The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 8th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any security threat posed by the collection of biometric data by direct-to-consumer DNA testing ancestry companies.
Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office has made no such assessment.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 8th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with (1) the EU, and (2) other pork export markets, regarding regionalisation in the event of an African swine fever outbreak in the UK.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about African Swine Fever”The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question for short debate on famine in the Horn of Africa on 7th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to alleviate the consequences of the famine in the Horn of Africa.
My Lords, it is perhaps fitting that this debate takes place on the day of the memorial service for the late Lord Chidgey, who was so passionate about all things to do with Africa and would have shared many of the concerns that I suspect are going to be talked about in our one hour together.
It is with sadness that I stand here today to address this problem, although I hope that our debate may in some small way raise awareness of what is an extraordinary tragedy unfolding before us. As many noble Lords know, this region is currently experiencing one of the longest and most severe droughts on record. This, coupled with conflict and displacement, has led to an unprecedented food and nutrition emergency affecting almost 40 million people. The UN has already said that
“Famine is at the door”
in some parts of Somalia.
We are already seeing the effects of this crisis. UNICEF estimates that up to 5.7 million children in the region require treatment for acute malnutrition, with 1.8 million already experiencing it. This famine, initially caused by climate change, has been compounded by a series of other factors, making it far worse than what we have seen before. An outbreak of locusts, described by the UN as the worst in 25 years, has ravished crops across the region. The ongoing civil wars in Ethiopia and Somalia have displaced millions and made provision of food aid even more difficult.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans leads debate on famine in the Horn of Africa”On 7th February 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Public Order Bill (2022) in the second day of the report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their review into contractual practice in the UK pig sector.
Lord Benyon (Con): A public consultation was conducted between July and October 2022 which invited views from the pig industry about potential improvements to fairness and transparency. The consultation received a very positive level of engagement with responses from individuals and organisations across the supply chain.
The Government will publish a Summary of Responses, outlining main findings and next steps, in the coming months. Any actions arising as a result of the consultation will be developed alongside industry with the close involvement of stakeholders.
The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what is the value of UK direct (1) imports, and (2) exports, to Somalia.
Baroness Penn (Con): HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website. From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about trade with Somalia”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the Chinese surveillance companies (1) Dahua, and (2) Hikvision; what assessment they have made of any links between those companies and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province; and what assessment they have made of whether they constitute a security threat to the UK.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about links between Chinese surveillance companies and human rights abuses”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 7th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how much pork was (1) exported, and (2) imported, in the years (a) 2022, (b) 2021, (c) 2020, and (d) 2019.
Baroness Penn (Con): HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about overseas meat trading”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 6th February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many reported instances of stop-and-search occurred in Hertfordshire in (1) 2022, (2) 2021, (3) 2020, and (4) 2019.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): The Home Office collects and publishes stop and search data on a financial year basis. The table below shows the number of stop and searches recorded by Hertfordshire Constabulary in the last four financial years. This includes searches under section 1 of the Policing and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (and associated legislation) and section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about reported instances of stop and search in Hertfordshire”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 1st February 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of medication, such as paroxetine, for the treatment of problem gambling.
Lord Markham (Con): Whilst no specific 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, with publication expected in early 2024.
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