Tag: St Albans

Bishop of St Albans asks about SEND provision in schools

During a debate on capacity for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in schools on 15th November 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the use of SEND provision and the need for statutory assessment of pupils needs before a transfer to alternative provision:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Education Committee report of September 2023 recommends that the department scrutinise the use of alternative provision settings and ensure that children and young people with SEND are transferred there only after having a statutory assessment, and not use them as a behavioural management tool. What steps has the department taken towards addressing this issue?

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of St Albans speaks on rural affairs and the environment

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the King’s Speech debate on 13th November 2023 on the topic of rural affairs and the environment, and on several future bills mentioned in the speech:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition as set out in the register. That means that I want to reflect for a few moments on the environmental and rural dimensions of some of the legislation that will be coming our way over the coming year.

I will make a couple of preliminary comments. Back in 2015, His Majesty’s Government responded to the independent rural-proofing implementation review by the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington. Among the recommendations was that

“Defra Ministers should work with Cabinet Office to strengthen and improve rural proofing guidance when the impact of policies is being assessed, to ensure that rural policy impacts are given clear and robust attention”.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about dialogue among UK community leaders concerning Israel & Palestine

On 13th November 2023, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on support for community dialogue among leading Israelis and Palestinians in the UK:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, any violence and threat is to be deplored, wherever it comes from. I congratulate the police, who did a superb job in very difficult circumstances. Of course there will be groups of people pushing the boundaries and acting unacceptably. The danger of the media is that it gives the impression that the only game in town is the marches and demos, but many on these Benches and other Members of this House have been meeting leading Israelis and Palestinians in our local communities and finding that there are people desperately trying to reach out to others and thinking about how we can take this forward. What are His Majesty’s Government doing at the moment to mobilise some of our leading Israelis and Palestinians to try to enable talks about how we might find a more positive narrative as we go forward?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about access to medication to treat neurological conditions

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 25th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Servier to expand access to vorasidenib for patients that might benefit by including it in the early access to medicines scheme, or by any other means.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about adult social care services and suicide prevention methods

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the digitisation of adult social care.

Lord Markham (Con, Department for Health & Social Care): We are funding a programme of digitisation for adult social care that is delivered through integrated care systems having spent £50 million so far and investing a further £100 million over the next two years.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about support for purchasing school uniforms and stationery

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support parents with back-to-school costs, including (1) uniform, and (2) stationery.

Baroness Barran (Con, DfE): The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has provided £94 billion to support households with higher costs across 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Additional cost of living payments of up to £900 will be made in 2023/24 to households on means tested benefits.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about controlling water pollution

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, following the plans to relax nutrient neutrality rules, what (1) statutory, or (2) other, measures, they will take to promote compliance among developers.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about treatment for problem gambling

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked what assessment they have made of the efficacy of Naltrexone in the treatment of problem gambling.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): No assessment has been made. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence is developing a clinical guideline for the treatment of harmful gambling. This will cover psychological and psychosocial interventions as well as pharmacological treatments. The attached document outlines the full scope of the guideline. Publication is expected in spring 2024.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about recent earthquake in Morocco

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Morocco concerning the recent earthquake in that country.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about floods in Libya

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked what representations they have made to the government of Libya concerning the recent floods in that country; and what emergency provision they will be providing to them.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con, Foreign Office): The UK is horrified by the scale of flooding in eastern Libya following Storm Daniel and is committed to working with partners to deliver aid in support of the Libyan people.

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