Tag: Leicester

Bishop of Leicester asks about impacts of welfare reform

The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the government’s planned welfare reforms and the DWP’s report on a resultant increase in relevant poverty on 27th March 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I appreciate the work that the Government are doing to stimulate the economy and to get people back into work. I understand the dilemma that the Government face with the spiralling costs of welfare. But I am left to wonder: how is it that the DWP’s own impact assessment, which I understand includes the £1 billion investment that the Minister referred to, does also state that 250,000 people will be pushed into relative poverty, including 50,000 children? How can the Government of one of the richest countries in the world justify policies that push people into poverty?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about impacts of welfare reform”

Bishop of Leicester asks about reasonable adjustments in the workplace

The Bishop of Leicester asked a question on reasonable adjustments for those with disabilities in the workforce on 9th January 2025, during a discussion on assessments of eligibility for benefits claimants:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, the Government have made clear their ambition to get more people with health conditions and disabilities into work. What plans are in place to ensure employers consistently implement the reasonable adjustments required of them in the Equality Act and do not discriminate against disabled people?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about reasonable adjustments in the workplace”

Bishop of Leicester encourages government to support interculturalism and welcome refugees, as demonstrated by the Ukraine scheme

On 25th October 2024, the Bishop of Leicester took part in a debate on the situation in Ukraine, promoting the use of the Ukraine scheme as a model to foster a sustainable way of welcoming all refugees and compassionately supporting their integration in the wider community:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, it is a sad truth that as wars go on, public attention often dissipates. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and other noble Lords for reminding us that while coverage of the war in Ukraine has waned, daily suffering there has not, so our moral responsibility continues.

While others have focused on this responsibility in terms of military support, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on another very important and positive aspect of our response to the war, in the hope that the new Government will build on its successes. As noble Lords will be aware, the Ukraine family scheme and the Ukraine sponsorship scheme, set up in March 2022, were two of the only legal routes for people seeking asylum in the UK. More than 200,000 visas were issued to Ukrainians, and thousands of families from across the political spectrum offered their homes to those fleeing the war.

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester encourages government to support interculturalism and welcome refugees, as demonstrated by the Ukraine scheme”

Bishop of Leicester asks about preventing delays of EHCPs for looked-after children

On 24th October 2024, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question preventing delays and unnecessary duplications when looked-after children move from one area to another and the new local authority is obligated to review their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP):

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, as I understand it, the situation for looked-after children—who, as we know, have a much higher proportion of EHCPs and SEND—is that, when they move from one area to another, the new local authority has to conduct a review of the EHCP. This causes further unnecessary delays. Can the Minister confirm that, as part of the review of current provision, this unnecessary duplication will be addressed?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about preventing delays of EHCPs for looked-after children”

Bishop of Leicester asks about the impact of the current benefits system on children

On 21st October 2024, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the impact of the current benefits system on children from lower-income families:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, in his review, Sir David Bell looked at the attainment gap between children from less privileged and more privileged backgrounds. Can the Government commit to ensuring that the ministerial taskforce on child poverty will look at the impact of the current benefits system on children from lower-income families?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about the impact of the current benefits system on children”

Bishop of Leicester speaks in debate on sustainable development

The Bishop of Leicester took part in a debate on global conflict and the UN sustainable development goals on 17th October 2024, raising the need for increased understanding and cooperation across faith groups and communities:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, for securing this debate in advance of the Budget, which is due to be delivered in a fortnight’s time. Undoubtedly, that Budget will involve difficult decisions and sacrifices. It is easy to lose sight of how very fortunate we are as a nation when compared with many others around the world.

As noble Lords have mentioned, the UN has warned that progress towards the sustainable development goals has ground to a halt and in some cases been reversed. Over the last year, the prospect of achieving the 16th sustainable development goal of

“peaceful and inclusive societies”

for sustainable development, and

“access to justice for all”

has seemed even further out of reach as war in the Middle East has become broader and deeper, and multiple conflicts in Africa have also worsened.

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester speaks in debate on sustainable development”

Bishop of Leicester asks about tackling online abuse and prejudice

On 5th September 2024, during a discussion on the ability of current online safety legislation to regulate abuse, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on the need to tackle the root causes of prejudice leading to online abuse, and the role communities and faith groups can play in helping to combat it:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I recognise absolutely the urgency and importance of legislation in this area, but does the Minister agree that equally important is the work of tackling the prejudice that lies behind online abuse, and the important role therefore of intermediate institutions such as community groups and faith groups in tackling prejudice? What are the Government doing to support those groups in that work?

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about tackling online abuse and prejudice”

Bishop of Leicester asks about rollout and funding of family hubs in the UK

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 17th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 29 April (HL3846), what plans they have to (1) roll out Family Hubs to the remaining 242 local authorities, and (2) sustain the funding for the Family Hubs programme beyond 2025.

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about rollout and funding of family hubs in the UK”

Bishop of Leicester asks about evaluation of the two-child benefit cap

The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 10th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 24 April (HL3765), what plans they have to collect data to evaluate the success of the two-child benefit cap, especially in relation to the statements in the 2015 Impact Assessment which suggest the two-child limit would (1) encourage parents to consider their readiness to support an additional child, (2) help people move into sustained employment, and (3) provide incentives to have fewer children.

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about evaluation of the two-child benefit cap”

Bishop of Leicester asks about possibility of establishing limited safe route to the UK for persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan

The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on the use of UK aid to support minorities in Pakistan on 25th April 2024, highlighting the cases of Christians facing persecution in the country and the possibility of establishing a route for small numbers of Pakistani Christians to seek asylum  in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for securing this debate, and I commend his tireless campaigning over the years for the UK to defend and support the rights of minorities in Pakistan. I will focus on two specific issues raised with me by members of the large Pakistani heritage community in Leicester: first, the plight of Christians forced to work as gutter cleaners with no personal protective equipment; and, secondly, the need for a small, safe and legal route for persecuted minorities to come to the UK.

Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about possibility of establishing limited safe route to the UK for persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan”