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712373

registered interest
date	20/03/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Yoga
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 guidance is issued to churches on allowing church premises to be used for yoga classes.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	68543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2017 answer text <p>The Church of England takes a flexible approach to yoga classes in church halls, with decisions left to the discretion of the local Parochial Church Council. Advice and guidance is available for parishes that are considering hiring their church hall out, which can be found here <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/media/59302/NRM%20guidance.doc" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/media/59302/NRM%20guidance.doc</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 23/03/2017 16:05:56 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

710473

registered interest
date	13/03/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Peterborough
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 progress has been made by the Church Commissioners in facilitating new housing and school facilities at (a) Phase 2 Paston Reserve, Peterborough and (b) Norwood, Peterborough; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Mr Stewart Jackson
uin	67529
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2017 answer text <p>Officers from within the Church Commissioners’ Property Investment and Parliamentary Affairs departments met most recently with the Rt. Hon. Member for Peterborough on 18th January 2017. The Church Commissioners have an agreement in relation to land at Paston which means that they and their collaborators must jointly agree upon the terms of any sale to a third-party. Those collaborators include Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd, Bedfordia Developments Ltd and Old Road Securities Plc.</p><p>The Church Commissioners continue to actively encourage their partners to conclude the necessary due diligence as soon as possible in order to allow the sale to a third-party house builder to take place. Land for a new primary and secondary school can be released once the land sale to a housebuilder has taken place. Officers of the Church Commissioners remain available to update the Rt. Hon. Member for Peterborough as to the progress of those negotiations at any stage.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 16/03/2017 14:58:43 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

709285

registered interest
date	08/03/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Cathedrals: Peterborough
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 progress has been made on addressing the financial difficulties at Peterborough Cathedral; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Mr Stewart Jackson
uin	67095
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2017 answer text <p>In addition to the answer given on 13 October 2016 to question <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchurchinparliament.org%2F2016%2F10%2F13%2Fchurch-commissioner-question-peterborough-cathedral%2F&amp;data=01%7C01%7Candrew.brown%40churchofengland.org%7C4f0f3753a86545fcf95b08d467bc9066%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0&amp;sdata=b97HMUIkpaSHfbHQjypadEUYk23Q%2F1DHerUyF8wuEmg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">47672</a>, on 6<sup>th</sup> January 2017 the Bishop of Peterborough issued a visitation charge to the Cathedral Chapter and published his directions to improve governance at the Cathedral. <br>These include:</p><ul><li>A greater degree of accountability for the Chapter</li><li>More involvement of the diocese, especially concerning financial oversight</li><li>The Bishop has the right to attend Chapter meetings, receive meeting minutes and regular financial reporting</li><li>Chapter members will receive increased training to prepare them for their role</li></ul><p>The full charge from the Bishop can be found <a href="http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/userfiles/bishops-charge.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/userfiles/bishops-charge.pdf</a></p><p>One of the Cathedral Chapter's actions to address its financial difficulties has been to implement an orderly and phased property sales programme. Several properties are now under offer which will enable Chapter to reduce its borrowings and associated interest payments imminently.</p><p>A new Cathedral Management Team has been established to direct business activities and the Cathedral also plans to hold more events to raise income.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/03/2017 17:54:56 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

706090

registered interest
date	27/02/2017
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 right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress has been made on identifying parish churches suitable for wi-fi and broadband in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	Lincoln
tabling member printed	Karl McCartney
uin	909030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>Churches across the Country play an important role in supporting community infrastructure for their local communities. The Diocese of Norwich since 2011 have been the majority shareholder in WiSpire which provides discreet Fixed Wireless Access technology to attach to church towers. This system builds a network of transmitters offering schools, businesses and residents the opportunity to connect to Wi-Fi and broadband particularly in rural areas.</p><p>The Church is in early discussions to expand this provision into the Diocese of St Edmundsbury &amp; Ipswich and Diocese of Ely. Given the geography of the Diocese of Lincoln it may be a suitable candidate for consideration as the project expands as best provision using this system needs direct line of sight. Conversations are also in progress with the Government to test viability of this and other potential schemes across other parts of the country.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 02/03/2017 12:27:39 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4028 label Biography information for Karl McCartney

707153

registered interest
date	27/02/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Repairs and Maintenance
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 Commissioners are taking to assist urban parishes with capital funding for urgent restorative building work.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Mr Stewart Jackson
uin	909029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>The Church of England highly values the work of the Heritage Lottery Fund in running the Grants for Places of Worship Scheme, a fund which puts £30m a year into UK listed places of worship, of all faiths and denominations. This dedicated scheme takes account of the specific needs of places of worship that are primarily run by volunteers who cannot afford to employ the skills of professional grant-application writers.</p><p> </p><p>The Church has also worked closely with the National Heritage Memorial Fund during the recent Church Roofs Fund scheme that has invested £55m in over 400 places of worship, 300 of which were Anglican churches. This scheme has successfully kept the roof on churches where it was urgently needed in order to keep the building open for its community. This scheme has now ended and we are working with the National Heritage Memorial Fund to evaluate the impact of the scheme across the country.</p><p> </p><p>Given the profound contribution churches make to the social and economic life of the nation it is right that this is recognised in this way, especially as the scheme ensures outcomes from repairs including benefits to local people.</p><p> </p><p>The Church Buildings Council last year awarded just over £600,000 to churches for urgent repairs to buildings and objects including stained glass, sculpture and monuments. This is part of a long-term partnership with the Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim Trust and Radcliffe Trust. The partnership between Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim and Radcliffe Trusts has enabled a simple application process and fast response time, making it a relatively small but very valuable resource for struggling parishes. We are actively seeking to secure the future of this fund and increase its grant-giving capacity through the work of our new associated charity, the Anglican Parish Churches Fund.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 02/03/2017 12:34:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

