On the 13th July 2015, the Bishop of Portsmouth took part in a division on the Universal Credit (Waiting Days) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.
He voted ‘Content’ to the motion put by Baroness Sherlock, which was agreed following a division of the House. You can read his speech on the amendment, here.
Continue reading “Divisions – Universal Credit (Waiting Days) (Amendment) Regulations 2015”
On 3rd June 2015, during the debate on the Queen’s Speech, the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler, spoke on the need to provide good quality childcare, alleviate child poverty, and fully address the complex needs of families, in order to enable equality of opportunity at the start of life. The text of his speech is below and can be watched here:
The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, the stated intention of the Education and Adoption Bill is to,
“give all children the best possible start in life”.
Of course we all want this, so we must scrutinise carefully whether the proposals on adoption will produce it for children for whom adoption is the best route. Given that some of the most successful adoption agencies are small, localised ones, care will need to be taken in any move to regional agencies—which certainly has its strengths—so that the smaller agencies’ special skills and experience are not lost, particularly as they are often the most effective at placing and maintaining adoptions of the most hard-to-place children. Durham Family Welfare in my own area is a fine example. Continue reading “Bishop of Durham speaks on reducing child poverty and improving childcare”
On 10th March 2015 Lord Touhig asked Her Majesty’s Government “how many people are awaiting assessment for personal independence payments?” The Bishop of Leicester, Rt Rev Tim Stevens, asked a supplementary question.
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, can the Minister tell us how many 16 and 17 year-olds are awaiting reassessment? What action do the Government propose to take to meet the additional needs of that group, including providing support for them through the reassessment process?
Lord Freud: I will have to write to the right reverend Prelate on that matter. I do not have the data on 16 and 17 year-olds so I shall write to him.
(via Parliament.uk)
On 10th February 2015, the Bishop of Truro, Rt Rev Tim Thornton, led a debate in the House of Lords on local welfare assistance schemes and help for those in crisis. The full text of his speech is below, followed by those of Peers who participated. The Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt Rev Christopher Foster, also spoke in the debate towards the end.
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Truro
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that local welfare assistance schemes provide effective support to people in crisis and will continue to be able to do so.
The Lord Bishop of Truro: My Lords, I am very grateful indeed for this opportunity to raise a very important issue by putting some questions to the Government on, and raising matters relating to, local welfare assistance schemes. In doing so, I declare my interest that I am chair of the Children’s Society, a national charity which has conducted quite a lot of research in this area and to which I shall refer. Continue reading “Bishop of Truro leads debate on local welfare assistance for those in crisis”
On 10th February 2015, Baroness Lister of Burtersett asked Her Majesty’s Government what has been the response to their consultation on the future financing of local welfare assistance schemes. The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd John Inge, asked a supplementary question:
The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, the Minister might be aware that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Truro has secured a debate on this issue this evening, which I welcome. In the mean time, in the absence of ring-fencing, will the Minister undertake to write to local authorities to highlight the £129 million allocation for local welfare provisions within the local government settlement, and the additional £74 million to which reference has been made, to ensure that local authorities have the resources they need to assist those most in need, and to encourage them to use them?On the 22nd January 2015 the Bishop of Portsmouth spoke during a debate on the Local Government Finance Settlement. Bishop Christopher spoke about the issues of local welfare provision and thanked the Government for including notional provision for the continuation of local welfare provision in the current settlement. The Bishop went on to ask the Government to maintain or ring-fence the local welfare allocation to ensure that those in crisis need are helped.
The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth: My Lords, I welcome this debate on the implications and challenges of the local government settlement. On these Benches, and indeed in the whole House, we look forward to the maiden speeches of the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, and of my colleague and friend, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark. I look forward to that for many reasons, not least that he was a senior curate in the diocese that I now serve. He is the most recent in this House of a long line of able clergy nurtured and grown in the Diocese of Portsmouth. Continue reading “Bishop of Portsmouth speaks about the Local Government Finance Settlement”
On 2 December 2014, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, received an answer to a written question on social security benefits:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact assessment they have made of further planned benefit freezes, including the impact on in-work poverty. [HL3232]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): This Government has no plans to further freeze benefits, so there are currently no plans to provide estimates of the potential effects or the impacts on in-work poverty.
(via Parliament.uk)
“If we wish to dissuade people from coming to this country without the legal right to be here, it is wrong to try to send a message by treating asylum applicants, even when appeal rights are exhausted, in a way unworthy of our values.”
On 20th November 2014, Lord Roberts of Llandudno led a take-note debate in the House of Lords on the subject of the Azure card, the means of support through which the Government supports people making applications for asylum who are not allowed to work in the UK. The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd John Inge, spoke in the debate, highlighting a number of concerns about the current system, including the level of support provided and the limited number of places in which the card can be used. He called on the Government to review the current system.
The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, for securing this debate on a very important matter. The churches have long held, and maintained in this House, that those who have applied for asylum and who are not allowed to do paid work should be given enough financial help to maintain a decent basic standard of living for themselves and their families. Indeed, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York has more than once led delegations on this theme. Surely every person who is in this country should be treated in accordance with our values. If we wish to dissuade people from coming to this country without the legal right to be here, it is wrong to try to send a message by treating asylum applicants, even when appeal rights are exhausted, in a way unworthy of our values. Continue reading “Bishop of Worcester supports calls for review of Azure card system for asylum seekers”
On 3rd November 2014, the Bishop of St Albans received an answer to a written question on the subject of financial advisory services.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the provision of money management, budgeting and debt advice by local authorities and social sector landlords is being monitored.[HL2156]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon): The Department for Work and Pensions are currently undertaking a review into how local welfare provision has been used in 2013/14 and its anticipated use in 2014/15 which will be published in due course. In addition, as part of its work on Universal Credit, the Department is commissioning budgeting support for claimants who need help and is establishing local delivery partnerships with local government to help provide this.
The Government-funded Money Advice Survey offers advice on managing personal debt, money management and budgeting. Face to face debt advice is provided by Citizens Advice, under contract with the Money Advice Service.
Department for Business Innovation and Skills also provide funding for the Citizens Advice Bureau, which provides people with advice on debt and other issues.
More generally, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance to councils last year on good practice in the collection of council tax arrears. The actions of local authorities (in relation to service failures, maladministration or injustice) can be investigated by the Local Government Ombudsman, whilst the Housing Ombudsman Service looks at complaints about social landlords.
(via Parliament.uk)
On 27th October 2014, Lord Horam asked Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made with the Troubled Families programme. The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Revd James Langstaff, asked a supplementary question:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, tomorrow morning the Prison Reform Trust will publish the latest edition of its well regarded Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile. Among other things that will show the continuing correlation between exclusion from school, being brought up in care and offending behaviour. In the light of this and of other responses already given, can the Minister give an assurance that the Troubled Families programme is being well co-ordinated with the Ministry of Justice’s young offenders policy?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: I can give the right reverend Prelate that assurance. Indeed, in a previous incarnation when I was the Whip for the justice department, I saw the importance of many rehabilitation programmes directly through visits programmes. He raises an important part of the mix that defines troubled families. As he is well aware, one of the key elements is youth crime and targeting youth crime and anti-social behaviour. Again, what we are seeing, for the first time I believe, is not just departments working together, but people at a local level working well together to ensure that all people involved, whether in youth crime, those involved in not attending school, as my noble friend said, or those who are not in employment, get sustainable solutions for the long term.
(via Parliament.uk)
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