The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 23 May (HL4639), when the findings of the feasibility study on the possibility of developing prevalence estimates for female genital mutilation and forced marriage will be published.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about violence against women”
The Bishop of Chelmsford received the following written answer on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage sustainable packaging for all medication distributed by the NHS, including sustainable alternatives to plastic blister packs for pills.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chelmsford asks about sustainability in medication distribution”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 24 May (HL4084), whether they will consider reinstating funding for the Air Quality Grant Scheme and, if not, what plans they have to better deliver positive outcomes for local air quality and public health.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab, DEFRA): No decisions have been made yet on the future of the Air Quality Grant.
The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answers on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report, Carer’s Allowance Overpayments, published by Carer’s UK on 26 July.
Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about government approach to carer’s allowance”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 2nd September 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:
On 26th July 2024, the Bishop of Newcastle spoke in a debate on a report from the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, ‘Cutting crime: better community sentences (1st Report, Session 2023–24, HL Paper 27)’, on the topic of community sentences and the opportunity for reform of the justice system towards a more rehabilitative model:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: My Lords, I am glad to take part in this debate and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, for enabling the report on community sentencing to be discussed in this House. It is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, and I commend her point about changing the public narrative.
I also welcome the Minister to his new role and commend his excellent maiden speech, delivered on Wednesday, for which I was pleased to be present, and the wisdom and expertise that he brings to his new role. I wish him very well indeed. I also commend him on the way he dealt with repeating a Statement from the other place and taking questions before he had delivered that maiden speech. If I may use a word borrowed from my primary field of expertise, this was a baptism-by-fire experience.
Continue reading “Bishop of Newcastle raises potential of community sentences for reform and rehabilitation in the justice system”The Bishop of Chichester spoke in a debate on a report from the Education for 11 to 16-year olds Committee, ‘Requires improvement: urgent change for 11–16 education (Session 2023–24, HL Paper 17)’ on 26th July 2024, welcoming the report and highlighting the importance of religious education and the Church of England’s role as an educational provider:
The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, and the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, who have participated in the excellent report chaired by the group led by the noble Lord, Lord Johnson.
I welcome the priority that has been given to the review of the curriculum for 11 to 19 year-olds at an early stage of the Government coming into office. In particular, I welcome the report of the review group and how it will “refresh” the curriculum,
“build on the hard work of teachers and staff”,
and seek “evolution and not revolution”.
These are important indications that education will not be driven by ideology that leads to it becoming a political football, as sometimes has happened in the past.
In particular, the promise that the review will not
“place undue burdens on education staff”
will need to be delivered ostentatiously, particularly if the Government wish to improve the recruitment and retention of top-quality teachers. To that end, I greatly welcome also the acknowledgement of
“the innovation and professionalism of teachers”.
Continue reading “Bishop of Chichester speaks in debate on education in the UK”The Bishop of Worcester gave his valedictory speech on issues facing the field of international development, in particular the problem of debt, during the Kings Speech Debate on 25th July 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I join others in welcoming the Ministers to the Front Bench and begin this valedictory speech by saying what a privilege it has been to serve in your Lordships’ House for the last 12 years. I thank all noble Lords and staff on the estate for all they do and their hard work.
After my maiden speech, a fellow Peer asked me how it had gone. “Oh, they were very nice and kind”, I responded. “Yes”, he retorted; “I have never known a place where courtesy is used as such an effective weapon”. I have experienced much unweaponised courtesy and civility here. I have consistently encountered humanity at its best, and I thank your Lordships, whatever their political affiliation, for their impressive devotion to the common good.
In this final intervention, I will concentrate my brief remarks on development issues, which have been a passion of mine throughout my adult life. While I recognise the imperative for defence spending and the need to be ready for war, I hope that the Government will pay equal attention to development, which is an indispensable contributor to peace and human flourishing.
Continue reading “King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Worcester makes valedictory speech on the topic of international development”The Bishop of Winchester gave a speech on the topic of freedom of religion and belief during the King’s Speech debate on 25th July 2024, encouraging the government to take “a faith literate approach to foreign affairs”:
The Lord Bishop of Winchester: My Lords, I am grateful for the noble Baroness’s remarks at the start and am pleased that the Government have expressed a desire to reset the UK’s international relations. If the UK is to exercise the soft power that we undoubtedly might, not least through proper investment in the BBC World Service, it is vital that we are as fully engaged internationally as we can be. In that regard, I stress the vital importance of freedom of religion or belief—or FoRB for short, because it is a mouthful—in today’s world. It is a vital human right, and its increasing abuse is a growing global threat.
Continue reading “King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Winchester urges “faith literate” approach to foreign affairs”During the King’s Speech Debate on 25th July 2024, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a speech on foreign affairs and international relations, emphasising the importance of engaging with faith groups:
The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: My Lords, I join noble Lords in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and the noble Baroness, Lady Anderson, on their appointments and on their party’s first King’s Speech. As a successor to the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, the noble Baroness has a very hard act to follow indeed, as I am sure the whole House will recognise. I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, on her remarkable meal, which, as I missed breakfast, may result in me leaving quickly to have lunch—but it will not be as good.
As others have indicated, we are living in unstable times. The Anglican Communion, in 165 countries, finds almost half our members facing conflict. Issues elsewhere in the world, however, do not confine themselves to affecting us in our international policy alone. We are recognised now by the United Nations as the most diverse nation on earth. That means that every single overseas conflict or disaster has a diaspora community here. To build a cohesive society here, domestic and foreign policy must work hand in glove.
Continue reading “King’s Speech Debates: Archbishop of Canterbury stresses importance of engaging with faith groups in international affairs”
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