Tag: St Albans

Bishop of St Albans asks about potential for government purchase of housing to mitigate low numbers of property sales

The Bishop of St Albans asked whether the government would consider a scheme to purchase property from those seeking to move and having difficulty selling their houses due to safety concerns on 5th January 2022, during a debate on building safety:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, one of the very serious results of this problem is that many people are desperate to move, but simply cannot sell their properties any longer. This is causing huge difficulties for people trying to get jobs in other parts of the country. What assessment have the Government made of the Welsh Government’s proposal to start buying some of the properties that cannot be sold for the moment and turn them into affordable housing and social housing and so on, as a way of trying to break the deadlock?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about use of 3D Printing in construction of affordable housing

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th January 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made as to whether 3D printing represents the future of sustainable and affordable house building.

Lord Greenhalgh (Con, Department for Levelling Up): DLUHC shares the cross-Whitehall objective of increasing the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). MMC provides an important opportunity to improve the quality of new homes, deliver more energy efficient homes, reduce construction waste, improve productivity and address the shortage in construction skills.

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Bishop of St Albans stresses importance of supporting international development

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on international development on 16th December 2021, highlighting the benefits of supporting this development, especially regarding fair trade, education, democracy and the rule of law:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, for obtaining this really important debate and for his passionate and informed introduction, which set the scene so well for us.

The omicron variant is a powerful and topical reminder that there is only one world and only one human race. There are people around who want to make out the case that our concern for international development is an additional cost, something added on the side. Actually, when we truly grasp what it is about, it is a real win-win for us. Apart from it being morally right, it will make economic sense for us as well as helping us address many issues. For example, helping other countries to flourish and thrive will increase their health systems, address things such as the pandemic we currently face and even begin to address some of the issues of economic migrants, so it is vital for us.

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Bishop of St Albans asks question on products of slave labour

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on what steps could be taken to identify products of slave labour to consumers on 16th December 2021, during a debate on the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, what assessment have Her Majesty’s Government made of kitemarking products which originate in Xinjiang province so that people can be informed that they may be produced by slave labour? That would help the economy take action in this important area, where we face such atrocities.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about allocation of funds for land management schemes

On 16th December 2021, during a debate on environmental land management schemes, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question on the allocation of funds:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition. Can the Minister confirm that the funds allocated for the implementation of the Glover review are totally separate from the funds allocated for ELMS?

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Bishop of St Albans asks about home education

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on increasing numbers of families choosing home education for their children, during a debate on alternative educational provision on 15th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, returning to home schooling, I have been very struck by the number of people I have met in the last year or two who have decided to take their children out of mainstream schooling to educate them at home—often, from what I hear, with spectacular academic results. But what assessment has been made about the trends of whether this is increasing, and what assessment has been made about the reasons why people are doing this? We need to listen to what is happening at a grass-roots level to understand this phenomenon.

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Votes: Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021

On 15th December 2021, the House of Lords voted on a motion regarding the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021. Two bishops took part in the vote:

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Bishop of St Albans speaks in debate on vaccination requirements, highlighting issues regarding vaccination and people of faith

On 14th December 2021, the House of Lords debated a motion to approve the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, which would extend vaccination requirements in health and social care settings. The Bishop of St Albans gave a speech on the issue of vaccine hesitancy, highlighting concerns people of faith might have regarding vaccination:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I think many of us are grateful for the comments from the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, about process and impact assessments, and I echo those.

I shall make one or two comments about the substantive issues. Incidentally, we have been thanking the Government and medics for the rollout, but I want to pay tribute to the people who are going to be sitting up half the night: the managers of GP practices—they are the ones who get people there to get the vaccine. Very often they are forgotten, so I want to make that point.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about government monitoring of cryptocurrencies

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to monitor fiat currency to cryptocurrency (1) deposits, and (2) withdrawals, to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used to (a) launder money, and (b) hide transactions in illicit markets.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about Crown Estate purchase from company linked to Azerbaijani President

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Crown Estate regarding its purchase of a property from a company linked to President Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con): Under the Crown Estate Act of 1961, The Crown Estate is operationally independent of government. Decisions regarding the sale and purchase of property are a matter for them.

Hansard