The Bishops' contributions are included below:

Crime: Teenage Murders
The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham asked Her Majesty’s Government :  " What assessment they have made of the causes of the recent violent deaths among teenagers; and what priority the Home Office intends to give to the matter ?" 

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, the violent death of any young person is a tragedy. The Home Office has given, and continues to give, the issues of guns and knife crime the highest priority. We continue to work closely with law enforcement, other government departments and the community and voluntary sector to look at the causes of violence and how we can tackle it. This informs our three-themed approach of policing, powers and prevention.

The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he agree that these violent incidents are the result as much of relational poverty as of material poverty? To what extent has the Home Office analysed the effects of relational poverty and formulated policies to address it?

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, we take these issues very seriously; for that reason, Communities That Care, the Safer London Youth Survey 2004, identified risk factors that can lead to violent behaviour. They include a variety of issues, such as family conflict, low achievement at school, the availability of drugs or weapons, and a lack of social commitment. Those factors are being tackled by cross-government programmes, including the respect action plan, Every Child Matters and extended schools.

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The Lord Bishop of Worcester: My Lords, will the Minister pay tribute to initiatives such as the Damilola Taylor Trust campaign which take seriously those young people who have been involved in knife crime and gun crime and have turned away from it? It invites young people to,

“respect your life, not a knife”,

and therefore builds on the fact that there are young people who have turned away from this kind of activity and have much to contribute to their peers.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, I certainly pay tribute to the projects that have come out of the tragic case of Damilola Taylor. The Government have invested a great deal in programmes such as Positive Futures which provide lifestyle, educational and employment opportunities for young people. We have focused those activities and that spending in many inner-city and deprived areas. In particular, I pay tribute to the respect action plan, which has channelled funding very wisely into many projects to make more useful and valuable community activities available to many deprived youths.

ENDS