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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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