The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 26th October 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what the school attendance rates are in (1) Leicester, (2) Leicestershire, and (3) nationally, broken down in each case by (a) primary, (b) secondary, and (c) special schools; and how these rates have changed since 2019.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about school attendance”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answers on 17th October 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked when they expect to publish a response to the report by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change, published on 17 July.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about family courts”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on Thursday 21st September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the National Audit Office’s report on the Government’s Asylum and Protection Transformation Programme.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): The NAO report into the Asylum & Protection Transformation Programme fully recognises the significance of the transformation programme, and the efforts of the Home Office to reform the asylum and protection system.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about report on UK Government Asylum and Protection Transformation Programme”The Bishop of Leicester spoke in a debate on the Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain and what steps the UK the government will take to ensure the success of the Accords on 14th September 2023, emphasising the need for supporting communication between faith communities in the UK as well as abroad:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I add my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Polak, for securing this short debate and my admiration and gratitude to all those who have supported and championed the Abraham accords all across the Middle East and beyond. They are truly an historic achievement, and I applaud the courage of all those who seek to bring peace to this long-troubled region. I add my thoughts and indeed prayers for the people of Morocco as well.
Noble Lords have already mentioned a number of reasons for why the accords are so significant for the region as well as for the UK. I wish to add to this debate my observation that, at the same time as supporting peace efforts in the Middle East itself, we must be proactive in addressing the tensions which conflict in the Middle East can cause here in the UK. We saw an example of this during the May 2021 Gaza conflict, when there was a steep increase in hate crimes committed against both Muslims and Jews in this country. We cannot presume, therefore, that peaceful coexistence between Jewish and Muslim communities will come about automatically in the UK simply because we are at a geographical remove from the Middle East. It is by no means impossible, but it does not come of its own accord.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about long-term strategy for supporting interfaith relations in UK”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 14th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the value of the Inter-Faith Network, and (2) the risks of withdrawing funding from the Network.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about the UK Inter-Faith Network”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answers on 27th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost of using and converting (1) RAF Scampton, (2) MDP Wethersfield, (3) the Northeye site, and (4) the Bibby Stockholm barge for asylum-seeker accommodation; and what assessment they have made of the value of the contracts to the agencies managing these sites.
Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): The United Kingdom has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation and other support whilst their claim for asylum is being considered.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about management of the UK asylum system”On 30th March 2023, the House of Lords debated the need for more supported housing resources. The Bishop of Leicester spoke in the debate, highlighting the benefits of supported housing in reducing homelessness and referencing the work of local services in Leicester diocese:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness for securing this debate and bringing to the Committee’s attention the excellent report by Imogen Blood and the University of York for the National Housing Federation.
I would like to use this opportunity to highlight in particular the work of one organisation in Leicester, with which I have had the privilege of working. I will highlight some of the points made in the aforementioned report and also in Homeful, a report by Professor Jo Richardson of De Montfort University in Leicester.
For several years, One Roof Leicester operated a night shelter, providing emergency accommodation for those who would otherwise be sleeping rough. Indeed, it was credited as running the first interfaith night shelter in the UK; for three months, it rotated between multiple places of worship. It then began to offer supported housing for people experiencing homelessness, and the outcomes have been so positive that it has now moved over fully to that model.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester speaks in debate on the need to provide more supported housing”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 15th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to support (1) an international pledging conference to encourage humanitarian assistance to the East Africa region, and (2) negotiations for the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): The UK is working closely with our partners to raise the profile of the crisis in East Africa to help secure a broad base of donor funding. We are considering all options on how best to do this, building on our existing life-saving aid, international partnerships and work to ensure a robust response from humanitarian and development actors.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about humanitarian aid to East Africa”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 9th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government what proportion of eligible households on prepayment meters in (1) Leicester, and (2) Leicestershire, have redeemed their Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers.
Lord Callanan (Con): The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) for Great Britain publishes transparency data on gov.uk. These show that across October, November and December 2022, 71% of issued vouchers were redeemed in Leicester Local Authority (LA), and 76% in the LAs comprising the rest of Leicestershire. Full breakdown in the table below.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about households on pre-payment energy meters”The Bishop of Leicester received the following written answer on 9th March 2023:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they are evaluating the impacts of the various household support schemes delivered by county councils and unitary authorities.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con): Local Authorities have the local ties and knowledge, making them best placed to identify and help those most in need. County Councils are expected to work together with District Councils to provide support and to ensure the funding meets its objectives by identifying those most in need.
Authorities provide management information to DWP which has been used for all the various household support schemes to evaluate how successful The Fund has been in providing support to households.
Continue reading “Bishop of Leicester asks about impact of household support schemes”
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.