St Albans – Page 56 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks why cold weather payments have not increased

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 16 November (HL3212), why they have kept the £25 Cold Weather Payment amount the same; and what plans they have to increase it in light of the increasing cost of energy bills.

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con): There are currently no plans to increase payment of the Cold Weather Payment scheme. The current Cold Weather Payment scheme represents a contribution towards additional heating costs, paid at the time of need.

Votes: Voter ID Regulations

On 13th December 2022, the House of Lords debated the 2022 Voter ID Regulations. A vote was held on an amendment to the regulations, in which Bishops took part:

Bishop of St Albans asks about fire safety of sky lanterns

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will list all incidents of fires having been caused by sky lanterns in the last five years.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con): Data collected through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved sky lanterns.

The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available at Gov.UK.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about classifying agriculture and horticulture as vulnerable sectors

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 13th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the need to classify (1) agriculture, and (2) horticulture, as a vulnerable sector.

Lord Benyon (Con): We understand that the global spike in oil and gas prices has affected the price of agricultural commodities, which are always closely correlated to energy costs. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to make sure that all businesses, including farmers, food producers, manufacturers and packagers, are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.

HM Treasury will publish a review into the operation of the scheme to inform decisions on future support after March 2023. The review will focus in particular on identifying the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs.

Bishop of St Albans asks about access to the BBC in China

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on what advice had been given on how to access the BBC World News Channel following its ban in China, during a debate on protection of media freedom on 8th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, following China’s banning of the BBC World News channel, what advice has been given, as has been given in countries such as Russia, on the use of VPNs and ways around the ban? The importance of broadcasting accurate reporting into China is increasing as we face so many crackdowns on minority groups.

Bishop of St Albans asks about marketing of free-range eggs

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 16-week grace period during which eggs from birds that were intended to be free-range may be marketed as such despite the introduction of mandatory housing measures on 7 November.

Lord Benyon (Con): Egg Marketing Standards provides a 16-week derogation period during which the free-range description can be retained on eggs even if hens have been housed.

Bishop of St Albans asks about birds culled due to avian influenza

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 6th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many of the poultry or other captive birds culled for avian influenza since the start of the outbreak on 27 October 2021 were free from infection at the time of culling.

Lord Benyon (Con): Not all birds on infected premises are tested. It is therefore not possible to estimate accurately the number of uninfected birds on the premises at the point of culling.

Bishop of St Albans asks about use of vaccines to prevent avian influenza

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 5th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what international discussions they have had about supporting research into avian influenza vaccines.

Lord Benyon (Con): Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research and monitors the situation in Europe and globally. International collaboration and knowledge exchange is facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and her counterparts in the EU and globally through the World Organisation for Animal Health. Both the UK CVO and representatives from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) avian influenza national reference laboratory were present and engaged in discussion with their global counterparts at the recent International Alliance for Biological Standardisation conference on High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) Vaccination Strategies to Prevent and Control HPAI held in Paris in October.

Bishop of St Albans speaks on the importance of the BBC World Service

On 1st December 2022, the House of Lords debated a motion to take note regarding the importance of the BBC World Service, and the impact of cuts to its service. The Lord Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, highlighting the benefits of truth in reporting and global access to information, particularly for vulnerable populations:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for tabling this debate, and for his excellent exposition of the impact and importance of the BBC World Service.

The BBC World Service is one of the most potent ways in which we can act in the world, not least to help those persecuted people who often are voiceless. I think of the debate that we had a couple of weeks ago about the hundreds of thousands of women on the streets of Iran. I think about the debates and Questions in this House about the various persecuted people in China. They need accurate reporting and, very often, knowing that something is being reported gives people hope and keeps them going when they are being crushed by their own authoritarian leaders.

Bishop of St Albans asks about suppression of journalists in China

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question regarding government response to suppression of journalists by the Chinese authorities on 1st December 2022, during a debate on a Commons Urgent Question concerning the arrest of BBC journalist Edward Lawrence while he was covering protests in Shanghai, China:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, what attempts are His Majesty’s Government making to work with our partners in the UN to build an international consensus, so that China, which is seeking to raise its profile as an international power, hears from all quarters that suppressing journalists, not least those who are doing their duties, and arresting people for these demonstrations is simply unacceptable in the modern world?

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