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1138979

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Equality
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 (a) Church of England and (b) Church in Wales have had with (i) other religious and faith bodies, (ii) the Government and (iii) the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the exemption of those bodies from equality legislation for appointments and provision of services.
tabling member constituency	Gower
tabling member printed	Tonia Antoniazzi
uin	277265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 contains provisions that allow religious organisations to apply a limited range of religious occupational requirements to comply with the doctrines of the religion or to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious beliefs of a significant number of the religion’s followers. The ability to apply religious occupational requirements arises where the employment is “for the purposes of an organised religion” and is not specific to the Church of England.</p><p>The Church of England has regular discussions with other religious and faith bodies, with HM Government, and with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on matters of mutual interest. From time to time these will include reflections on the importance for religious freedom of the provisions that protect faith and belief in the Equality Act.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/07/2019 10:47:39 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 129637 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4623 label Biography information for Tonia Antoniazzi

1138986

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Theft
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 Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 269594 on Churches, which dioceses keep records of (a) thefts and (b) attempted thefts of metal.
tabling member constituency	North East Hertfordshire
tabling member printed	Sir Oliver Heald
uin	277093
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>Detailed information on this is not held centrally. <br>Historic England has the most comprehensive list of churches and other listed buildings that have experience thefts or attempted thefts of metal.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/07/2019 12:22:14 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 129638 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald

1138987

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: St Albans
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 8 July 2019 to Question 269594, whether the Diocese of St Albums holds any records of the type of metal stolen.
tabling member constituency	North East Hertfordshire
tabling member printed	Sir Oliver Heald
uin	277094
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally. The St Albans Diocesan Office keeps a record of the types of metals stolen from churches and the frequency of thefts. <br>For a more detailed breakdown please contact the Pastoral and Advisory Secretary, Holywell Lodge, 41 Holywell Hill, St Albans, Herts. AL1 1HE.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/07/2019 12:22:42 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 129639 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald

1138988

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Theft
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Commissioners plan to investigate which roofing material is (a) least likely to be stolen and (b) best value; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	North East Hertfordshire
tabling member printed	Sir Oliver Heald
uin	277095
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>The Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division of the Archbishops’ Council provide advice and guidance to churches on a range of issues, including roofing materials. <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings</a></p><p> </p><p>Incidents of theft from non-metal roofs are rare, though there is a risk to some rarer types of slate or stone, which are most vulnerable when they are removed for repair. <br>Terne-coated stainless steel is unlikely to be stolen as it is difficult to manipulate and has a low scrap value for the work and risk involved. Metal and other material is least likely to be stolen from a church that has installed an effective alarm.</p><p> </p><p>Lead is the most likely metal to be stolen due to its value and the ease of removing it, followed by copper roofing and rainwater pipes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/07/2019 12:23:34 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 129640 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald

1138229

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	George Bell
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 12 March 2019 to Question 227049 on George Bell, whether the £29,800 represents the full payment for all costs incurred by the church in its initial judgement on Bishop George Bell; and what proportion of that sum was used for costs for (a) lawyers and (b) damages.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	275686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>The former First Church Estates Commissioner gave the answer to the General Synod in July 2016, this can be found on page 58 of the Reports and Proceedings of the General Synod: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/July%202016%20Report%20of%20Proceedings%20w.index_.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/July%202016%20Report%20of%20Proceedings%20w.index_.pdf</a>. <br>As the former First Church Estates Commissioner confirmed in his replies on that occasion, it is not the usual practice of the Church Commissioners to report on legal expenditure.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/07/2019 12:12:18 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 128819 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1135780

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Tourism
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 has taken to promote tourism to its churches and cathedrals.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	271461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England welcomes the Government’s new Tourism Sector Deal, which encompasses all our churches and cathedrals and will give a significant boost to our cultural heritage. Cathedrals in England attract over 10 million visitors a year, the majority as tourists.</p><p>The Church supports the work of the Churches Visitor and Tourism Association on several initiatives that help the public learn more about their local churches:</p><ul><li>The<a href="https://www.explorechurches.org/" target="_blank"> Explore Churches</a> website run by the National Churches Trust provides a single online gateway for anyone wanting to visit churches, whether as a tourist or a pilgrim.</li><li>The <a href="https://facultyonline.churchofengland.org/churches" target="_blank">Church Heritage Record</a> provides geo-located data on every Church of England church, including information on the history of the building where it is available. Local congregations are encouraged to add details of their church to this and to <a href="https://www.achurchnearyou.com/" target="_blank">A Church Near You</a>, to help people planning visits.</li></ul><p>The Church of England also supports the Cathedrals Marketing and Communications Network to share best practice and coordinate national campaigns. Individual cathedrals encourage visitors through hosting special exhibitions, such as Luke Jerram’s <em>Gaia</em>, currently at Liverpool Cathedral, and Tim Peake’s space capsule, which was visited by over 170,000 people when on display at Peterborough Cathedral as part of a national tour.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 03/07/2019 15:43:20 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1135781

