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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

454781

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2016
	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, how many people involved in investigating allegations of child abuse made against George Bell consulted his papers and diaries in Lambeth Palace Library in the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	28343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2016 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial">In 2013 and 2015 three staff members viewed various sections of the bishop's personal papers held at</ins> Lambeth Palace Library <ins class="ministerial">on two separate occasions.</ins> <del class="ministerial">has no record in the last three years of any of the individuals involved in these investigations making an application to view the papers and diaries of George Bell that are held in the Library.</del></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Mrs Caroline Spelman question first answered 29/02/2016 16:24:51 question first ministerially corrected 06/05/2016 09:26:14 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 47893 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Mrs Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

982756

	registered interest
	date	08/10/2018
	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: Social Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which housing estates (a) in the Greater London area and (b) elsewhere have been sold by the Church Commissioners; and whether guarantees were sought that those estates would remain in social housing ownership.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	175982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2018 answer text <p>In 2005 and 2006 following careful consideration the Church Commissioners took the decision to sell what were known as the Octavia Hill Estates, comprising approximately 1,580 flats and houses within the Greater London area.</p><p> </p><p>The sales, to a joint venture between Grainger plc and Genesis Housing Group, were subject to the residents’ leases, and the rights and obligations contained in these remained. A commitment was made to engage with residents’ associations and to keep in touch with tenants as the sales progressed to keep them fully informed. Some tenants had the right to purchase their properties and this was communicated to the qualifying tenants.</p><p> </p><p>In 1985 the Church Commissioners took the decision to sell their residential property holdings in Brixton to a housing association. According to the records of the Commissioners covenants were not placed on these properties and to the best of knowledge these properties are still owned by a housing association.</p><p> </p><p>The Church Commissioners are not and have never been a social housing provider and have a statutory duty to deliver the best possible return on their investments to fund the work and mission of the Church of England across the country. The Church Commissioners continue to provide new housing across the country where they have land holdings and affordable housing is a key part of that provision.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 19/10/2018 15:07:24 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 77536 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

964564

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2018
	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 steps are being taken to promote greater diversity by (a) gender (b) ethnicity and (c) sexual orientation in leadership positions within the Church.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	uin	169369
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2018 answer text <p>Increasing diversity among the clergy is a priority for the Church of England. Nationally the Church has set a target that it will increase the overall number of people recommended for training by 50% over a five-year period. The Church is well on the way to deliver this and has already seen a 22% increase in those entering training since 2016. The Ministry Division of the Archbishops’ Council has developed programmes to support those who are being called to the priesthood from as wide a range of communities and backgrounds as possible. Members of the Crown Nominations Commission who are involved in the recruitment and discernment process for the most senior appointments also undergo unconscious bias training.</p><p>During 2018 the Church recommended 316 women for training, which was 54% of the total. This represents the highest proportion of women entering training that the Church has seen in the last ten years.</p><p>The most recent data from 2017 shows that around 6% of those entering training self-identify as being from a minority ethnic background. The Church responded by recruiting a National ME Vocations Officer to address this underrepresentation of minority ethnic clergy and through the “Turning up the Volume” programme is supporting future senior leaders. The Ordained Vocations Mentor Directory was also created to help support those at any stage on the journey towards ordained vocations who would like a mentor.</p><p>The Church of England does not record or keep data on the sexual orientation of candidates.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 15/10/2018 15:24:42 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 77537 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

1156262

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2019
	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, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of major property thefts from Churches in the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	4943
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England does not hold data on thefts centrally, but it is kept by local police forces, Historic England and the insurance industry.</p><p>The most prominent form of property theft from churches is that of metal (mainly lead from roofs) and of historic building materials such as flagstones. These are items with a high resale value and which, once removed, can be difficult to identify as coming from a particular place. Because of the largely historic nature of the buildings targeted these thefts are counted as heritage crime. This issue does not just affect churches; it is so widespread that it is the subject of a joint project and Memorandum of Understanding signed by the National Police Chiefs' Council, the Crown Prosecution Service, Historic England and a growing number of local authorities, community safety partnerships and National Park Authorities. It is an agreement to work in partnership with each other to prevent and solve crimes against historic places.</p><p>The Church of England is an active partner in identifying and tackling heritage crime, especially metal theft. The church is part of Operation Crucible, the police-led initiative investigating metal theft, and it has become clear over recent years that this form of criminal behaviour is now being undertaken by organised gangs. The earlier changes to the law did initially lead to a drop in reported incidences, but recently the issue has again become more widespread. The Church of England submitted evidence to the review of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act in 2017 asking the Government to tighten up the Act to better reflect the changing behaviour of both the scrap metal trade and the organised criminal activity.</p><p>Due to the highly mobile nature of this form of organised criminal activity and without increased resource, it is hard to see how police and heritage crime officers will be able to address the increase in thefts we are seeing across the country. Thefts are moving gradually west and north along the major transport routes. This year the Church has had the first reports of metal and stone theft in the Bath &amp; Wells Diocese and in the Yorkshire Dioceses. Tightening up of the law, therefore, needs to be accompanied by increased police resources and greater political will.</p><p>Parish churches are maintained by volunteers on behalf of the local community. Aside from the financial impact of these thefts, the impact on communities is significant. The social and community impact of the crime, as well as the criminal damage to listed buildings, needs to be addressed at sentencing, as even the theft of small amounts of lead or stone cost has a huge impact on local people. These buildings represent our country’s local and national heritage. Due to the highly mobile nature of criminal gangs, it is essential that police and local churches work together to ensure that heritage crime does not become a decreasing priority for police forces.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 05/11/2019 15:30:10 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 3752 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1131076

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	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, what the Church of England's landholdings are in Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	262402
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners hold 12,333.67 hectares of land in Scotland.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 13:56:21 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 122239 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1131079

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	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, what estimate the Church of England has made of the profits from its operations in Scotland in the last 12 months for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	262403
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners recieved a total net income of £8,858,429 from forestry and windfarms between 1st January 2018 to the 31st December 2018.</p><p>We are unable to provide a figure for profit in the equivalent period as liabilities, including for restocking, will be borne over a number of years and the cost of purchasing the asset should be taken into consideration.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:10:01 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 122243 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1131080

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	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: EU Grants and Loans
	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 EU funding the Church of England has received in each of the last ten years.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	262404
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The table shows grant aid received from the UK Government by the Church Commissioners in association with operations in Scotland from 2012 onwards. <br>It is not possible to separate what proportion of these grants comes from the UK Government and what originates from the EU.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Date (Year)</p></td><td><p>Total for Scotland</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>£170,748.72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>£143,838.87</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>£537,843.27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>£140,542.04</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>£20,491.35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>£448,926.37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>£213,472.78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>£12,249.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Grand Total</p></td><td><p>£1,688,112.40</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:16:10 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 122244 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

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

682244

	registered interest
	date	31/01/2017
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Church Commissioners: Security
	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 persons not employed by the Church Commissioners hold security passes entitling them to enter the Church Commissioners premises.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	62530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2017 answer text <p>The security arrangements at Church House in Westminster ensure that employees of the National Church Institutions (NCIs) have full access to those premises whilst others who may need temporary or limited access are able to enter only those parts of the building that they need to access for their work. The system has recently been upgraded to ensure that the NCIs provides a safe environment for staff and visitors.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 06/02/2017 16:51:08 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman previous answer version 34109 answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett