Tag: St Albans

Bishop of St Albans – Forced Marriage (Written Answer)

On 12th January 2015, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received an answer to a written question from the Home Office Minister, on the subject of forced marriage.

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they collect data on the number of British girls sent abroad to marry each year; and if they do not collect such data, what they are doing to assess the scale of such activity.[HL3493]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bates): The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) was established in 2005 to lead on the government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. The FMU operates both inside the UK, where support is provided to any individual, and overseas, where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals. In 2013, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1302 cases. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans – Forced Marriage (Written Answer)”

Bishop of St Albans asks about plight of Ukrainians living in Crimea

On 8th January 2015 Lord Spicer asked Her Majesty’s Government ‘what is their most recent assessment of the position in Ukraine’. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question.
Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans:

My Lords, we must not forget those Ukrainians living in Crimea who now find themselves under the Russian state. Could the Minister update us on what representations have been made on their behalf and, in particular, whether the OSCE monitors have made any progress in gaining access and finding out what is going on?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about plight of Ukrainians living in Crimea”

Early Years Intervention – Speech by Bishop of St Albans

On 8th January 2015 Peers debated a motion in the name of Baroness Massey of Darwen, ‘that this House takes note of the case for early years intervention in breaking the cycle of deprivation and promoting social mobility’. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, spoke in the debate:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans:

Bishop of St AlbansI, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, for pressing this very important issue. It is, as has already been noted, an extremely complex one. We are talking about nothing less than a profound culture change in many local communities if we are to break the cycle of deprivation and increase social mobility. Continue reading “Early Years Intervention – Speech by Bishop of St Albans”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about progress made at UN Climate Change Conference

On 7th January 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, asked an oral question of Government about the recent UN Climate Change Conference. The exchanges, including supplementary questions from Peers, are below:

Climate Change: UN Conference

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans

Bishop of St Albans

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the agreement reached at the United Nations climate change conference in Lima in December 2014. Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about progress made at UN Climate Change Conference”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action on tackling FGM

On 6th January 2015 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received written answers to five questions of Government on female genital mutilation (or FGM):

Female Genital Mutilation

Question

Asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans

Bishop of St Albans

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are resourcing the provision of training and education in communities in the United Kingdom in which female genital mutilation is practised.[HL3454] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about action on tackling FGM”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about air pollution and asthma

On 6th January 2015 Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty’s Government ‘what plans the National Health Service has to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by the combined impact of nitrogen dioxide and fine particles emitted by diesel engines’. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, with 4.3 million adults and 1.1 million children suffering from the effects of asthma-related conditions, does the Minister agree that we need to look closely at the World Health Organization’s recent news that an increasing number of British cities are now breaching the safe air pollution levels? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about air pollution and asthma”

Drink driving – questions from the Bishop of St Albans

On 17th December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith received answers to two written questions, on lowering the drink-drive limit:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.[HL3742] Continue reading “Drink driving – questions from the Bishop of St Albans”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about criminalising purchase of sex

On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on criminalising the purchase of sex:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to criminalising the purchase of sex in order to protect vulnerable women.[HL3283] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about criminalising purchase of sex”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about data on violence against women

On 17th December 2014 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, received a written answer to a question on violence against women:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the standardisation of comprehensive and analysable data on violence against women.[HL3284] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about data on violence against women”

Bishop of St Albans calls for more evidence to be collected to assist in prevention of sex-selection abortion

On 16th December 2014, Baroness Knight of Collingtree asked Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take following the First Reading of the Abortion (Sex-Selection) Bill in the House of Commons on 4 November. The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a supplementary question:

Bishop of St AlbansThe Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, given that many are concerned that we may not be protecting the most vulnerable in our society in this area, we need to understand the full extent of sex-selection abortion in this country, if indeed it is taking place. We need to collect and collate data. In the light of that, will the Minister tell the House what Her Majesty’s Government are doing to require the registration of the gender of foetuses using forms such as HSA4 or something similar so that we can actually have the evidence?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans calls for more evidence to be collected to assist in prevention of sex-selection abortion”