Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to issue guidance encouraging local domestic abuse partnerships to engage formally with faith-based organisations and faith leaders as part of their local strategies for tackling violence against women and girls.
Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.
Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.
Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities to work with faith-based organisations as trusted community institutions for women at risk of domestic abuse.
Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.
Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.
Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to integrate faith-based organisations into local domestic abuse referral pathways.
Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse as part of its ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Achieving this will require a whole of society approach, including from faith organisations, which play a vital role in supporting people and places to thrive.
Since 2021, Tier 1 local authorities in England have had a statutory duty to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and their children can access support in relevant safe accommodation when needed, backed by £499 million government funding over the period 2026-27 to 2028-29. Statutory guidance makes clear that in delivering the duty, local authorities should consider the needs of all victims; understand barriers to accessing support within relevant safe accommodation, including those linked to religion or belief; and ensure appropriate specialist support is available for victims with relevant protected characteristics, including religion or belief.
Local authorities must appoint and consult a domestic abuse Local Partnership Board including a representative of local charities or voluntary organisations supporting domestic abuse victims, and are encouraged to appoint additional members where this reflects local circumstances and need.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to health services for care leavers in light of the finding of the independent Review of early deaths of care leavers, published on 25 August, that mortality rates are significantly higher among that group.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government commissioned this review to examine the shockingly high number of early deaths of care experienced young people. We are determined to address this national tragedy and are working quickly, across central government and with local partners, to deliver a significant programme of improved support for care leavers as part of our wider reforms to children’s social care.
Work is already underway in this area, including implementing free NHS prescriptions, dental care and eyecare for care leavers from age 16 to their 25th birthday, funding the development of a toolkit to help local authorities and health partners to develop their own co-located mental health services for care-experienced young people, and embedding a mental health worker into local authority leaving care teams as part of further rollout of Staying Close. We will also ensure that statutory guidance for local authorities as well as health services takes account of the review’s findings, including to improve access to physical and mental health services for care leavers.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to increasing and ringfencing funding for leaving care teams in light of the finding of the independent Review of early deaths of care leavers, published on 25 August, that the current workforce supporting young people leaving care is not fit for purpose for those with the greatest need.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government commissioned this review, bringing to the country’s attention the tragic number of young care leavers who die far too young. The transition to adulthood is an important moment to get right, and the leaving care personal adviser workforce plays a crucial role in that.
We are reviewing the personal adviser workforce and setting higher expectations in the relevant guidance. We have confirmed £25 million of funding this financial year alone, to continue the rollout of Staying Close for care leavers, alongside imposing new duties on councils to strengthen their local offer for young people leaving care, which took effect at the end of September.
The final 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement offers £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026/27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025/26. This includes the Revenue Support Grant, which contains funding for the Leaving Care Allowance uplift, extended personal adviser duties, and Staying Put.
The government has a long-standing commitment to provide funding to councils on a non-ringfenced basis, supporting effective and innovative financial management locally and giving local authorities the flexibility to prioritise spending based on local needs and priorities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider the Music and Dance Scheme to have successfully enabled social mobility through arts education; and whether they intend to provide a full £4 million increase to the funding of the scheme recommended to reflect the costs of delivering specialist education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) remains central to providing access to specialist performing arts education for high achieving young musicians and dancers, through means-tested bursaries to attend one of eight private schools or one of 20 Centres for Advanced Training (CAT). For the 2024/25 academic year, this includes paying fees in full for 23% of MDS students attending schools and 57% of students attending CATs, for those from families on the lowest incomes.
The scheme will be allocated future funding of £37.8 million for the 2026/27 academic year. This is a £1.3 million increase to the funding this academic year. We will confirm future funding for the 2027/28 academic year before the end of this calendar year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding reports concerning restrictions on access to land owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Silwan, Jerusalem.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Right Reverend Prelate to the answer provided on 29 June in response to Question HL1145.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Crisis and Resilience Fund will help local authorities to address the causes of financial crisis instead of the symptoms.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Crisis and Resilience Fund aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis. The Fund will support local interventions that prevent people from falling into crisis and improve their citizens’ long-term financial resilience, reducing the need for crisis support in the long-term.
My Department has engaged extensively with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and (2) the Public Order Act 2023, on the right to peaceful protest.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government published a report in December 2024 on how police forces had used their protest powers under the Police, Crime and Sentencing Act 2022 from June 2022 to March 2024. In that period,10 police forces used the amended Public Order Act powers on 473 protests with 95 percent by the Met and 277 arrests for breaches.
Expedited post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 will begin in May 2025, assessing its enforcement and impact, including arrest numbers.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Manchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the police raid on a Quaker meeting house on 27 March for religious and democratic freedoms.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The use of police powers are a matter for the police, who are operationally independent of Government. The Metropolitan Police have issued a statement about the incident in question, which reads as follows:
“Youth Demand have stated an intention to 'shut down' London over the month of April using tactics including 'swarming' and road blocks. While we absolutely recognise the importance of the right to protest, we have a responsibility to intervene to prevent activity that crosses the line from protest into serious disruption and other criminality. On Thursday, 27 March officers raided a Youth Demand planning meeting at an address in Westminster where those in attendance were plotting their April action. Six people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Five of those arrested on Thursday have been released on bail and one will face no further action. A further five arrests for the same offence were made on Friday, 28 March. Four of the arrests were at addresses in London and one in Exeter. All five of those arrested on Friday have been released on bail.”