The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what are their current plans for exercising powers to be granted to them under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Repeal) Bill in relation to the Habitats Directive.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about conservation plans under Retained EU Law Bill”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many gambling or gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK.
Baroness Goldie (Con): I can confirm that some gambling and gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, I would wish to provide reassurance that work is underway to understand the scale of problem gambling within the Armed Forces and to address it accordingly.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing were (1) reported, and (2) investigated, by the Financial Conduct Authority in (a) 2020 (b) 2021, (c) 2022, and (d) 2023.
Baroness Penn (Con): The FCA has reported and investigated the following number of whistleblowing cases for each year given:
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of whistleblowing in financial institutions and services”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised people are living in the England.
Lord Markham (Con): During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable patients were advised to shield or take extra precautions. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme has meant that people who were part of this patient cohort are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and so are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else on staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about immunocompromised individuals”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what alternative provisions they are making for individuals who live in areas affected by closures of rural bus routes.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether DRT can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about bus services in rural areas”The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the issue of invasive grey squirrels and the need for woodland cover protection on 25th May 2023:
My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition, although I am not speaking on its behalf today. I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale. I seem to remember that we have debated these issues before and I have always been grateful for his contributions.
There are many reasons why increasing our woodland cover is important. For example, being able to walk in woodlands is associated with mental health, at a time when this is a huge issue for us as a society; it is clearly deeply bedded into the issues of net zero; and it is intimately associated with the need to increase again our biodiversity. It is of inestimable importance.
The threat posed by grey squirrels is therefore an issue that exercises many of us, along with the longing that we might one day be able to reintroduce red squirrels. I have to say that the problem is not just grey squirrels; in North Hertfordshire we have black squirrels. I do not know if the Committee has come across them but they are breeding across both North Hertfordshire and South Cambridgeshire, and are a feature of our local area in my diocese. Sadly, there are now only a few conservation areas for red squirrels left, as we have heard, following the introduction of the grey squirrel in the 18th century and indeed the wider issue of the reduction in woodland.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans supports measures to restrict invasive grey squirrels”On 25th May 2023, the Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the government’s Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan, pointing out a high rate of suicide among prisoners serving IPP sentences and urging reform of the system:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, for his tenacity and for keeping this terrible situation before us. I rise with a certain reluctance because I do not have the expertise that many other noble Lords in this debate have, though like all bishops I have a right to visit the prisons in my diocese, which I do, and I am regularly in touch with people working in the legal and penal systems. My colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester, the lead bishop on prisons, has raised this matter on numerous occasions and sadly cannot be here today.
It is now seven months since the House of Commons Justice Select Committee issued its report on IPP sentences. There were some alarming conclusions in it, such as noting:
“The indefinite nature of the sentence has contributed to feelings of hopelessness and despair”,
leading to some suicides within the IPP population. There are reports that perhaps as many as 81 people have taken their own life when serving an IPP sentence. If we could identify in any other area of life that 81 lives had been taken, we would be calling for inquiries and wanting answers. Many of us are concerned to hear of further, more recent suicides.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans raises serious issues regarding imprisonment for public protection and calls for urgent reform”The Bishop of St Alban received the following written answer on 25th May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing were reported and investigated by the Civil Service in (1) 2022, (2) 2021, (3) 2020, and (4) 2019.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con, Cabinet Office): We are made aware by departments annually, who also report on behalf of their agencies, of cases raised formally through whistleblowing procedures.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about reported cases of whistleblowing investigated by the Civil Service in the last four years”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 23rd May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to protect clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised people from COVID-19.
Lord Markham (Con, DHSC): As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30 March 2023, in 2023/24 the Government will maintain a range of capabilities to protect those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Given the continued effectiveness of vaccines and improved treatments, for most people there is a much lower risk of severe illness compared to earlier in the pandemic.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about government support for immunocompromised individuals at risk from COVID-19”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th May 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing were reported and investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority in (1) 2022, (2) 2021, (3) 2020, and (4) 2019.
Baroness Penn (Con, Treasury Department): The FCA has reported and investigated the following number of whistleblowing cases for each year given:
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about numbers of whistleblowing cases”
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