Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress has been made on the Morocco-UK Power Project; and how many hours staff in his Department have spent working on the project in the last 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As the Government set out in the Energy Security Plan, we are actively exploring the potential for international projects to provide clean, affordable and secure power. We are interested in the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project and are considering – without commitment – the viability and merits of the proposal to understand if it could contribute to the UK’s energy security.
We have been engaging with the developer over the past 12 months, and in January established a departmental team to assess the project through a Business Case process that is ongoing. The team has spent an estimated around 9,500 hours on this project.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions he has had with the Church of England General Synod on its expected timetable for bringing forward proposals on (a) blessings, (b) marriages and (c) rules for clergy in same-sex relationships.
Answered by Andrew Selous
In February 2023 the General Synod agreed proposals that would enable same-sex couples to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.
In my response to the Rt Hon Member’s oral question of 9th March, I said:
“The pastoral guidance is being worked on, and the bishops remain committed to implementing their response to Living in Love and Faith, which the General Synod approved last month. The timing may depend on the July Synod’s response to the pastoral guidance and “Prayers of Love and Faith”. The Synod is a democratic body and, like this Parliament, its decisions cannot be guaranteed in advance.” (Commons Hansard 9th March 2023, col. 409)
That answer was given in the hope that the necessary work would be completed in time for the July Synod to consider it, but was not intended as a guarantee that it would. While I understand that the work to produce the new pastoral guidance is progressing well, it is not at the stage where it is possible for it to be considered at the July sessions of the General Synod. Instead Synod members will be given an update and an opportunity to ask questions. It will be possible to consider a timetable for the introduction of the prayers of love and faith once other key elements, including the new pastoral guidance, are in place. All efforts are being made to progress the work.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department have made of trends in the levels of homelessness amongst (a) lesbian, (b) gay, (c) bisexual and (d) transgender people in the last 24 months.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has been mandatory for local authorities to collate declared information on sexual orientation for Homelessness Case Level Information Collection since April 2023 and we will publish relevant data in due course. This will further improve the Government's ability to measure and understand the outcomes for LGBT individuals who are at a risk of homelessness or are homeless.
Our approach is locally led. We expect councils to commission services based on an assessment of the needs of their local community and to make sure that needs of all groups are considered, such as in programmes like the £500 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI).
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained to respond to the needs of all households experiencing homelessness. In May 2023, I chaired a round table raising awareness of the challenges faced by young LGBT people, and this was attended by colleagues from local authorities.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities receive adequate training on supporting LGBT young people (a) experiencing and (b) at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has been mandatory for local authorities to collate declared information on sexual orientation for Homelessness Case Level Information Collection since April 2023 and we will publish relevant data in due course. This will further improve the Government's ability to measure and understand the outcomes for LGBT individuals who are at a risk of homelessness or are homeless.
Our approach is locally led. We expect councils to commission services based on an assessment of the needs of their local community and to make sure that needs of all groups are considered, such as in programmes like the £500 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI).
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained to respond to the needs of all households experiencing homelessness. In May 2023, I chaired a round table raising awareness of the challenges faced by young LGBT people, and this was attended by colleagues from local authorities.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve Homelessness Case Level Information Collection data on sexual orientation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
It has been mandatory for local authorities to collate declared information on sexual orientation for Homelessness Case Level Information Collection since April 2023 and we will publish relevant data in due course. This will further improve the Government's ability to measure and understand the outcomes for LGBT individuals who are at a risk of homelessness or are homeless.
Our approach is locally led. We expect councils to commission services based on an assessment of the needs of their local community and to make sure that needs of all groups are considered, such as in programmes like the £500 million Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI).
