St Albans – Page 55 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about investment education for young people

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on whether the government was promoting education on finances and investments for young people on 20th December 2022, during a debate on the regulation of cryptocurrencies:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, following the collapse of FTX there is great concern at just how volatile this sector is. Many young people presume that, because it is called a currency, it is more stable than it really is. I am told that, if you go online, you will find young people talking about eye-watering amounts of money that they have made and others have lost. What are His Majesty’s Government doing to educate younger people about proper investment understanding, so that they are aware of the risks they are taking if they enter this market?

Bishop of St Albans asks about detention of author Xing Hongwei in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the detention of Xing Hongwei in China.

Bishop of St Albans asks about marriage tax allowances

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government:

what plans they have to increase the marriage tax allowance.
what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the current rate of marriage tax allowance in supporting couples financially.
what financial assistance they are providing to couples who (1) are getting married, or (2) have recently married.

Lord Harlech (Con): The Marriage Allowance (MA) is designed to recognise marriage, and the commitment it entails, in the tax system. The MA is targeted at married couples and civil partners where one partner earns below the Personal Allowance (PA) and the other is a basic rate taxpayer. In 2022-23 the MA is £1,260 and is worth up to £252 per year.

The transferable amount has been fixed at 10 per cent of the Personal Allowance since it was introduced in 2015. Setting the value of the allowance considerably higher would increase the cost and the Government must ensure the tax system supports strong public finances.

Bishop of St Albans asks about human rights of children in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of children detained in prisons in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The treatment of juvenile offenders in Iran falls short of international standards. The Iranian judicial system is deeply flawed with frequent and well-documented violations of fair trial rights. The use of death sentences against minors is also a regular occurrence. Because of the lack of transparency of the Iranian judicial system, it is difficult to calculate with accuracy the number of children detained in Iran. In recent months, we have observed a significant increase in the rate at which children are arrested and a disproportionate number who have died during the protests. This was also noted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 October. The UK will continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account for its actions.

Bishop of St Albans asks about price caps on alternative fuels

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 16th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 17 November (HL3214), why they have no plans for a price cap on alternative fuel.

Lord Callanan (Con): The markets for alternative fuels – including heating oil, coal, LPG, and biomass – contain a large range of suppliers not subject to the same regulation as electricity and gas suppliers. This means there is no single regulated standard price to modify by the imposition of a price cap.

Bishop of St Albans stresses importance of Overseas Development Aid

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on Overseas Development Aid (ODA) on 15th December 2022, with particular reference to famine in the Horn of Africa, urging the government against cutting back on aid:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Bruce of Bennachie, for his excellent introduction, which was informed and passionate. I would also like to highlight and underline my deep regret at His Majesty’s Government’s cuts to official development assistance spending.

I find myself in touch weekly with some of the poverty here in our own country as I visit food banks, debt advice centres, or the clubs that some of our churches now run to give breakfast to schoolchildren. I am acutely aware that we have real need here in our own country, but it is of a completely different order compared with what many other countries in the world face. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Hannan, that we need to spend our aid carefully. It is actually quite difficult to spend large amounts of money. We sometimes find it difficult in this country and sometimes people do not spend it well. Of course we need to work at that, but the answer is not to cut our aid but to make sure that we are using it in the most effective way.

Bishop of St Albans asks about access to cash in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans asked whether the government would ensure that any decision made about the use of cash as legal tender would take into account difficulties specific to rural areas, during a debate on the future acceptance of cash on 15th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, this is a problem that particularly affects rural areas, where there are far fewer cash-dispensing machines. Also, there are many parts of rural areas where there is no internet, so even if you want to pay by BACS or direct transfer, you just cannot do it. Will the Minister assure us that the Government will properly rural-proof this discussion so that we are able to ensure that rural areas can still function effectively?

Bishop of St Albans urges better communication with local authorities when processing people in the asylum system

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question regarding lack of communication with local authorities regarding people seeking asylum on 14th December 2022, following a government statement on immigration and plans for the future of the asylum system:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, there are a number of aspects of this Statement which I welcome, not least that there are going to be increased numbers of people processing and that the aim is to process within weeks rather than months and get people through the system much more quickly. But there really has been quite a problem, not least at Manston, where at one stage 4,000 people were staying in a centre designed for 1,600. As they were being shipped out around the country, a whole lot were delivered into Luton, in my diocese, with no warning. Even the local authority was not able to help. So my question is: what lessons have been learned? Can we be sure that we are really communicating well with local authorities, so that we can work on this together, give people dignity and try and process them as quickly and effectively as we can?

Bishop of St Albans asks about greater support for food bank facilities

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on help for food banks to freeze and store food, during a debate on health and malnutrition on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, food banks across my diocese are reporting a huge increase in need and a huge decrease in the amount of food being donated, simply because of the cost of living crisis. One of the things that makes a difference for food banks is having enough capacity to freeze food. There is an urgent need to see whether we can help them with freezers. Is there anything the Government can do to work with food banks to help them increase their capacity for storing food when it is spare so that is available at other times?

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: