My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for securing this debate and for his wide-ranging introduction, which, as the noble Viscount, Lord Ridley, said, suggests that we can talk about almost anything. Perhaps that is the point. Perhaps the fact that we can talk about a very wide range of issues this afternoon will challenge the way in which we all tend to think in silos...
My Lords, the metal theft task force has been of inestimable value in checking the epidemic of lead theft from churches. Stripping of lead from church roofs has caused extensive rain damage to historic interiors. Will the Minister consult English Heritage, the Churches Conservation Trust and the cathedrals and church buildings division of the Archbishops’ Council as to how the destruction...
My Lords, I, too, am deeply grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, for enabling us to tackle again the issue of the serious lack of affordable housing. I want particularly to concentrate on rural housing. The statistics abound—from a need for 11,000 new rural houses a year to the provision of just over 1,000 such houses by registered providers in 2011-12. The one thing on which there...
My Lords, there remains a serious issue of slavery in the business supply chain that affects much of what we buy. Will the Minister pursue a business-friendly model to eradicate that slavery, perhaps on the basis of the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act 2010, because a few simple reporting requirements may be more effective than simply extending the powers of the Gangmasters...
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Deben, for the way in which he introduced this debate and to the Minister for those comments and his response. My colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle has added his name to this amendment, thereby expressing the concern of these Benches, in particular with regard to the work and worship at Westminster Abbey and St...
My Lords, what flexibility is there for housing authorities in the implementation of the underoccupancy charge in circumstances such as when a child dies and the house thereby becomes underoccupied?
My Lords, I, too, am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Leigh, for achieving this debate and to Wigan for releasing him to make that powerful case on behalf of so many of our metropolitan districts, such as Leeds, of which we have heard much in this debate. They face particular difficulties, partly because of their size and the amount that they have to provide, in responding to...
My Lords, I am very grateful indeed to the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, for initiating this debate and for expressing so clearly the issues involved and, indeed still more, for her determined advocacy in this House and elsewhere of the rights and needs of children, especially those children who are most at risk within our society. Childcare provision in this country has grown like...
More of The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds's speeches and debates
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider retaining and developing children's heart surgery services in Leeds in the light of the High Court ruling on 7 March regarding the Safe and Sustainable Review.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for uprating the level of the benefit cap in future years to take account of changes in average take-home pay.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the rate of financial support for children and their families needing asylum support while they are in the United Kingdom is adequate to prevent children being left destitute.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to uprate the level of financial support for children and their families needing asylum support while they are in the United Kingdom.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to publish the findings of its review of the Safe and Sustainable proposals on children's congenital heart services; whether they issued any instructions about consulting Members of Parliament when requesting that review; and whether they plan to issue further instructions to ensure that interested Members...
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the recommendations from the Department for Education Expert Data Group.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the recommendations from the task and finish group on out of area placements of children in care.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households in (1) the United Kingdom, and (2) each region within the United Kingdom, receive help with their childcare costs through (a) tax credits only, and (b) both tax credits and housing benefit.
