The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 25th November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to changing the statutory definition of domestic abuse to that those under the age of 16 can be considered victims of domestic abuse.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about expanding definition of domestic abuse to include under 16s”The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the continuity of farming families on 21st November 2024, highlighting the levels of stress among farmers and the need to reconcile raising revenue with supporting farming communities:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, on securing this debate. I declare my interests as president of the Rural Coalition and a vice-president of the LGA. I am a farmer’s son, and one of the great privileges of my job serving in a diocese that covers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire is going into some of the most wonderful, forward-looking and innovative farms in this country, which are at the forefront of farming across Europe.
Even though there are many successful, go-ahead farmers, there is nevertheless a huge level of mental stress among them. That has been true for many years. Sadly, there is an extraordinarily high number of suicides among the farming community. As one elderly farmer put it, “Many of us are feeling so depressed because these announcements suggest that we are not wanted and are worth more dead than alive”. He pointed out that if he manages to die before April 2026, his assets will be passed on; if he does not, the farm will probably not survive.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans speaks in support of farming families and communities”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 21st November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of cases of bluetongue in Hertfordshire.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab, DEFRA): Defra acted quickly to contain bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) when the first case this season was detected on 26 August, implementing zones with movement controls on susceptible livestock to prevent spread. Disease control restrictions have been adapted in response to new findings and there is now a single restricted zone (RZ) covering the east coast and some inland areas in England, including Hertfordshire where there have been 3 cases to date.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of livestock sickness”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on integration of bus services between counties and the provision of free bus passes for school children following a government statement on bus funding on 19th November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in a diocese such as mine, which covers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, where many people look outside the county for services—for example, many people in Bedfordshire go to hospitals in and work in Milton Keynes, in another county—lack of integration of the bus services is causing quite a lot of problems. How is the new system going to lead to more and better integration? Secondly, what consideration has been given to finding, I hope, free bus passes for school children, since our towns are absolutely gridlocked at rush hour, at a time when we need children to get on the buses, get exercise and learn independence rather than being driven one by one in cars causing huge jams?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about funding of bus services”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the funding of hospices on 19th November 2024, following a government statement on changes to National Insurance Contributions and their effects on healthcare:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: Can the noble Baroness help us understand the huge impact this is having on the hospice movement, which is an extraordinary sector? We get an incredible service from it but, ironically, while we are having a national debate on assisted dying—some of us prefer to call it assisted suicide—this will make it even more difficult to provide this much-valued service. Is there not a case to be made for special support for those independent hospices which have to raise massive amounts of money from charitable sources, so that we are not penalising them?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about hospice funding”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in The Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling, published on 24 October, that the harms to health and wellbeing that result from gambling are more substantial than previously understood.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about harms to mental health and wellbeing resulting from gambling”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any shortfalls in the funding of the World Food Programme in Somalia, and of any impact of such shortfalls on the Programme’s ability to provide assistance to those who need it in that country.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about World Food Programme in Somalia”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 18th November 2024:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that the Environment Agency is able to monitor and investigate illegal sewage discharges.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about monitoring of illegal sewage discharges”The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the impact of the recent Budget on arts, culture, and heritage on 14th November 2024, raising the issue of the Listed Places of Worship Grants scheme and the impact of increased VAT on choir schools:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Sater, for securing this debate.
A number of elements of the recent Budget are to be welcomed, such as the continuation of Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief and the cultural infrastructure funding. However, many of us were disappointed that there was no update on the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which is such a lifeline for so many of our historic buildings. The Church of England and other churches are trustees of some of the most important buildings in this country. We have to raise, voluntarily, tens of millions of pounds, and we really need to find ways to help very many pressurised local communities. These buildings are not used just for worship; many of them are the local concert venue. They have all sorts of music-making going on and they are places where music lessons are given. Many of our schools come into the churches, and they are used for all sorts of reasons beyond Sunday and midweek worship. I hope that DCMS will make a decision on this in the coming weeks, and I urge the Minister to ensure its future.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans raises impact of budget on listed places of worship and cathedral choir schools”The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the use of soft power via media outlets such as the BBC on 14th November 2024, during a discussion on the effectiveness of the BBC World Service:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, there is a tension here between having an independent BBC, which we are all grateful for—indeed, that is part of its integrity—and it being part of our strategic soft power. Could the noble Baroness tell us a little bit more about the strategic approach His Majesty’s Government are taking to thinking about the key places we need to engage with, not least in countering the deliberate disinformation coming from China and Russia, which is fundamental to the future of our democracies?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about use of soft power in the media”
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