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained to respond to the needs of all households experiencing homelessness. In May 2023, I chaired a round table raising awareness of the challenges faced by young LGBT people, and this was attended by colleagues from local authorities.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many LGBT young people aged 16-25 have been victims of a hate crime in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office publishes information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police on an annual basis. This provides information on hate crimes, including sexual orientation and transgender identity hate crimes, but does not include the age of the victim for these strands. Information for 2021/22 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the work started in phase one of the Independent Safeguarding Board will be completed following the disbanding of the Board.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The Archbishops’ Council of the National Church Institutions is absolutely committed to developing fully independent scrutiny of safeguarding within the Church of England to ensure the Church of England is a safe place for everyone, to be transparent and accountable, and to hear the voices of victims and survivors. The actions of the Archbishops' Council and reasons for the decisions taken are set out here: Statement from Archbishops’ Council on the Independent Safeguarding Board | The Church of England
The work of independently reviewing cases will not stop, and the Archbishops’ Council has moved swiftly to put in place interim arrangements, which will be carried out as at present by external experts. The priority will now be to move to the next phase of setting up a fully independent Board, which will be fully separate from the Church. The Church of England will engage with victims and survivors and others to establish a process of working together to design a permanent independent oversight structure as soon as possible. It is not appointing further Board members at this stage.
The Archbishops' Council has been seeking to resolve the dispute in good faith. But because the two board members were reluctant to engage in those discussions, for example they had not met with the Acting Chair since March, with great regret the Archbishops’ Council felt this was the only way forward.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what process the Church is using to appoint new members of the Independent Safeguarding Board.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The Archbishops’ Council of the National Church Institutions is absolutely committed to developing fully independent scrutiny of safeguarding within the Church of England to ensure the Church of England is a safe place for everyone, to be transparent and accountable, and to hear the voices of victims and survivors. The actions of the Archbishops' Council and reasons for the decisions taken are set out here: Statement from Archbishops’ Council on the Independent Safeguarding Board | The Church of England
The work of independently reviewing cases will not stop, and the Archbishops’ Council has moved swiftly to put in place interim arrangements, which will be carried out as at present by external experts. The priority will now be to move to the next phase of setting up a fully independent Board, which will be fully separate from the Church. The Church of England will engage with victims and survivors and others to establish a process of working together to design a permanent independent oversight structure as soon as possible. It is not appointing further Board members at this stage.
The Archbishops' Council has been seeking to resolve the dispute in good faith. But because the two board members were reluctant to engage in those discussions, for example they had not met with the Acting Chair since March, with great regret the Archbishops’ Council felt this was the only way forward.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many parishes in the Diocese of Truro have a vacancy for (a) an incumbency and (b) a priest-in-charge; and how many (i) incumbent and (ii) priest-in-charge vacancies there have been in Truro Diocese in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Selous
Parish priest appointments are a matter for diocesan bishops. Data about the number of vacancies for incumbents and priests-in-charge per annum are not held centrally by the National Church Institutions.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Commissioners made an assessment of the potential implications of any obligation to provide an independent mediator to resolve the Independent Safeguarding Board dispute.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The Archbishops’ Council of the National Church Institutions is absolutely committed to developing fully independent scrutiny of safeguarding within the Church of England to ensure the Church of England is a safe place for everyone, to be transparent and accountable, and to hear the voices of victims and survivors. The actions of the Archbishops' Council and reasons for the decisions taken are set out here: Statement from Archbishops’ Council on the Independent Safeguarding Board | The Church of England
The work of independently reviewing cases will not stop, and the Archbishops’ Council has moved swiftly to put in place interim arrangements, which will be carried out as at present by external experts. The priority will now be to move to the next phase of setting up a fully independent Board, which will be fully separate from the Church. The Church of England will engage with victims and survivors and others to establish a process of working together to design a permanent independent oversight structure as soon as possible. It is not appointing further Board members at this stage.
The Archbishops' Council has been seeking to resolve the dispute in good faith. But because the two board members were reluctant to engage in those discussions, for example they had not met with the Acting Chair since March, with great regret the Archbishops’ Council felt this was the only way forward.