and for this opportunity to contribute to it. I follow other noble Lords in expressing my gratitude to Sir Brian for his comprehensive report and my deep sorrow at the distress suffered by the infected and affected alike, with many cases ongoing.
Continue reading “Bishop of Sheffield speaks in debate on Infected Blood Inquiry”
On 15th October 2024, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on the rise in religious hate-crimes:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government, further to reports that religious hate crime has increased, what steps they are taking to tackle religious hate crime and strengthen community cohesion in the UK.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about tackling religious hate-crime”
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