690223

registered interest
date	17/02/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Credit Unions
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 plans the Churches Mutual Credit Union (CMCU) has to allow members of religious denominations other than the Church of England and the Catholic churches to become members of the CMCU.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Mr Mark Hendrick
uin	64096
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>The Churches Mutual Credit Union (CMCU) allows member of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Methodist Church of Great Britain, Church in Wales, Scottish Episcopal Church, United Reformed Church and Catholic Churches in England &amp; Wales and in Scotland to become members.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/03/2017 17:52:41 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

674432

registered interest
date	16/01/2017
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Repairs and Maintenance
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 estimate the Church Commissioners have made of the potential cost of repairing historic windows in churches.
tabling member constituency	Dudley South
tabling member printed	Mike Wood
uin	908246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>It is extremely difficult to assess the potential costs of repairing specific elements of churches. Often the exact nature of the work to be done is not known until a detailed assessment has been made, something which in itself costs money. Windows are especially vulnerable to wind and weather, as well as isolated cases of vandalism and accidental damage to the glass. Along with roofs they are key areas that must be maintained in order to keep the buildings in use. Stained glass is particularly valuable and unusual – indeed it is the only type of art that also keeps the rain out. The Church of England is aware of a number of local projects to restore and repair windows in the Dudley area, one of the most recent being at St Marks Church, Pensnett, where an appeal for £33,000 was launched by parishioners to restore the masonry around the chancel windows.</p><p>The Church of England does not use its limited resources to assess potential costs in detail because any such survey would be out of date as soon as it was complete. Issues such as available grant funds, availability of specialist contractors and scaffolding, as well as the time of year all affect potential costs. What we do know is that the cost of maintaining these beautiful windows is often more than an individual parish can cover. We are grateful to the Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim Trust and Radcliffe Trust who all work with our own specialist conservation committees to award valuable grants to churches for works such as repair of stained glass. The www.churchcare.co.uk/churches website provides more information on how to apply for these along with a list of recipients from previous years.</p><p>The London Stained Glass Repository part of the Glaziers Foundation is also a good location for churches looking to replace damaged windows ot install new windows. The Repository rescues good quality glass &amp; seeks to find new homes for it. Stained glass which is under threat from building closure or vandalism is brought to the attention of the Repository, usually by the Church Commissioners.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 19/01/2017 12:39:41 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4384 label Biography information for Mike Wood

658430

registered interest
date	14/12/2016
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Blackburn
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, (a) what steps the Diocese of Blackburn has taken to work with Caring for God's Acre to map flora and fauna on its Estate, (b) which churches in the Diocese of Blackburn have recorded flora and fauna in churchyards, (c) what notable finds of flora and fauna have been recorded and (d) what plans the Diocese of Blackburn has to take part in the Cherishing Churchyards Week from 3 June to 11 June 2017.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Mr Mark Hendrick
uin	57603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2017 answer text <p>A) The Blackburn Diocese Environment Group are currently in the process of deciding what the future role of the Diocesan Environmental Project Officer will look like. The Diocese of Blackburn has discussed working with ‘Caring for God’s Acre’ and with the current limited resources, the Diocesan Environment Group hopes to undertake a ‘Living Churchyards’ scheme. They are currently exploring the potential of partnership with the local Wildlife Trust and any project will need funding or sponsorship to get underway. The Diocese of Blackburn is fully committed to supporting enquiries into parish energy consumption and to the international ‘Just Water’ campaign.</p><p>B &amp; C) The Diocese does not hold central records of which Churches have recorded notable flora and fauna in their churchyards, this is more likely to be held locally within parishes, the local Wildlife Trusts and Natural England. If funding can be found for the ‘Living Churchyards’ project a more strategic plan can be produced.</p><p>D) The Blackburn Diocese Environment Group plans to encourage individual parishes that have the capacity to participate in Cherishing Churchyards 2017, and hopes to take a more coordinated approach in 2018. Across the Blackburn Diocese work is often undertaken in partnership and so the Diocese would want any project to also involve the land of other faith communities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 10/01/2017 14:17:32 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

647632

registered interest
date	29/11/2016
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church of England: Peterborough
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2016 to Question 53954, what issues remain which preclude the swift expediting of contracts being exchanged in respect of the disposal of land at Phase 2 Paston Reserve, Peterborough; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Mr Stewart Jackson
uin	55309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2016 answer text <p>There are a few remaining commercially sensitive negotiations which are currently taking place between the Church Commissioners for England, Taylor Wimpey plc and the Homes and Communities Agency who jointly own the site at Paston Reserve. The Church Commissioners hope to be in a position to update the Hon member for Peterborough with progress on the development at the meeting they have with his office on the 18<sup>th</sup> January 2017.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 02/12/2016 14:33:49 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

644289

registered interest
date	25/11/2016
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: War Memorials
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 the Church of England's policy is on erecting new war memorial plaques.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	54987
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2016 answer text <p>Decisions regarding the construction, restoration or repair of war memorials, or laying up of military Standards are made at the local parish level. Any new installation or application for restoration would need to have the support of the local church or cathedral and would be required to submit its proposals for consideration through the usual Church Faculty process to seek permission to alter the fabric of the church or cathedral.</p><p>The Church Buildings Council has produced a free guide, available on the ChurchCare website, to help churches considering commissioning new art, of which memorials would be one type. This is a practical guide aimed at those with no experience of commissioning art and would be well suited to be used by veterans who wanted to work with a church to produce a memorial: <a href="http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/art-artefacts-conservation/introducing-new-art" target="_blank">http://www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/art-artefacts-conservation/introducing-new-art</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 30/11/2016 17:28:38 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah