Gloucester – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of Gloucester asks about refugee and migrant victims of domestic abuse

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 9th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government:

what support is available for those on a student or visitor visa who become subject to domestic abuse whilst residing in England.
what plans they have, if any, (1) to extend the destitution domestic violence concession (DDVC) to six months, and (2) to widen the eligibility to all migrant survivors of domestic abuse.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority for this Government. Information on support for victims can be found on the Domestic abuse: how to get help(opens in a new tab) page on GOV.UK, or through Government’s ‘Enough’ campaign.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about the cost of living and domestic violence refuges

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 9th January 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government how they intend to support refuges for victims of domestic violence to afford necessities such as utility bills, given the increased cost of living.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con): Refuges provide vital services for victims of domestic abuse who need to flee their home. DLUHC is committed to the delivery of safe accommodation with support for all victims of domestic abuse, as part of the Government’s overall Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about Healthy Start Scheme – Correction

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following correction to a written answer on 14th December 2022:

Lord Markham (Con): I would like to amend a written answer that I gave to the House on the 7 November 2022.

An incorrect figure was provided in my reply to HL2636, which was asked by The Lord Bishop of Gloucester. The question was: “To ask His Majesty’s Government how many recipients of Healthy Start vouchers are not in receipt of prepaid cards despite remaining eligible for the scheme.”

The reply stated that “The NHS Business Services Authority estimates that as of 18 October 2022, there were 2,954 households previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme. “

However, it has since been brought to my attention that the figures supplied by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) had a typographical error. The answer should have stated that “the NHS Business Services Authority estimates that, as of 18 October 2022, there were 42,954 households which previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme.” I apologise that the incorrect figures were inadvertently supplied.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about Royal Commission on Criminal Justice

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bellamy on 28 November (HL Deb col 1561), what plans they have to announce (1) the timeframe, and (2) the terms of reference, for the Royal Commission on the criminal justice process, as announced in the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa, with a view to HIV prevention

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa, during a debate on government plans to combat HIV, tabled for World AIDS day on 1st December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women are three times more likely to acquire HIV than adolescent boys and men. Can the Minister say what is being done to fund programmes which help to keep girls in education, which we know reduces their vulnerability to HIV by up to 50%?

Bishop of Gloucester asks about updating domestic abuse guidance to include the definition of immigration abuse

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on immigration abuse on 1st December 2022, during a debate on violence against women and domestic violence:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, do the Government plan to include the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s definition of immigration abuse in policy and guidance on domestic abuse?

Bishop of Gloucester asks about school development

The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question about government plans to implement parts of the Schools Bill, during a debate on improving the education system on 30th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, the Schools Bill was partly intended to remove barriers to enable church schools to fully embrace the journey towards academisation. Given that there has been no further progress on that Bill, what plan do the Government have for introducing the legislative parts of that Bill that were broadly agreed and are needed to secure the development of all schools?

Bishop of Gloucester responds to Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

The House of Lords debated the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 29th November 2022

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, growth is good and necessary, and it is clear that money does not grow on those proverbial trees. We find ourselves in extremely challenging times, and it seems to me that some of the measures that are set out in the Autumn Statement are prudent and necessary to rebalance the budget. I thank the Government for their desire to focus on supporting the poorest households, which is right and just, including their decision to increase benefits in line with inflation. Yet I have a number of concerns. I want to use my time to focus on just two key issues: first, food and feeding people, and, secondly, the criminal justice system. I declare an interest both as a trustee of Feeding Britain and as Anglican Bishop for prisons in England and Wales.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about implementation of the Lammy Review

On 28th November 2022, the Bishop of Gloucester asked what progress the government had made towards implementing the recommendations of the 2017 Lammy Review:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards implementing the Lammy Review, published on 8 September 2017.

Lord Bellamy (Con, Ministry of Justice): My Lords, the Lammy Review, which the Government warmly welcomed, made 35 recommendations and the Government undertook actions in respect of 33 of them; only two others relating to the judiciary were left on one side. We have now completed 29 out of the 33, and outstanding actions continue in respect of the remaining four. Since the Lammy Review in 2017, our work has evolved considerably and the Government’s Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March this year, is central to this work.

Bishop of Gloucester asks about calls to the Healthy Start Scheme helpline

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 16th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what were the (1) average, and (2) longest, waiting times for calls made to the Healthy Start helpline in each of the most recent six months for which data are available.

Lord Markham (Con): The following table shows the average and longest waiting times in hours, minutes and seconds for calls to the Healthy Start helpline in each of the last six months for which data is available:

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