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1013180

	registered interest
	date	23/11/2018
	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 support the Church Commissioners receive from Her Majesty's Government to enable them to maintain (a) redundant and (b) under-utilised churches.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	195134
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2018 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners receive no direct Government support for maintaining redundant or under-utilised churches.</p><p> </p><p>The Church Commissioners and DCMS provide financial support for the Churches Conservation Trust, which cares for redundant churches of special architectural significance, and for which no suitable alternative use can be found. The Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2016, (which can be found here: <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111142738" target="_blank">https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111142738</a>) sets out the basis of Government funding from 1<sup>st</sup> April 2016 to 31<sup>st</sup> March 2020.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 27/11/2018 17:19:29 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1015278

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Gambling
	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 tackle problem gambling.
	tabling member constituency	Walsall North
	tabling member printed	Eddie Hughes
	uin	907931
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2018 answer text <p>In 2017 the Church of England’s General Synod passed a unanimous motion calling on Government to reduce the stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2.00. This is an issue on which bishops, most notably the Bishop of St Albans, have spoken frequently on and campaigned for. The Church has therefore welcomed the Government’s announcement of the reduction in stakes, and the decision to implement the change in April 2019, as well as the increase in Remote Gaming Duty. The Bishop of St Albans continues to spearhead the Church’s activity in this area and has recently raised in the House of Lords the high quantity of gambling advertisements, increases in child gambling, the voluntary levy paid by gambling firms, and the socio-economic cost to society of problem gambling.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 29/11/2018 16:15:50 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes

1016120

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	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 recent steps the Church of England has taken at parish level to support the needs of local communities.
	tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
	tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
	uin	907925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2018 answer text <p>This year the Church of England surveyed its 16,000 parish churches about their involvement in social action and local community projects. Of the 13,000 churches that responded the survey revealed that 80% were involved in providing services for the benefit of their local communities, either standalone or in partnership with others. These 33,000 projects included debt counselling, lunch clubs, language classes, food banks, children’s clubs, community cafes, holiday and breakfast clubs and night shelters.</p><p>There are many good examples of work in the Rochester Diocese, 11 of the 12 Church of England churches within the Gillingham deanery (which covers the Gillingham and Rainham constituency) are involved in providing on average at least 4 different projects to support the wider local community.</p><p>The areas in which the churches in Gillingham deanery are engaging is as follows:</p><ul><li>10 churches provide or support a Foodbank</li><li>8 churches operate a parent/carer and toddler group</li><li>7 churches operate a night shelter or other homeless provision</li><li>6 churches provide pastoral provision for wider community through operating street pastors groups, counselling/support, tackling loneliness projects</li><li>5 churches operate Youth projects (for the wider community)</li><li>4 churches provide a Lunch club or drop in service.</li></ul> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 29/11/2018 16:16:39 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1017355

	registered interest
	date	29/11/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christ Church College
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Rt. Hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to her oral contribution of 29 November, Official Report, what status the suspension of the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, from his role as Dean of the Anglican cathedral has as a result of the complaint being an internal matter for the college and neither the Church Commissioners nor the wider Church of England has any role in that process.
	tabling member constituency	Henley
	tabling member printed	John Howell
	uin	197459
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>Christ Church Oxford is a joint foundation comprising both College and Cathedral. The post of Dean being indivisible, the different aspects of his or her duties cannot be separated. Under the statutes of Christ Church, where a complaint is referred to a Tribunal, the Senior ex-Censor may choose to suspend the Dean from his or her duties without loss of salary.</p><p>The statutes of Christ Church Oxford may be read here: <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chch.ox.ac.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FStatutesofChristChurchOxford.27.4.16.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7Cc460da4ba1d44ed1bf2108d6591c835f%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636794376331365011&amp;sdata=fnFtCHdfidpqBVelc9bCx0%2FbOMF2v%2BM5V93H0gq0b9s%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/StatutesofChristChurchOxford.27.4.16.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 05/12/2018 11:38:33 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1606 label Biography information for John Howell

