The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 27th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish details of how the £150 million funding for local authorities to support people on Ukraine visa schemes into longer term accommodation will be allocated.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about funding for local authorities supporting Ukrainian refugees”On 24th March 2023, the Bishop of Durham moved that his Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill should pass through the House of Lords in its third reading. The Bill was approved and passed to the House of Commons.
Motion
The Lord Bishop of Durham: That the Bill do now pass.
My Lords, I request your Lordships’ patience for a few minutes as I make a few remarks. I express my deep gratitude to all those who have supported this Private Member’s Bill and the effort to remove the two-child limit. I thank those across all Benches who have contributed during the passage of the Bill. I particularly thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, who, for much of the time I sought to highlight the wrong of the two-child limit, was the Minister who had to respond. She was always willing to engage and debate with me. We did not reach agreement, but I publicly thank her for the way that she worked with me.
I recognise particularly the work of the Child Poverty Action Group, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the North East Child Poverty Commission, and their staff, who have provided valuable support and encouragement throughout this process. I publicly thank my two parliamentary assistants who have worked with me on the Bill, Emily King and Becky Plummer. They have been superb. I also thank Kim Johnson MP, who has agreed to take the Bill forward in the other place, and many other MPs who have already promised their support.
Continue reading “Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Bishop of Durham moves to pass bill”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 23rd March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust report An Essentials Guarantee: Reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times, published on 27 February, what assessment they made of the recommendation contained in that report to “introduce an Essentials Guarantee” to ensure those on Universal Credit are not going without essential items.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about universal credit and free school meals”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 21st March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report An Essentials Guarantee: Reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times, published on 27 February, which found that “95 per cent of people on Universal Credit facing debt deductions are going without essentials”, what steps they are taking to prevent debt from being (1) generated, and (2) sustained, in the social security system.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about prevention of debts for universal credit recipients”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 21st March 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many children are currently eligible for free school meals but have not yet made a claim.
Baroness Barran (Con): The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming free school meals (FSM). This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, over one third of pupils receive a free meal in school.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about free school meals claims”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 10th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government when people who arrived in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme will be able to be re-matched with hosts who offer their homes through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): This department is not responsible for the Ukraine Family Scheme route. Details of re-matching for Homes for Ukraine arrivals are available online on gov.uk.
The Bishop of Durham asked a question about protection for children and unaccompanied minors arriving in the UK on 8th March 2023, following the government’s announcement of the planned Illegal Migration Bill:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I return to the Statement, rather than the Bill, which we will spend hours debating in due course. There was a lot in this Statement that worried me, but what worried me even more was that there was no reference whatever to children, unaccompanied children and their protection in this whole process. Can the Minister comment on why nothing was said about that in the Statement?
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about protection for children arriving in the UK”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 6th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what barriers they have identified to increasing the number of people who could be resettled through the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): We have not made an assessment of the barriers to increasing the number of people who could be resettled through the Mandate Resettlement Scheme.
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about refugee resettlement”The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 28th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government:
The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 22nd February 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to trial an Emergency Resettlement Mechanism that is wider than existing schemes as originally proposed in the New Plan for Immigration, published on 24 March 2021.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: An Emergency Resettlement Mechanism would allow the government to provide urgent protection in exceptional circumstances to refugees referred by UNHCR as being in need of rapid emergency resettlement. The UK already works alongside the UNHCR to resettle refugees through its existing resettlement schemes; these include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about emergency resettlement scheme”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.