St Albans – Page 72 – The Church of England in Parliament

Bishop of St Albans asks about support for those at risk of problem gambling

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on support available for armed forces veterans affected by problem gambling on 27th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, it is absolutely right that we pay tribute to those veterans who have successfully transitioned back into civilian life, but nevertheless the research by the RAF Benevolent Fund is striking, with much higher levels of problem gambling and at-risk gambling among veterans, which we need to attend to. Are there any plans by Her Majesty’s Government to screen those transitioning back into civilian life, and to provide additional support where necessary?

Bishop of St Albans asks about development and social cohesion in Ukraine

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the government’s efforts towards supporting development in Ukraine, during a debate on growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine on 26th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, it is right that we attend to the situation in Russia, but Ukraine is a deeply divided country. The situation is not helped by, for example, Ukraine’s decision three years ago to make Ukrainian the national language, precluding the involvement of some 50% of Russians in the south and east of the country, who speak only Russian. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to bring economic development and social cohesion to try to strengthen and bolster the life of Ukraine, as it faces this threat?

Bishop of St Albans asks about issues faced by Christians in Jerusalem

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 25th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to concerns expressed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem that “radical fringe groups” are trying to drive Christians out of Jerusalem, what assessment they have made of the future status of Christians in Jerusalem.

Bishop of St Albans takes part in debate on deaths caused by social media

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the role of social media in children’s deaths on 20th January 2023, drawing attention to the broadness of social factors contributing to children’s deaths:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, for securing this most important debate on the contributory role of social media to the deaths of children, and I pay tribute to her persistent campaigning on this subject. It is a timely debate given that only a month ago we received the legislative scrutiny committee’s report on the draft online harms Bill.

I want to focus on the whole question of the extent to which we understand the numbers and the causes of child deaths, not only where social media plays a significant role but in a whole range of other issues. This is a much broader problem than just this topic, although it is a superb example of why we need better research and better recording of data.

In December, your Lordships’ House debated the Second Reading of my Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill. It would require coroners to record any relevant contributory factors once a death by suicide has been officially determined. It would not be a finding in law, the results would be anonymised and published anonymously, and it would be akin to the well-established processes that hospitals have for recording comorbidities of death.

Votes: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill in its report stage. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill: Bishop of St Albans supports restrictions on hare coursing

On 17th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill in the sixth day of the report stage. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, supporting amendments that would place restrictions and penalties on hare coursing (hunting hares with dogs):

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. It is a great delight to stand in the House and congratulate the Government on tabling these amendments to address this very serious rural problem of hare-coursing, which has affected so many landowners and farmers across these islands. In particular, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe of Epsom, who really listened to the debate, when people from every part of the Chamber spoke. I know that he has taken that back to others. I am hugely grateful to him for doing that.

Health & Care Bill: Bishop of St Albans tables amendments on health and social care in rural areas

During a debate on the Health & Care Bill on 13th January 2022, the Bishop of St Albans tabled two amendments on health inequalities in rural areas:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, Amendments 68 and 95 are in my name. I declare my role as president of the Rural Coalition. I support the broad drift of these amendments, which engage with the important issue of reducing inequalities.

Rural health and social care has often presented challenges in terms of proximity to services, the types of services available within a local area and the demographics of rural areas. It is complicated. Rural areas have a higher proportion of older residents, which is always a greater burden on healthcare services compared with areas with younger populations.

Bishop of St Albans asks about money laundering in British overseas territories

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on financial fraud and money laundering in British Overseas territories during a debate on the scale of money laundering in the UK on 13th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in last year’s parliamentary debate on the Church Action for Tax Justice report Tax for the Common Good, the Minister assured us that progress was being made on reducing money laundering and financial fraud in our British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies. Would he be able to update the House on this? If he cannot do so now, would he please write to me with information on the progress we are making?

Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con, Treasury): It is important to remind the House that the overseas territories are independent entities and that we cannot just force them to comply with our own regulations. But we have an ongoing dialogue with them. For example, we have a very useful exchange of information through the exchange of notes arrangements, and they have agreed to introduce publicly accessible registers of companies’ beneficial ownership. The discussions are very much ongoing and I respect the right reverend Prelate’s concern.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about grants for installation of sprinkler systems in buildings

Following a government statement on building safety on 11th January 2022, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on whether the government would fund the installation of sprinkler systems in taller buildings:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Secretary of State announced an additional £27 million for fire alarms. Are similar grants being considered for installing sprinklers in buildings over 11 metres?

Bishop of St Albans urges commitment to international responses to refugee displacement

On 6th January 2022, the House of Lords debated the issue of mass refugee displacement. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate, stressing the importance of a global response to help refugees and displaced people and address the causes of displacement:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, for initiating this most important debate and for his excellent introduction, which has set the scene for us all.

We face not a static situation but one that is constantly changing. Since the start of 2020, we have seen the re-emergence of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, bringing back the displacement that characterised the conflicts in the 1980s and 1990s. Ethiopia’s ongoing civil conflict has left just over 2 million internally displaced people in Tigray and a further 250,000 in the region of Amhara, according to the UN. We have seen the military coup in Myanmar, which has done nothing to improve—indeed, it has made worse—any prospect of resettling the estimated 745,000 beleaguered Rohingya Muslims resident in Cox’s Bazar, now the world’s largest refugee camp.

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