rural affairs – Page 3 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans urges government to ensure that farmers are included in discussions on the climate change agenda

On 24th October 2024, the Bishop of St Albans took part in a debate on the impact of the climate agenda on jobs, growth and prosperity, urging the government to consult farmers in the pursuit of the climate change agenda and pledge a renewed and improved agricultural budget of at least £4 billion per year:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, for securing this important debate. I am looking forward very much to the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady May, who I know will bring great insight and experience to your Lordships’ House. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.

We need to take climate change extremely seriously. I commend the previous Government, and indeed some of the plans of the present Administration, for the steps they have taken and are taking. I support the plea by the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, for open and transparent costs of net zero so that we can make informed choices; that seems fundamental to all that we do in every part of our work. Other noble Lords will be able to speak in a more informed way than I can about the positive impact that net zero can have on the economy, not least in terms of jobs in new and emerging sectors such as renewable energy. It will also offset the negative economic impacts that climate change brings with it, such as droughts, pollution and ill health.

Bishop of St Albans asks about enabling rural connectivity

On 23rd October 2024, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question about enhancing rural connectivity to increase rural productivity and promote rural sustainability:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, a recently published economic report by Pragmatix has identified the extraordinary gap between urban and rural productivity, including on homeworking, exacerbated by the problem of rural connectivity. Is the Minister aware of some of the local solutions that are now being tried? We are involved in some of those, for example with hosting antennae in church spires and towers and bouncing signals into more remote areas to enable homeworking and to increase productivity. Would he be willing to support some of these important initiatives for the sake of rural sustainability?

Bishop of St Albans highlights need for investment in rural communities

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on government priorities for rural communities on 15th October 2024, raising the need for concentrated investment in key sectors such as housing in rural areas:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for getting this debate and I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, on his excellent speech. I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition.

Rural communities make up nearly 20% of the population. That is similar to the number of people living in London, yet our biggest metropolis, among others, often feels far more integral to our policy and governance than our rural communities do. Rural communities are not just the responsibility of Defra; they are a significant proportion of our population, businesses, services and economy, and they cut across every government department. The specific impacts and challenges of policy rollout in rural areas need to be baked into the decision-making process of every single government department—not an afterthought but integral to the development of policy from the very beginning. Rural concerns are so often given to Defra which, while it has the lead on rural affairs, has very few of the levers necessary to bring about change. The sustainability of our rural communities should be of critical concern to us all, regardless of where we live.

Bishop of St Albans asks about rural crime

On 12th September 2024, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on the government’s assessment of the NFU Mutual’s recent rural crime report:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of NFU Mutual’s Rural Crime Report 2024, published on 1 August.

Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab, Home Office): I begin by thanking the National Farmers’ Union Mutual for its report. Rural crime can have a devastating effect on, and consequences for, countryside communities and the agricultural sector. That is why the Government are committed to reducing crime in rural areas. Under our proposed reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour and strengthen neighbourhood policing, as well as stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

Bishop of St Albans asks about drop in poaching prosecutions

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 2nd September 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 21 March (HL3214) what assessment has been made of the drop in prosecutions for poaching in England, from 107 in 2019 to 34 in 2023.

Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab, DEFRA): The Government recognises the problems and distress which poaching can cause for local communities. Tackling it is one of the UK’s national wildlife crime priorities.

Kings Speech Debate: Bishop of St Albans speaks on rural and environmental concerns

On 18th July 2024, the Bishop of St Albans gave a speech on issues affecting rural communities during the debate on the Kings Speech, also welcoming the new government’s plans to fight pollution in waterways:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition and add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, on her new role.

As a long-term advocate for rural areas and the people who live and work in them, I know that our farmers and rural communities are uniquely placed to deliver the Government’s missions of clean energy, increased building and the need to protect and restore our environment. Rural communities and rural businesses play an absolutely crucial role in the economic and social fabric of our country.

I welcome His Majesty’s Government’s plans to introduce measures to tackle pollution in our rivers, lakes and waterways. In my diocese of St Albans, covering Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, we are home to several of this country’s beautiful chalk streams, which, despite being extraordinarily rare and precious habitats, have been utterly devastated by both extraction and pollution. For example, the River Ver in Hertfordshire has been found to have six times higher levels of E. coli than is acceptable in bathing water. Between March and June this year, sewage was discharged directly into the River Ver for more than 2,400 hours.

Bishop of St Albans asks about damage caused by use of sling-shots in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that slingshots are being used to cause damage to vehicles and local wildlife in rural areas.

Bishop of St Albans asks about local government finance in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 15th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

what assessment they have made of the adequacy of core funding for delivering rural services; and what plans they have to create equitable funding between rural and urban councils.
what consideration they have given to extending the Rural Services Delivery Grant to all rural councils in future years.
whether they plan to fully implement the changes to the Needs Assessment component of the funding formula made in 2013; and subsequently whether they will increase funding to rural councils to reflect inflation in the years since these changes were made.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con, DLUHC): The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country. Furthermore, we recognise the importance and difficulties of councils serving dispersed populations. That is why we have increased the value of the Rural Services Delivery Grant by over 15%, from £95 million to £110 million in 2024-25. This is the highest increase since 2018-19, and the second successive year of above-inflation increases.

We last calculated the Settlement Funding Assessment in 2013/14. The Government is committed to reforming the local government funding landscape in the next Parliament to deliver simpler, fairer and longer settlements.

The Rural Services Delivery Grant is allocated to local authorities ranking in the top-quartile of sparsely populated areas in England, using the Government’s ‘Super Sparsity’ measure. The methodology is unchanged from 2023-24 and any funding decisions beyond the 2024-25 financial year are a matter for the next Spending Review.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about illegal hare coursing

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the issue of illegal hare coursing during a discussion on rural crime on 9th May 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, it is recognised that one niche area of rural crime by organised crime groups is laundering money through events such as illegal hare coursing, which is causing a huge problem. We were very grateful for the recent support of the Government in trying to bring an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, but is the Minister sure that the new police and crime commissioners not only understand the problem but have the right training in place so the law can be implemented?

Bishop of St Albans asks about sustainable farming and countryside stewardship programmes

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

when they will publish further information on the combined Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship offer.
when farmers will be able to apply for the new combined Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship offer.
when guidance for the Sustainable Farming Incentive online application portal will be set out.
when farmers in existing Higher Level Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements can transfer to the new offer.
when the new Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship actions can be added to areas already in the Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement, particularly in upland areas where the HLS agreement has a linked Upland Entry Level Stewardship agreement.

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