1020362

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christ Church Cathedral Oxford and Christ Church College
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what is the process for the legal separation of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford and the college of Christ Church.
	tabling member constituency	Henley
	tabling member printed	John Howell
	uin	199380
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The institution of Christ Church was founded as both a cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford and as a college of the University in 1546. The Statutes then conferred were revised under the 1867 Christ Church (Oxford) Act and later modified by successive Commissions in 1882 and 1926, and by various Orders of Her Majesty in Council, with major revisions in 1963 and in 2011.</p><p> </p><p>An Act of Parliament or a Measure would be required to legally separate Christ Church Cathedral Oxford and the college of Christ Church. There is no move to legally separate College and Cathedral.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 10/12/2018 16:52:19 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1606 label Biography information for John Howell

1020364

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christ Church College
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the employment rights of the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, are the same as those of a Dean of a stand-alone Anglican cathedral.
	tabling member constituency	Henley
	tabling member printed	John Howell
	uin	199381
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>Christ Church Oxford is unique. The Dean of Christ Church is not subject to the same terms of service as deans of other cathedrals within the Church of England. The terms of service of the dean and the residentiary canons of the cathedral are set out in the Statues of Christ Church.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 10/12/2018 16:52:51 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1606 label Biography information for John Howell

1022861

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christians against Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of contributions to churches helping run Christians Against Poverty Centres in the 2018-19 financial year.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	200571
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a charity independent of the Church of England. CAP run over 1,000 debt advice centres across the country supporting individuals and families in need. The work of CAP has recently been evaluated by the LSE and its report concluded that the benefit of CAP's work to society was over £31.5million per year, in return for an annual expenditure of £8.7 million.</p><p> </p><p>More information about the report can be found here: <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcapuk.org%2Fconnect%2Fpolicy-and-government%2Fnever-just-a-number&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C34f7d4a8394741b18ed008d66111b7ea%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636803126060672730&amp;sdata=v4q25FzDvzbjizPT%2FuhLGbCUyvCLqMSJB5zXx8HFftM%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://capuk.org/connect/policy-and-government/never-just-a-number</a></p><p> </p><p>The parishes of the Church of England often partner with organisations such as Christians Against Poverty to provide a range of services to support their local communities. The Church of England recently surveyed its parishes and discovered that 80% of congregations are involved in one or more forms of social action. Data gathered from 13,000 churches shows that the biggest area of work is in food banks - with 60%, or nearly 8,000 churches - involved in either running or supporting food banks through volunteers, donations and providing venues.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/12/2018 15:50:17 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1037194

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Cathedrals: Music
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what duty does (a) the Church of England and (b) cathedrals and abbeys have to cathedral choristers with long-term medical conditions under disability discrimination legislation; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Gravesham
	tabling member printed	Adam Holloway
	uin	205855
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England comprises a large number of legally separate institutions, which includes Cathedrals, Parochial Church Councils and Diocesan Boards of Finance. Each Cathedral, as an independent legal entity, is required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 (the “Act”) and so has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons in accordance with the requirements of the Act. This duty applies in relation to a Cathedral chorister who has a disability for the purposes the Act (whether or not the disability is due to a long-term medical condition). However, there is no separate legal duty placed on cathedrals in relation to child choristers as a specific group.</p><p> </p><p>A cathedral has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable all persons with a disability to have physical access to the cathedral. As the Act does not override other legislation, such as listed building or planning legislation, the Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division has produced a guidance note for cathedrals which specifically addresses this issue: <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchcare.co.uk%2Fimages%2Faccess_and_disabled_people.pdF&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C7f8f83476a3945a932d408d6770832c2%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636827274435002881&amp;sdata=7imeo07BtD%2FGlA%2FWyQvLQIpo0BL6cM%2FRwHm%2BKz6OYc0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">http://www.churchcare.co.uk/images/access_and_disabled_people.pdF</a>. Common reasonable adjustments made by cathedrals include the removal of pews to allow greater flexibility of seating and use of space and the addition of ramps and/or the levelling of internal floors.</p><p> </p><p>The duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Act rests with individual cathedrals. What constitutes reasonable adjustment in the situation of choristers will depend on the nature of the particular disability and what may be considered to be reasonable in the circumstances. I understand that several cathedrals have successfully integrated choristers with disabilities into their choirs.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 10/01/2019 14:38:29 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1522 label Biography information for Adam Holloway

1037195

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Cathedrals: Music
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many cathedrals and abbeys (a) do and (b) do not appoint a head chorister.
	tabling member constituency	Gravesham
	tabling member printed	Adam Holloway
	uin	205856
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2019 answer text <p>The operation and governance of cathedral choirs is not a matter for the Church Commissioners and no data on this is held centrally.</p><p> </p><p>In Rochester Cathedral which is nearest to the Hon. Member’s constituency the cathedral has appointed Dean’s Choristers (two boys and two girls) to share the responsibility, the rationale for which is to enable a larger number of choristers to gain leadership experience. This is also the case at some but not all other cathedrals.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 09/01/2019 17:11:27 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1522 label Biography information for Adam Holloway

1063842

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christianity: Oppression
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what humanitarian support the Church of England provides to people overseas that are persecuted for their Christian beliefs.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	222847
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>Anglican mission agencies work with and alongside Churches and partners across the Anglican Communion as they live out God’s mission in often hostile environments. This work is complemented by the web of diocesan companion links that twin Church of England dioceses with other parts of the Communion. These relationships are valuable instruments by which the Church of England provides practical support to those that are facing restriction and hostility as a result of their faith.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 21/02/2019 11:37:35 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1063844

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Homelessness
	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 tackle homelessness.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	909352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>The General Synod of the Church of England will discuss homelessness at its February meeting this week.</p><p>The Church of England is engaged at diocesan and parish level with initiatives such as night shelters, providing food and clothing to people who are homeless. These initiatives are best managed and operated at a local level so that they can best react to the local needs. Good examples of long running projects can be seen in the Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds Dioceses.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 21/02/2019 11:32:36 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1063854

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Married People: Tax Allowances
	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 recent discussions the Church of England has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the marriage allowance.
	tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
	tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
	uin	909357
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners have not recently held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the Married Couple’s Tax Allowance, though the matter has been raised by bishops in the House of Lords.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 21/02/2019 11:30:42 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1079348

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2019
	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, what authority set down in the statutes of the Commissioners enabled the payment of £29,800 to meet damages and costs relating to the case of Bishop George Bell; and what steps the Commissioners took to scrutinise that settlement before they made over those funds.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	227049
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners have a discretion under the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943, assessed on a case by case basis, to pay the costs of a bishop’s office, including costs in connection with legal claims. Requests to the Church Commissioners for assistance with legal costs are subject to scrutiny by the First Church Estates Commissioner and the QC Commissioner, assisted by staff, to ensure that costs are reasonable in the circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 12/03/2019 15:48:27 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1082286

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christ Church College
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, when she expects the internal investigation into complaints against the Dean of Christ Church college Oxford to conclude.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	228586
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2019 answer text <p>Uniquely, Christ Church Oxford is a joint foundation comprising both College and Cathedral.</p><p>The independent tribunal to investigate a complaint against the conduct of the Dean is taking place under the statutes of Christ Church, not under Church legislation. <br>Neither the Church Commissioners nor the wider Church of England have any role in setting the timetable or terms of reference for the tribunal. <br>I am given to understand that the last scheduled hearing is currently timetabled for early July and await the outcome of that process.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 11/03/2019 16:37:54 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1104926

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2019
	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: Lewisham
	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 Church of England has a financial interest in (a) Tidemill Green and (b) the site of Old Tidemill School in Deptford.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	236555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England, the Church Commissioners and the Diocese of Southwark have no financial interest in the site of the former parish church of Christ Church, Deptford.</p><p>The land was sold by the Church Commissioners in 1937. The parish of Christ Church was merged with St Nicholas Church in 1936 to form the parish of St Nicholas with Christ Church. Following significant bomb damage, the Christ Church buildings were demolished in 1937 and the site sold to the London Borough of Lewisham. Housing and a school building now occupy the majority of the site</p><p> </p><p>At the point of sale to the Borough of Lewisham, the usual covenants were placed on a small section of the property which formed the site of the former Church. This covenanted area is outside of the area currently used as a wildlife garden and the school. The covenanted area is to be found at the back of Frankham House. No restrictions were placed on the rest of the property to the north of Reginald Road.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 27/03/2019 13:24:14 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1105867

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Dams: Safety
	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 mining sector on improving the safety of tailings dams after the collapse of Vale dam in Brazil.
	tabling member constituency	Brentwood and Ongar
	tabling member printed	Alex Burghart
	uin	238387
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners have been closely engaged in holding the mining company responsible for the collapse of the Vale dam in Brumadinho, Brazil to account. The Commissioners hosted a roundtable meeting with other investors and senior management from a number of the largest mining companies, at which it became clear that there was a major industry-wide issue with the safety and monitoring of these dams.</p><p>Following demands from the investor’s group, on the 19th March, the Chief Executive of BHP agreed to the need for “a common, international and independent body to oversee the integrity, construction and the operation of all dams and supported the call for increased transparency in tailings dams disclosure.” The Commissioners welcome the lead taken by BHP, and the investor’s group will continue to hold the mining sector to account.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/04/2019 15:57:26 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart

1105965

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2019
	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: Forests
	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 her oral contribution of 28 March 2019, Official Report on the Archbishop's Council's Strategic Development Fund, if she will publish the forestry holdings of the Church of England.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	238374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>As of December 2018 the forestry holdings of the Church Commissioners amounted to 103,138 acres across the United Kingdom, United States of America and Australia. The Church Commissioners most recent Annual Report sets out in more detail its timberland investments: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/Church%20Commissioners%20Annual%20Report%202017.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/Church%20Commissioners%20Annual%20Report%202017.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/04/2019 16:29:05 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1105967

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Forests: 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 her oral contribution of 28 March 2019, Official Report on the Archbishop's Council's Strategic Development Fund, whether it follows Scottish Natural Heritage's Biodiversity Duty Guidance and Advice in its forestry estates in Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	238375
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>All forests managed by the Church Commissioners conform to the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme (UKWAS) and the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), and have Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification. The FSC is recognised by WWF as the “hallmark of responsible forest management”. The Church Commissioners are not required to report under the Scottish Natural Heritage's ‘Biodiversity Duty Guidance and Advice in its forestry estates in Scotland’, as this applies only to public bodies.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/04/2019 16:29:25 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1105970

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Forests: 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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt. hon. Member for Meriden, what steps the church takes to ensure that its forestry plantations in Scotland avoid monoculture plantings.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	238376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>In order to comply with the Forestry Stewardship Council, UK Woodland Assurance Scheme and UK Forestry Standards, forests must contain a maximum of 75% primary species. Latest figures for forests in Scotland managed by the Church Commissioners show that they contain around 65% Sitka spruce, though that percentage was higher when the forests were first planted in the 1960s and 1970s. The remainder comprises native broadleaves and other conifer species such as Scots pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir and open ground. Open ground makes up approximatley 19% of the area under management and mostly comprises native grasses, water (ponds, streams and rivers), heather and rock outcrops. The Church Commissioners will achieve at least 5% native broadleaves by the end of the first rotation.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 01/04/2019 16:29:35 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1109823

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Lambeth Conference
	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 Archbishop of Canterbury will invite bishops from the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Church in Brazil to the Lambeth 2020 conference.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	240952
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>I have met recently with the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss attendance at the Lambeth 2020 conference.</p><p>The publication of information about those invited to the Lambeth Conference in 2020 is a matter for the Archbishop of Canterbury, not the Church Commissioners.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/04/2019 15:58:18 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1109825

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Voting Behaviour
	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 is taking to improve democratic participation among its lay members.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	240953
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England encourages responsible democratic participation in its schools and parishes, as one of the stakeholders involved with UK Parliament Week, and as a provider of hustings and other forms of engagement at election times. The General Synod is the Church’s own national legislative body, to which lay members can be elected. The Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament is expected soon to consider a Church Measure that will reform and simplify Church representation rules on elections for Parochial Church Councils, Deanery and Diocesan Synods.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/04/2019 15:57:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1109827

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Pregnancy
	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 is taking to support women with unplanned pregnancies.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	240954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England provides a wide range of pastoral care through its national network of 12,600 parishes and 18,000 active ordained clergy assisted by 10,000 licensed lay ministers. This care is offered to all regardless of Church affiliation or religious belief. The most effective pastoral care builds a relationship through which a person can be accompanied through difficult situations - rather than offering a service in which the person becomes the client.</p><p>Pastoral care at parish level is extended to women with unwanted pregnancies on the basis that ‘<em>Every possible support, especially by Church members, needs to be given to those who are pregnant in difficult circumstances and care, support and compassion must be shown to all whether or not they continue with their pregnancy.</em>’ (General Synod July 2017: written answer was given by the Chair of Mission and Public Affairs Council in response to a question on the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act).</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/04/2019 15:57:11 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1109828

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Church Services: Attendance
	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 is taking to increase attendance at church services.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	240955
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>Strategic Development Funding has been made available to develop the capacity of Church of England dioceses to increase church attendance. 2017 a total of £44million was awarded to 27 projects in 20 dioceses. In 2018, £61.6 million was awarded to 20 new projects in 20 dioceses. One third of these new initiatives focus on work with children and young people, and the majority are located in deprived areas.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018 the Church of England formed an Evangelism and Discipleship Department, based at Church House, Westminster, to enable a strategic national approach by developing specific interventions and resources to enable and equip its million regular worshippers to be able to talk about and live out their faith. This supplements work at a Diocesan level to develop more growing churches: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/evangelism-and-discipleship" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/evangelism-and-discipleship</a></p><p> </p><p>The Church of England is developing 1,000 new evangelists in the over the next five years. Other measures include working with a number of dioceses around a Culture of Invitation to help parishioners to invite people to their church ( <a href="http://www.cultureofinvitation.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cultureofinvitation.com/</a> ), helping churches to ensure that those coming for baptisms, funerals and weddings are welcomed and invited to continue attending their local church (<a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/christenings</a> ), and the Talking Jesus Course, which is a simple 6 week video-based course to inspire ordinary Christians to share their faith in natural and relevant ways: <a href="https://talkingjesus.org/" target="_blank">https://talkingjesus.org/</a></p><p> </p><p>Seven million people engaged with the Church of England via digital media channels last Christmas through the ‘Follow the Star campaign’. Two million used it to identify a church to attend through the resource <a href="http://www.achurchnearyou.com/" target="_blank">www.achurchnearyou.com</a> The Church’s use of digital and social media has won awards for innovation, and there are now worship and liturgy resources available via Alexa and a variety of Apps.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 08/04/2019 15:55:51 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1109916

	registered interest
	date	05/04/2019
	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, what steps the Church is taking to ensure the evangelical makeup of its congregations is reflected in the custom and practices of the Church's leadership.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	241392
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2019 answer text <p>The traditions of individuals and congregations in the Church of England is not always easily identifiable, and it is often very difficult to label individuals and congregations accordingly. However, the Church is aware of its diversity of traditions and is committed to the growth of the whole Church. A key factor in all senior appointments is the energy candidates bring to evangelism and encouraging confident Christian witness, and of course, different candidates will step into this space in different ways.</p><p>The Church’s Strategic Learning Community and Senior Leadership Development programmes have been created to bring together clergy from across the church, from all traditions and backgrounds. More information about this work can be found here: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/renewal-reform/nurturing-senior-leaders" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/about/renewal-reform/nurturing-senior-leaders</a> However, it is worth noting that both of the current Archbishops identify as having come from an evangelical background, as well as many other diocesan bishops in the Church of England.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 09/04/2019 15:57:39 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1121340

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Churches: 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 representations she has received on the use of church facilities for community purposes at times when worship or church events are not taking place.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	244093
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England encourages its churches to consider making wider, more imaginative and more strategic use of their buildings, where this will help them to fulfil their purpose of being a Christian presence in every community. There is national guidance on selecting the right legal and funding model to develop church buildings for uses beyond worship, whether that is to tackle issues of social justice, or for a commercial partnership. Individual decisions on what is right for particular churches and communities are made by parishes.</p><p>National guidance is available here, along with a number of case studies: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/sharing-your-building" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/sharing-your-building</a></p><p>The Diocese of Hereford has produced a comprehensive resource on developing church buildings for additional uses, called Crossing the Threshold, available here: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/making-changes-your-building-and-churchyard" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/church-resources/churchcare/making-changes-your-building-and-churchyard</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 23/04/2019 07:18:10 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1125178

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christianity: Oppression
	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 the Church of England has made on tackling the persecution of Christians throughout the world.
	tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
	tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
	uin	910766
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England welcomed the decision by the Foreign Secretary to launch an Independent Review into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s support for persecuted Christians.</p><p>On behalf of their two Churches, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster made a joint submission to the Review. They set out a range of practical recommendations about how the Government could take meaningful action not only in protecting Christians facing persecution but also in promoting freedom of religion and belief more widely.</p><p>Their joint submission can be found here: https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/news/latest-news/anglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 09/05/2019 11:40:50 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1125718

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Christianity: Africa
	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 tackle the persecution of Christians in African countries; and what steps the Church of England is taking with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to highlight the persecution of Christians in those countries.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	252642
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England mission agencies are supporting partner churches and communities in Africa to help them address the challenges of inter-religious living. The submission by the Church of England and the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales to the Foreign Secretary’s independent review into persecuted Christians sets out recommendations as to the steps that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can take to support Christian communities and other religious whose right to freedom of religion or belief is being impinged.</p><p>The submission from the Church of England can be read here: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archbishopofcanterbury.org%2Fnews%2Flatest-news%2Fanglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7Cc99ba4c953fc4ca29a1708d6d7b3ab1b%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C636933563999961576&amp;sdata=lkYPUg7yohrUb1SDkrGiN6VIxDlSumjLs1CdRxzmz2I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/news/latest-news/anglicans-and-catholics-make-joint-submission-foreign-office-review-persecuted</a></p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/05/2019 15:04:45 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1125722

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Overseas Aid: Sri Lanka
	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 International Development on ensuring aid reaches people in Sri Lanka who need it most.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	252646
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Church of England has had no discussions with the Department for International Development on aid to Sri Lanka, but the Diocese of Leeds which has had a companion link with Sri Lanka for nearly 40 years, is in regular contact with the Anglican church of Sri Lanka, as to how best the Church can contribute to human flourishing in Sri Lanka.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/05/2019 15:05:33 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1128827

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Housing: Construction
	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 proportion of residential developments constructed since 2015 (a) on land owned by the Church of England under the direction of the strategic land team and (b) by private developers comprise affordable housing.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	259013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>Planning permissions have been granted across a range of geographies, from County Durham where the affordable housing requirement is currently 15%, to Wells in Somerset where the requirement is 40%.</p><p>On land owned by the Church Commissioners where planning permission has been received and sites sold since 2015, approximately 20% of the homes will be affordable dwellings.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 05/06/2019 16:25:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1130914

	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	Affordable Housing: Construction
	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 5 June 2019 to Question 259013, how many affordable homes have been built by the Church of England or its agents in each local authority area since 2015; and what the affordable housing requirement is in each of those local authority areas.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	262248
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>There have been 295 new affordable homes created on land owned by the Church Commissioners since 2015.</p><p>Details for each Local Authority area are shown in the following table.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Local Authority</p></td><td><p>Number of Affordable Houses Provided</p></td><td><p>Policy Requirement for Number of Affordable Houses</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Durham</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Lindsey</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Cambridgeshire</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carlisle</p></td><td><p>42</p></td><td><p>42</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mendip</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunderland</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arun</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ashford</p></td><td><p>77</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>295</p></td><td><p>356</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:52:36 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1130960

	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	Archbishops' Council: Grants
	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 Church Commissioners have the authority to make grants to the Archbishop's Council.
	tabling member constituency	Congleton
	tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
	uin	262341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The powers conferred by the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2018 enable the Church Commissioners to make grants to the Archbishops' Council which the Council may spend in accordance with its own functions. Such funding should support proposals designed to make a significant contribution to the growth of the Church and proposals should only be funded if they are within the priorities identified by the Council and in accordance with a clearly defined policy framework. The Commissioners’ approved policy is set out in full in the document attached at annex A. In addition to the power under the 2018 Measure, the Church Commissioners have a number of other miscellaneous powers to make grants to the Council in support of work with the Council supports, such as grants given for diocesan ministry support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 15:02:19 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman attachment 1 file name annex A.pdf title Annex A
	tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

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

1131249

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Church Commissioners
	answering dept id	9
	answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
	answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
	hansard heading	Churches: Coal
	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 she made of the economic effect on churches and vicarages of the ban on house coal.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	263116
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The economic effect on churches and vicarages of the ban on the use of house coal has been negligible.</p><p> </p><p>Bishops’ see houses and vicarages have not used house coal for many years and the Church Commissioners are not aware of any churches that still use coal as a form of heating.</p><p>The Church of England supports the aim of the Government to improve air quality and public health; the Church has launched several initiatives to support this policy, which include planting more trees on its properties and encouraging churches to increase the biodiversity of their churchyards and green spaces.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 13/06/2019 13:54:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

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

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

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

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