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857659

registered interest
date	08/03/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what funding is available for church infrastructure projects.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	904239
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2018 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners provide financial and administrative support to cathedrals and dioceses. It is up to each self-governing church or cathedral to raise funds for development projects, and the National Church Institutions provide advice and support.</p><p>The changing priorities and declining budget of the Heritage Lottery Fund is a matter of concern, as this is where much fundraising money comes from; officers at national level continue to work with the Heritage Lottery Fund on the specific issues churches face. The HLF is currently reviewing its strategic priorities and I would encourage all Hon. members to consider sending in a response, making the importance of churches as community assets clear.</p><p>The Church of England has been in discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury about the current underspend of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, realocating the underspend would enable the Church to deliver a number of the recommendations in the Taylor Review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/03/2018 14:53:55 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

857088

registered interest
date	07/03/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Broadband and WiFi
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to make its buildings available for broadcasting (a) Wi-Fi and (b) broadband signal to improve connectivity in rural areas; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Shrewsbury and Atcham
tabling member printed	Daniel Kawczynski
uin	131600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2018 answer text <p>The Church of England recently signed an Accord with Her Majesty’s Government to enable churches to improve broadband and mobile connectivity, particularly in rural areas. The Accord sets out how the Government and the Church can collaborate to help achieve this. Specifically, companies are being invited to tender to provide connectivity under a framework agreement with rural parish churches. The intention of the Accord is to indicate to Church Chancellors, Diocesan Advisory Committees and Local Planning Departments that there is no institutional barrier to this technology being used to promote connectivity in a manner appropriate for the community.</p><p>Currently, 86.4% of households in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency can access superfast speeds - up from 5% in 2011. Church buildings and property may be a good way to reach the last 13.6% of the constituency.</p><p>The Church of England is in the process setting up a working group with interested dioceses to identify areas where further work or guidance may be required to support the Accord. Discussions are also ongoing with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to establish where the barriers are to progress this project further.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/03/2018 14:44:33 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1566 label Biography information for Daniel Kawczynski

855893

registered interest
date	06/03/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Jerusalem
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the leaders of other Christian Churches on the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
tabling member constituency	Walsall North
tabling member printed	Eddie Hughes
uin	904236
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2018 answer text <p>The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has reopened following three days of closure which left pilgrims and visitors praying in the square outside. The dispute was over a new tax policy and proposed land expropriation law.</p><p>Officials from Church House and staff at Lambeth Palace were in regular contact with the Heads of Churches Group in the City of Jerusalem through Archbishop Suheil the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem as the events unfolded. On the 5<sup>th</sup> of March, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster wrote a joint letter to the Israeli Ambassador in the UK, to say that both Churches believed “the measures being pressed in Jerusalem and in the Knesset, were a clear and evident threat to the status quo and that this risked undermining prospects for peaceful coexistence between communities, at a time of already heightened tensions.” Specifically, that, “the new policy would cause serious damage to the Christian presence in Jerusalem, to Christian families, and to the Christian institutions, including hospitals and schools, which serve many of the poorest people, regardless of their background.”</p><p>The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference in England and Wales will continue to work closely together on issues relating to Israel and Palestine. Bishops from around the world make an annual joint visit to the Holy Land as part of the Holy Land Coordination Group. The Bishop of Southwark along with the Catholic Bishops will be hosting a meeting for all Members on the 15<sup>th</sup> May, 3-4pm in Committee Room 2A to discuss and feedback the findings of their visit.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/03/2018 15:02:00 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes

855895

registered interest
date	06/03/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Financial Services: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps are being taken to roll out financial education in Church of England schools.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	904237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2018 answer text <p>In a recent submission to the Department for Education consultation on the future of PSHE education the Just Finance Foundation set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury reported that 40% of UK adults have less than £100 in savings and struggled to manage money. The impact of potential lifelong indebtedness makes financial capability an issue of pressing importance for younger generations. The Church of England approached this through the foundation of an education programme called LifeSavers.</p><p>LifeSavers was designed to practically demonstrate­ how schools can weave financial education throughout the teaching and life of the school in a way that is sustainable. Funding has currently has enabled the scheme to operate in 70 schools with a further 50 next year. Half of the number of LifeSavers schools operate in Church of England schools and more than 15,600­­­ pupils have already taken part in LifeSavers, and over 1,200 teachers have been trained through its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme. ­The results seen by the Just Finance Foundation to their projects has led them to press the Department for Education to put financial education on an equal footing within the PSHE curriculum.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/03/2018 14:54:35 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

855901

registered interest
date	06/03/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Bureaucracy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to reduce the level of administrative paperwork for church communities.
tabling member constituency	Gloucester
tabling member printed	Richard Graham
uin	904242
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2018 answer text <p>The Church of England keeps the administrative burden on its clergy constantly under review. There is a current programme of work in process to simplify many aspects of its work. The simplification programme has already cut a great deal paperwork and moved much of its administration online. For example, applications for permission to make changes to church buildings under the Faculty process are now much easier and quicker. 30 of our 40 dioceses are now using the bespoke online application and file management system, which not only reduces the use of paper but also pre-completed forms, remembers past applications so text can be re-used, and stores key documents securely.</p><p>The Registration of Marriage Bills currently in front of both Houses also attempt to simplify the registration process for marriage by digitising aspects of the administration.</p><p>The Church of England has also developed a new Digital Communications team which supports the national, diocesan and parish level to improve communications through websites, social media and other digital channels.</p><p>Specifically, within the Diocese of Gloucester there is an imaginative vision in place which has four key themes around leadership, imagination, faith and engagement (LIFE). Liberating people for life-giving community engagement means looking at governance and administration in new ways.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/03/2018 14:45:32 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	3990 label Biography information for Richard Graham

828329

registered interest
date	23/01/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Religion: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the Department for Education on ensuring that religious studies remains a priority in schools.
tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
uin	903525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2018 answer text <p>The Education Office of the Church of England is in regular dialogue with the Department for Education and is a member of the ‘Faith Providers’ group, which meets frequently with the Department to discuss a range of issues connected with schools of a religious character. One of the issues that the Office has raised in those discussions is the concern that Religious Education is not included within the EBacc.</p><p>The Education Office has also submitted written and oral evidence to the Commission on Religious Education and, following the publication of its interim report, has discussed its findings with the Commissioners. The Education Office is part of a programme run by the Theos Think Tank, bringing together leading players in RE with officials from the Department for Education and also the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss a range of issues including RE.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 25/01/2018 16:35:23 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

827259

registered interest
date	22/01/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Fracking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Rt. Hon. Member for Meriden representing the Church Commissioners what the policy of the Church of England is on fracking on land owned by the Church of England.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	123905
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2018 answer text <p>All oil and gas deposits in the UK are owned by the Crown. There are no plans for the Church Commissioners to use its land or mineral rights for the purpose of fracking.</p><p>As a policy, The Church Commissioners do not seek applications for seismic drilling/exploration and fracking. Allowing seismic testing/exploratory drilling does not imply approval of fracking, litigation risks arise for landowners should they wish to oppose a request to carry out geophysical surveys on their land. The Church Commissioners seek to minimise this risk.</p><p>The Church Commissioners are responsible landowners and landlords and we seek to protect both our interests and those of our tenants. The Church does not have an official position on fracking and recognises it’s a controversial and evolving issue and people within the church hold a range of views. The Church of England issued a Briefing Paper on Shale Gas and Fracking in December 2016 which can be found here: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/shale-gas-and-fracking.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/shale-gas-and-fracking.pdf </a><br></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 25/01/2018 09:28:11 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

819808

registered interest
date	10/01/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Redundant Churches: Eastbourne
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Church Commissioners will extend the period for consultation on the proposed demolition of St Elisabeth's Church, Eastbourne, while continuing with their plans to develop that site.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	121880
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2018 answer text <p>The consultation period concerning the draft Pastoral (Church Buildings Disposal) Scheme for the demolition of St Elisabeth’s Church at Eastbourne ran from the 17<sup>th</sup> November until the 8<sup>th</sup> of January. The publication of the consultation followed a period of extensive liaison by the Church Commissioners with various interested parties in the future of the closed church. The building has been closed for regular public worship since 2002.</p><p> </p><p>With regard to the future of the murals by Hans Feibusch, the draft Scheme provides for further time (until 1 September 2018) for potential recipients of the murals to produce a viable proposal for their relocation. This period had already been extended and the Church Commissioners remain open to discussions with any interested party in resolving their future.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 15/01/2018 18:16:29 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

816856

registered interest
date	05/01/2018
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Nottinghamsshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress has been made on securing visitor toilets for Scrooby church.
tabling member constituency	Bassetlaw
tabling member printed	John Mann
uin	121283
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2018 answer text <p>The parish of Scrooby is still currently in interregnum.</p><p>As indicated in my answer on the 05 September 2017 to question <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-07-19/6282/" target="_blank">6282 </a>it is my understanding that the Parish Council, congregation, and the wider community have taken the decision to improve the facilities in the nearby village hall, rather than at St Wilfrid’s Church. The decision was in part a consequence of the difficulty of finding a practical and cost-effective way to connect the church with the local sewerage network.</p><p>As each church is unique, the Parochial Church Council with the help of the Diocesan Advisory Committee needs to consider how best any new facilities can be accommodated. There may be cases where the space will not comfortably accommodate a toilet or indeed a kitchen, office or meeting room, alongside the liturgical space. There may also be technical or practical difficulties, as in this case.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 11/01/2018 16:46:33 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1387 label Biography information for Lord Mann

809693

registered interest
date	19/12/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church Commissioners: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many and what proportion of the Church Commissioners' Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions in the 2017-18 Session to date have referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	120313
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2017 answer text <p>In the 2017-18 Session, to date, no answer given by the Church Commissioners has referred to the information requested not being (a) collected or (b) collated centrally.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 21/12/2017 09:55:38 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane