St Albans – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans calls for diplomacy to be matched with action on Uyghur population in China

“what moral authority will we lose, and what price will the Uighurs pay, if we do not do all in our power, whatever the cost, to confront these dreadful atrocities that are unfolding in front of our eyes?”

In the House of Lords on 25th November 2021 Peers debated a Motion from Lord Alton of Liverpool, “That this House takes note of the reported remarks of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs that a genocide is underway against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, China.”

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for his tireless work in this area. I also share with him a sense of frustration—I feel as if I have stood up so many times as we have engaged with this issue, yet it seems that we are not able to confront it in a way that is really making a difference. Despite all our hopes of human progress, it is quite extraordinary that here we are, at the start of the 21st century, witnessing events such as we see and which are now well documented. There is no doubt that they are going on.

Bishop of St Albans asks questions about rights and treatment of Armenians in Azerbaijan

25th May 2021.

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report that the Azerbaijani military blocked Russian peacekeepers accompanying Armenian pilgrims to the Dadivank Monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh, what representations they have made to the governments of (1) Azerbaijan, and (2) Russia, to ensure the continued rights of Armenians to practise their religion in sites located in the territory ceded to Azerbaijan. [HL91]

Bishop of St Albans asks about gambling harm and affordability checks

25th May 2021

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the six recommendations in the report by the Centre for Social Justice Not a Game – A call for effective protection from the harms of gambling’, published in May, in creating a co-operative framework for effective affordability checks. [HL373]

Bishop of Blackburn asks Government about fire safety costs for leaseholders

On 24th May 2021 the Bishop of Blackburn asked a question on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans, on fire safety costs for leaseholders.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the (1) current, and (2) future, incidence of leaseholder bankruptcies attributable to remedial fire safety works and interim fire safety costs.

The Lord Bishop of Blackburn: My Lords, on behalf of my right reverend colleague, I ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper.

Bishop of St Albans asks about access to debt advice

Debts: Advisory Services – written question Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans. Answer received 20th May 2021.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the findings in the Christian’s Against Poverty’s Our Story, Client Report 2021, published in April, that 45 per cent of clients did not initially know where to access help to manage their debts, what plans they have to better (1) signpost, and (2) raise awareness of, debt advice services as part of the recovery from COVID-19. [HL93]

Queen’s Speech – Bishop of St Albans on planning, building safety and accessibility

On 17th May 2021 the Bishop of St Albans spoke in the third day of debates on the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords, focusing on the continuing issues of leaseholders facing costs for replacing dangerous cladding, and the new planning Bill.

“My Lords, I too look forward to hearing the maiden speeches of the noble Lords, Lord Coaker and Lord Morse, but I want to start by congratulating the Minister on introducing the leasehold reform Bill.

“Ending ground rents—or, as one person called it recently, the serfdom charge—in new developments is an important and positive reform, and I will welcome this opportunity to be mostly congruent with the Minister, after been being on opposing sides of the Fire Safety Bill. While this is a great victory for future leaseholders, existing leaseholders, particularly those in developments affected by the building and fire safety scandal, nervously await their fate.

Bishop of St Albans asks Government to make developers pay to remedy work not meeting fire safety standards

On 12th May 2021 the House of Lords questioned Government on fire safety and cladding, following a recent fire in east London.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]: My Lords, the Government have said that it is not right for the taxpayer to bail out leaseholders, but taxpayers’ money through the building safety fund could be bailing out developers for building substandard developments. What plan do the Government have to investigate whether developments met fire safety regulations at the time of construction and, in those cases where regulations were not met, to apportion remedial liability to the developers, so that those responsible actually pay?

Votes: Domestic Abuse Bill

On 8th March 2021 the House of Lords considered amendments to the Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill at its Report Stage.

Five bishops took part in a vote on an amendment from Baronesss Campbell of Surbiton on including carers or those with “personally connected lives” in the scope of the Bill to prevent abuse by a care giver. Continue reading “Votes: Domestic Abuse Bill”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about social, health and economic effects of gambling

On 8th March 2021 the Bishop of St Albans received a written answer to two questions on the links between gambling and financial, social and health outcomes:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the study in the Nature Human Behaviour journal The association between gambling and financial, social and health outcomes in big financial data, published on 4 February, that increased gambling correlates with lower financial planning, missed mortgage payments, and increased bailiff interaction; and what assessment they have made of the potential for affordability checks in gambling to produce long-term secure financial outcomes for individuals. [HL13496]

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the study in the Nature Human Behaviour journal The association between gambling and financial, social and health outcomes in big financial data, published on 4 February, that increased gambling is associated with lower levels of socialisation and spending on local amenities; and what assessment they have made of the impact of online gambling on the local economy. [HL13497]
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about social, health and economic effects of gambling”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action against forced marriage

On 8th March the Bishop of St Albans received written answers to two questions on forced marriage:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people were (1) charged, and (2) convicted, with (a) forcing someone to marry, and (b) breaching a forced marriage protection order, under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2018, (iv) 2019, and (v) 2020. [HL13499]

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action against forced marriage”

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: