On 3rd July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the second day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
Votes: Illegal Migration Bill
Tag: Exeter
Bishop of Exeter asks about diseases and invasive insects affecting the health of trees
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 19th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of acute oak decline in the UK; and what steps they are taking to minimise its impact.
Lord Benyon (Con): We have a dedicated programme of risk and horizon scanning, which continuously and proactively assesses emerging threats to plant health and the potential impact on the UK.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about diseases and invasive insects affecting the health of trees”Bishop of Exeter asks about land use by solar farms
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 6th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government:
- how many acres of agricultural land which were previously being farmed were given over to solar farms in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
- what assessment they have made of the impact on UK food security of giving over farm land to solar farms.
Lord Benyon (Con): Defra has previously published statistics for the amounts of land changing use during individual years from 2013 to 14 through to 2017 to 2018. The Department intends to provisionally publish similar figures for the three year period 2019 to 2022 using a revised methodology during June or July 2023, however, the figures are not detailed enough to provide the information requested.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about land use by solar farms”Bishop of Exeter asks about land use and diseases affecting trees
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many acres of agricultural land which were previously being farmed were set aside for rewilding in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
Lord Benyon (Con): The Government does not instruct farmers to ‘set aside’ land for rewilding. We are phasing out subsidies so that we can invest the money in policies that work for farm businesses, food production and the environment. We are co-designing our reforms with farmers and, as we said in the Agricultural Transition Plan, the intention of our environmental land management schemes is to be flexible and to provide more choice and control to farmers.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about land use and diseases affecting trees”Bishop of Exeter asks about restoring railways in South West England
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 10th May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each month for the past year.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Below is a table that shows how many passengers on the Dartmoor Line used the re-opened Exeter to Okehampton railway in each rail period from April 2022 onwards.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about restoring railways in South West England”Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Exeter supports amendments prioritising emergency services in infrastructure planning
On 3rd May 2023, the House of Lords debated the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill in committee. The Bishop of Exeter spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord Greenhalgh, seeking to ensure that emergency services are considered during planning and reform:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I rise in support Amendments 324, 329, 342, 346, 347, 351, 352 and 360 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Greenhalgh, and to which I have added my name. They concern planning reform and the emergency services.
A robust and effective planning process is essential for the flourishing of our communities. A key aspect of this is to ensure the adequate provision of emergency services. I welcome the fact that the Bill has included emergency services in the definition of infrastructure under Schedule 11, but, historically, this has not always been the case. It remains the fact that local authorities are not obliged to take into account the views and concerns of the emergency services.
Continue reading “Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Bishop of Exeter supports amendments prioritising emergency services in infrastructure planning”Bishop of Exeter asks about horticultural exports
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what was the total amount of exports from the horticultural sector in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, (3) 2020, (4) 2021, and (5) 2022.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about horticultural exports”Bishop of Exeter asks about greenhouse gas emissions associated with dairy farming
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage dairy farmers to undertake a Greenhouse Gas Protocol audit.
Lord Benyon (Con): In the Net Zero Growth Plan, we have committed to developing a harmonised approach to measuring carbon on farms and will set out how we will support farmers to undertake carbon audits by 2024.
Bishop of Exeter asks about animal welfare standards in international trade
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 17th April 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the differences in environmental and animal welfare standards in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the impact of these differences on British farmers, given the UK–Australia and UK–New Zealand free trade agreements.
Lord Benyon (Con): The Government has been clear that any access to UK markets agreed through trade agreements will be fair and reciprocal, taking into account sectoral sensitivities and differences in food production standards. For example, within the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement we secured the exclusion of pork, chicken and eggs from tariff liberalisation reflecting the importance of animal welfare to the UK and the level of trade between Australia and the UK on these products.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about animal welfare standards in international trade”Bishop of Exeter asks about broadband supply to rural and unconnected areas
The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 24th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the 500,000 properties currently unable to access a broadband service running at a minimum of 10Mbps via a fixed line will be able to access broadband.
Viscount Camrose (Con): The Government has set out its plan to deliver Project Gigabit, our £5 billion mission to deliver fast, reliable broadband across the UK, and we are making good progress. Our target is for 85% of UK premises to have access to gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and over 99% by 2030. This will include some premises currently unable to access more than 10Mbps.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about broadband supply to rural and unconnected areas”
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