rural affairs – Page 7 – The Church of England in Parliament

The Bishop of St Albans asks about food security

On 13th June 2022, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question regarding food security and carbon emissions – the Bishop of Southwark spoke on his behalf:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects on food security of allowing corporations to purchase arable land to offset their carbon emissions; and what plans they have to limit the amount of arable land that can be used for this purpose.

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who has been unavoidably detained in his diocese and sends his apologies.

Lord Benyan (Con, Under-secretary of State – Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs): My Lords, I declare my farming interests as set out in the register. This Government are committed to safeguarding food security, as highlighted by the food strategy published today. I am very conscious of the issue raised, and we already have several protections in place, such as requirements for public consultations on any large new woodland as part of environmental impact assessments. I am also working closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury and BEIS to develop robust standards for green finance investments, and will set out the next steps in the forthcoming months.

Bishop of Chichester asks about access to electric vehicles in rural areas

The Bishop of Chichester asked a question on 6th June 2022, during a debate on supporting access to electric vehicles:

The Lord Bishop of Chichester: My Lords, can the Minister indicate whether the Government will pay particular attention to promoting access to electric vehicles in rural areas, which are already disadvantaged by a lack of adequate public transport?

Bishop of St Albans asks about the rural economy

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by the APPG for Rural Business and Rural Powerhouse Levelling Up the Rural Economy: An Inquiry into rural productivity, published on 27 April.

Bishop of St Albans asks about productivity in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to close the 18 per cent productivity gap in rural areas.

Lord Benyon (Con): Latest statistics show rural areas in England contributed over £260 billion to our economy in 2019. There are over half a million businesses registered in rural areas.

There are many successful rural businesses, providing high levels of employment, and vital supply chains. However, we know that productivity in some rural areas has fallen behind other parts of the country.

Bishop of St Albans speaks in a debate on international agreements

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the Working Practices – International Agreements Committee Report on 19th May 2022:

My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. Although I am not a member of this committee, I am very grateful for this report and enjoyed reading it, including its stress on the role of Parliament, not just in approving what has been decided but in the issues we are discussing now.

I found the previous speech very helpful. Why is there such reluctance to allow Parliament—both its Houses—to engage at a much earlier stage? This House is renowned for its extraordinary levels of experience, both in international diplomacy and negotiation and in the actual substance of many of the areas in which we are trying to get treaties and memoranda of understanding. Surely all it will do in the long run, if we can simply go ahead and give Parliament time, is to allow that experience to come out and be brought together. This is precisely what we should be doing.

Queen’s Speech: Bishop of St Albans speaks about rural affairs and levelling up

On 11th May 2022, the House of Lords debated the Queen’s Speech. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I, too, welcome Her Majesty’s Speech and the Government’s commitment to implementing the levelling- up agenda; although, as other noble Lords have, I note the Secretary of State’s comments about the difficulties of levelling up in a period of high inflation.

The scope of the Government’s 12 levelling-up missions is ambitious, but they now need to be accompanied by a determination to deliver them, which will be costly. Cautious as the Government may be about fulfilling these mission statements, expectations are high among those in left-behind communities, even if, to date, some of the most deprived areas are still not receiving the funding that they had hoped for and expected. The BBC programme has been referenced by others; it was telling when we looked at how the money has so far been allocated.

Bishop of St Albans asks about broadband access in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th April 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of rural communities’ access to reliable broadband on the fiscal wellbeing of businesses in those areas.

Bishop of St Albans asks about rural health in the Integration White Paper

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on references to rural health in the the Integration White Paper on 10th February 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interests as a vice-president of the Local Government Association and president of the Rural Coalition. I want to pick up very briefly on what the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, said about rural issues. It is disappointing that there are no explicit references to rural health. One of the concerns of the APPG on Rural Health and Social Care parliamentary inquiry was the way in which inappropriate data, metrics and funding formulas can disadvantage rural areas. National programmes are one thing, but when they are delegated to local areas how are we going to ensure that they are properly rural-proofed and will integrate both health and care?

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports restrictions on hare coursing

On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, supporting amendments that would place restrictions and penalties on hare coursing (hunting hares with dogs):

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. It is a great delight to stand in the House and congratulate the Government on tabling these amendments to address this very serious rural problem of hare-coursing, which has affected so many landowners and farmers across these islands. In particular, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe of Epsom, who really listened to the debate, when people from every part of the Chamber spoke. I know that he has taken that back to others. I am hugely grateful to him for doing that.

Bishop of St Albans asks about measures to prevent rural crime

The Bishop of St Albans asked the government to provide a timetable for legislation to reduce crimes affecting farmers and rural communities, during a debate on the economic viability of small farms on 9th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. Of course, one of the things that is really affecting the viability of small family farms is rural crime: theft of equipment, fly-tipping and, in particular, hare-coursing. As the Minister knows, we have been trying to bring forward amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which Her Majesty’s Government are resisting. They have the enthusiastic support of the NFU, police from all around the country and Members from every side of this House, so will the Minister tell us the timetable to introduce provisions to try to deal with this very harmful crime?

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