Tag: Durham

Bishop of Durham asks about implementation of children’s charter

The Bishop of Durham tabled a question on whether the government plans to implement the recommendations of the Coram’s Charter for Children on 16th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Coram’s Charter for Children, and what steps they plan to take to implement its recommendations to create better chances for children.

Baroness Barran (Con, Department for Education): My Lords, we welcome the publication of Coram’s Charter for Children and are grateful for its work in supporting children, young people and families. All children need love and stability to be happy and to grow up capable of fulfilling their potential. The Government are committed to prioritising the needs of children, ensuring that their best interests are at the centre of policy- and decision-making.

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Bishop of Durham asks about methods to tackle poverty

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on local development to tackle poverty on 15th January 2024, during a discussion on government plans to promote the end of absolute poverty through global development aid:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, very helpfully, in the White Paper there was an emphasis on the importance of locally designed and led development for tackling absolute poverty, and there was a promise of a strategy for reaching that. What stage is it at, and when will that strategy be seen?

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Bishop of Durham asks about rates of child poverty in the UK

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 10th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UNICEF report Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth, published on 6 December, and its conclusion that of the 39 OECD and EU countries featured in the report, the UK has seen the largest increase in child poverty since 2014.

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Bishop of Durham asks about treatment of detainees under immigration control

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 19th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government how many residents of MDP Wethersfield are able to pass freely to and from the site; what is the schedule of the minibus service available; and what assessment they have made of the amount of time residents are able to be away from the site each day based on that schedule.

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Bishop of Durham asks about cultural value of the BBC

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the cultural value brought to the UK by the BBC on 12th December 2023, following a government statement on the BBC licence fee:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: Will the review look at what the BBC generates for the nation, as well as what goes in? Arguably, it generates far more money than the £3.8 billion, but this cannot be reduced to just an economic debate. Will what the BBC generates in good will around the world and our standing as a nation, because of what it does, be taken into consideration?

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Bishop of Durham asks about role of faith leaders in Israel & Gaza

On 12th December 2023, the Bishop of Durham asked a question on the involvement of faith leaders in diplomatic conversations on the situation in Israel & Gaza:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, this tragic situation is also caught up in the complexity of the religious faiths of the region. In what way are faith leaders involved in the diplomatic conversations to seek to bring peace?

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Bishop of Durham asks about potential for community sponsorship scheme for Afghan refugees

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the potential for community sponsorship, similar to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, to allow Afghan refugees to come to the UK on 12th December 2023, during a discussion on the threat of deportation faced by former Afghan special forces soldiers currently in Pakistan:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interest as a trustee of Reset, as laid out in the register. The British population have a lot of sympathy with these Afghans. What work has been done to learn the lessons from Ukraine and see what levels of community sponsorship might be offered to such Afghans who qualify under these schemes, and to welcome them here? I recognise that this is a Home Office question, so I understand if the Minister needs to write.

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Bishop of Durham speaks in debate on Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the government’s immigration partnership with Rwanda

The Bishop of Durham spoke in a debate on what steps the government are taking to promote the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 11th December 2023, stressing the dangers of the potential incompatibility of the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum & Immigration) Bill with the UDHR:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay of St Johns, for securing this debate, and for the way in which she has stood for these issues for many years.

The United Nation’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a milestone in the history of our world. It marked a global commitment to put human beings above conflict, above the politics of division and above economic gain, granting each individual dignity without discrimination. Though we are 75 years on, promoting the human rights laid out in the declaration remains as vital today as it was in 1948.

The principles and values of human rights lie in the conviction that each human being is unique, made in the image of God and loved by God. Each person is valuable for who they are, not what they are able to do. Thus it applies to every infant and child, and to every frail elderly person, as much as to those who are regarded as wholly fit and able.

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Bishop of Durham asks about banking in the north-east of England

The Bishop of Durham asked a question on the rate of new banking hubs, and the effects of the diminishing number of post offices in the north-east of England, during a debate on bank branch closures and the opening of new hubs on 11th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that last answer. However, in the north-east, only one banking hub has been opened this year and there is a diminishing number of post offices, so it is quite hard to see how the post office network is actually helping in the north-east.

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Bishop of Durham asks about conditions in the UK immigration and detention system

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 11th December 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a progress report on the implementation of recommendations from the Brook House Inquiry report, published on 19 September.

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