Tag: The Lord Bishop of St Albans

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 December 2014 (HL3284), what measures have now been put in place, in partnership with police forces, to enable the collection of consistent and comparable data on domestic abuse from April.

Lord Bates

All forces through the Annual Data Return must record and provide data on domestic abuse related crimes and incidents. The requirement is part of the Home Secretary’s commitment to take forward recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in its report on the police response to domestic abuse published in March 2014. It came into force in April 2015 and the first findings from this collection will be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October as part of the quarterly Crime in England and Wales statistics publication. The Home Office is working with the ONS on the publication of more detailed data in future crime publications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether data on the provision of discretionary housing payments by local authorities are collected centrally.

Lord Freud

The Department asks local authorities to provide data on their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a twice yearly basis. Information regarding April to September 2013 can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268411/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-dec13.pdf

The Department is currently gathering and quality assuring information regarding end of year spend from local authorities for 2013/14

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have been involved in the consultation by the Financial Conduct Authority on the new rules for consumer credit adverts; and when the findings will be published.

Lord Deighton

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the Right Reverend Prelate by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran, and what other steps they have taken, following attacks on prisoners held at Evin prison.

Baroness Warsi

The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. As we detailed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, released in April 2014, prison conditions in Iran remain a serious concern. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to ensure that financial education is taught, to a high standard, in non-state-maintained secondary schools.

Lord Nash

Independent Schools in England do not have to follow the national curriculum, though they do have to have a curriculum which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education.

We will shortly be consulting on strengthening the standards which independent schools must meet, but there are no plans to introduce a requirement on financial education.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what commitments they have made to provide adequate funding for the training that secondary mathematics and citizenship teachers will need to meet the new financial education requirements from September 2014.

Lord Nash

The Government is committed to developing a strong culture of professional development in schools for all national curriculum subjects, including citizenship and mathematics.

We have allocated £11 million to fund 30 new maths hubs to improve the quality of maths teachers from primary school onwards. This initiative will enable every school and college in England, from early years to the post-16 sector, to access locally-tailored and quality support in all areas of maths teaching and maths learning. To further support teachers, Liz Moorse from the Association for Citizenship Teaching is chairing an expert group on citizenship. The expert group will clarify the key areas in which teachers most need further support. The expert group will then liaise with relevant specialists and providers to develop and produce new resources where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in securing a deal on the European Union’s 2030 climate change reduction package, in advance of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September.

Baroness Verma

The European Council in March 2014 discussed the 2030 climate and energy framework and agreed to make a final decision on the Framework no later than October this year.

The UK believes that the EU should urgently adopt a domestic emissions reduction target for 2030 of at least 40% on 1990 levels, moving to 50% in the context of an ambitious global climate agreement.

I am determined to continue working closely and intensively with all my colleagues in Europe to ensure that the EU is in a position to play a leading role at the Ban Ki-Moon Climate Summit in September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Iran about the events in Evin Prison on 17 April; and, if so, when.

Baroness Warsi

The Government was disturbed by reports of physical violence against political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. We have been concerned about prison conditions in Iran for some time and set out our views formally in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2014 Human Rights report. The UK has been a strong supporter of the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr Shaheed, and successfully lobbied for the extension of his mandate in 2014.

In March, Dr Shaheed reported that conditions for prison inmates range from poor to inhumane, access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires also raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Iran for an independent international inquiry into the events at Evin Prison in Tehran on 17 April.

Baroness Warsi

The Government was disturbed by reports of physical violence against political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April 2014. We have been concerned about prison conditions in Iran for some time and set out our views formally in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2014 Human Rights report. The UK has been a strong supporter of the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran, Dr Shaheed, and successfully lobbied for the extension of his mandate in 2014.

In March, Dr Shaheed reported that conditions for prison inmates range from poor to inhumane, access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor. The UK works closely with international human rights bodies and partners to encourage Iran to engage seriously on human rights issues. The UK’s non-resident Charge d’Affaires also raised human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran in March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2014-06-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress was made towards improving the security and affordability of off-grid fuel supply at the third ministerial roundtable meeting on heating oil and liquid petroleum gas supply on 21 May.

Baroness Verma

My rt. hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy chaired the third Ministerial Roundtable meeting on heating oil and LPG supply on 21 May. My rt. hon Friend the Minister of State for Climate Change joined the roundtable discussion on off gas grid fuel poor households and support for off gas grid consumers. This continued the useful discussions government has had at the previous two Roundtables with representatives from industry, consumer groups, oil buying groups and others on how to improve heating oil and LPG supply to UK consumers.

Issues covered at the third roundtable included the promotion of the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers’ Customer Charter, the messaging to consumers on buying oil early ahead of the winter and an update on the action government is taking more broadly to help fuel poor off-grid households. Full details of the meeting can be found in the minutes of the meeting which has been placed in the Library of the House.