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
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: Community Development
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 encourage parishioners to support the local economy.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	271462
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>A recent study of the economic impact of cathedrals in England in 2014 showed that they generated around £220 million annually for the national economy. The report also showed that over 7,300 jobs depend on cathedrals, either through direct employment or the local economy.</p><p> </p><p>Tourists and visitors to English cathedrals generate an additional £125m for the local economy through visitor-related spend, which takes place directly in the towns and cities where cathedrals are based.</p><p> </p><p>No formal assessment has been made of the direct or indirect contribution of churches to the local economy.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 03/07/2019 15:45:25 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1134964

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Theft
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 Commissioners will make an estimate of the number of thefts of lead from church buildings in (a) the diocese of St Albans and (b) England in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019 to date.
tabling member constituency	North East Hertfordshire
tabling member printed	Sir Oliver Heald
uin	269594
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The National Church Institutions do not hold information centrally about the theft of metal from Church of England churches, but records are kept at a diocesan level. Anecdotal evidence points to an increase in instances of metal theft from churches nationwide, with East Anglia and the Midlands being most affected.</p><p>Home Office Counting Rules do not require the police to record if a theft is from a listed building. The Church of England welcomes the July 2019 Sentencing Council proposals to introduce new sentencing guidelines for arson, criminal damage and vandalism of national heritage assets, including listed buildings, historic objects or unique parts of our historic environment.</p><p>Money to fund repairs or adaptations to church buildings is raised by local churches mainly through fundraising and local giving. There is no central Government funding, except through grants in respect of VAT paid on repairs to listed churches.</p><p>The following table for the Diocese of St Albans shows cases of metal theft or attempted theft since 2015. The Diocese covers the majority of the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire area and contains 380 Anglican churches.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Attacks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Diocese provides advice to local churches on protective and preventative measures, including forensic marking and roof alarms, working with the Beds and Herts Historic Churches Trust and the Allchurches Trust. Grants of up to £3,000 per church have been made available to more than 55 churches in the Diocese. In addition the Diocesan Board of Finance allocated 29 roof alarm grants in 2017 and 2018 from small trust funds for church repairs and maintenance. As a result there has been a significant reduction in the number of cases of metal theft in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, though incidents still occur. For example, in June 2019 St Mary's Church in Furneux Pelham north east Hertfordshire, had 90% of its lead roof stolen or damaged over a single weekend.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/07/2019 15:08:36 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 125947 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	69 label Biography information for Sir Oliver Heald

1133851

registered interest
date	21/06/2019
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: Scotland
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 13 June 2019 to Question 262402, if she will provide the details of those landholdings.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
uin	267754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners publish their largest 20 direct equity holdings and the largest 20 property holdings in their annual report (pg 76) a copy of which is available in the Library of the House of Commons or here: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/Church%20Commissioners%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/Church%20Commissioners%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf</a>.</p><p>Due to commercial sensitivities the Church Commissioners do not give more detailed breakdowns of their holdings. A full list of holdings in Scotland would be identifiable via the Land Registry.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 26/06/2019 15:46:49 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1132009

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which projects the Church of England funded to help transform communities as part of the Thy Kingdom Come events.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	264348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Thy Kingdom Come is an ecumenical prayer movement started by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2017, which has grown into an annual global movement of prayer. It is supported by His Holiness the Pope and in 2018 over 65 different denominations and traditions held events across 114 countries. Major beacon events took place in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. More information can be found here: <a href="https://www.thykingdomcome.global/" target="_blank">https://www.thykingdomcome.global/</a></p><p>Events take the form of large public gatherings, community prayer walks, meals and picnics in churches or parks. They bring together people from different traditions and denominations across all parts of the local community.</p><p>In Northern Ireland, both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland Archbishops of Armagh issued a joint statement to support events taking place in St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast, St Macartin’s Cathedral Enniskillen, and St Mark’s Church Armagh. Their message can be read here: <a href="https://www.ireland.anglican.org/news/8866/joint-message-from-archbishop-eamon" target="_blank">https://www.ireland.anglican.org/news/8866/joint-message-from-archbishop-eamon</a></p><p>In County Londonderry, there were three events which saw churches of different denominations gather for prayer. Those that gathered came together and prayed for their local communities, schools, businesses and community projects, and that the Church be a point of unity and light.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 18/06/2019 14:31:37 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell