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1679012

registered interest
date	19/12/2023
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Nigeria
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church has had discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the attack on the St Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Nigeria in 2022; and whether the Church is providing aid for the victims of that attack.
tabling member constituency	Gainsborough
tabling member printed	Sir Edward Leigh
uin	7472
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a statement at the time of the attack on the Roman Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier in 2022, saying: “The massacre of worshippers – men, women and children – during a Mass in South-west Nigeria was an act of pure evil and a profound offence to God. My prayers are with all affected by this barbaric attack. I continue to pray for the nation of Nigeria.” The Archbishop meets often with politicians and clergy from Nigeria and has raised the issues of inter community and inter-religious violence.</p><p>Bishops of the Church of England are in regular discussion with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on matters affecting freedom of religion or belief, including in Nigeria. On 6<sup>th</sup> June 2022 the Lord Bishop of Leeds asked a question of the Minister of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the House of Lords, during exchanges on an answer to an urgent question on the attacks. He stressed that while condemnation by religious leaders was necessary and important, it often had limited impact on the self-proclaimed and ideologically-driven religious groupings and organisations behind such attacks.</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2022-06-06/debates/B6A5FF6E-A393-4201-9A75-BEBB56A981CD/details#contribution-22B83542-1AF7-4AB0-B1B6-B6D78F081CF2" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2022-06-06/debates/B6A5FF6E-A393-4201-9A75-BEBB56A981CD/details#contribution-22B83542-1AF7-4AB0-B1B6-B6D78F081CF2</a></p><p>The Church has not provided any direct financial aid to the victims of this attack, but through its diocesan companion links with Nigeria and the work of its voluntary mission agencies it is continuing to support the Church in Nigeria more broadly as it responds to violations of freedom of religion or belief.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 26/02/2024 15:33:16 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 11558 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	345 label Biography information for Sir Edward Leigh

1536843

registered interest
date	27/10/2022
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: Longfleet
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the implications for its policies on the proper use of Church moneis of the case in the ecclesiastical Parish of Longfleet, St Mary's, Poole; what episcopal oversight was there of that case and when the Commisioners were informed of the details; and if the Commissioners will take steps to share lessons learned for best practice with other diocese.
tabling member constituency	Poole
tabling member printed	Sir Robert Syms
uin	72919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>The parochial church council is a charitable body subject to the oversight of the Charity Commission. I understand that the Charity Commission is aware of the case following a referral by the Diocese of Salisbury and the office of the Bishop of Salisbury. The National Church Institutions cannot provide guidance to trustees on particular cases, but the Legal Advisory Commission regularly provides updates for PCCs and other trustee bodies on their general duties and obligations.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 21/11/2022 17:15:04 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 33334 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	245 label Biography information for Sir Robert Syms

1484264

registered interest
date	28/06/2022
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Rural Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Church of England Report, Released for mission, growing the rural church, published in 2015, which identifies that 17.6 per cent of the English population live in rural areas and 40 per cent of churchgoers attend parishes in rural areas, and with reference to the Parish Finance Statistics 2020 which shows £471 million of parish giving for the whole of the Church of England in 2020, what proportion of that parish giving came from rural parishes.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2022 answer text <p>A revised analysis based on ONS rural/urban land-use classifications and the latest (2019) mid-year population updates, gives a slightly different set of parishes classified as rural, totalling 24% of the English population. Analysis of church attendance has been complicated in recent years because of the effects of COVID and restrictions on in-person worship, but it is estimated that 37% of attendance is in these parishes. Analysis of the £471million giving reported in 2020 Parish Finance Statistics indicates that 44% came from these parishes in rural areas. Rural areas tend to be wealthier on average; of the population living in the most deprived 10% of parishes, 5% live in these rural areas, and 95% in urban areas.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/08/2022 14:04:41 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 11594 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1463643

registered interest
date	17/05/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Transforming Wigan project in the Diocese of Liverpool, what Church Commissioners’ funding has been awarded to that project since its inception in 2014.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	3457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/05/2022 answer text <p>The Diocese of Liverpool was awarded £900,000 of Strategic Development Funding in 2014 for its Transforming Wigan project.</p><p>A full list of projects awarded Strategic Development Funding is available on the Church of England website at <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/SDF%20project%20summaries%20July%202021.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/SDF%20project%20summaries%20July%202021.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 27/05/2022 16:00:02 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 1444 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1463644

registered interest
date	17/05/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Transforming Wigan project in the Diocese of Liverpool, what quantitative outcomes were envisaged as a result of the Church Commissioners’ funding of that project.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	3458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/05/2022 answer text <p>At its outset, the project had a wide range of different metrics providing an indication of the scale and direction of change sought. These can be seen on the Project Bid Document available on the Transforming Wigan website: <a href="https://d3hgrlq6yacptf.cloudfront.net/603eb0893e402/content/pages/documents/1602081544.pdf" target="_blank">1602081544.pdf (d3hgrlq6yacptf.cloudfront.net)</a> (though dioceses are not required to publish these documents). These covered increased engagement with young people, establishing new expressions of church, training for clergy and lay people, and increased financial sustainability.</p><p>Some of these goals have been significantly over-achieved, others have proved more challenging. Over time, the programme has evolved based on learning about what is working and where a change in approach has been needed, including reflecting the impact of Covid-19. An independent evaluation will be commissioned when the programme is finished, to capture learning and impact.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 27/05/2022 16:04:53 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 1445 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1463645

registered interest
date	17/05/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Transforming Wigan project in the Diocese of Liverpool, in the interests of transparency in the use of charitable funding and learning lessons, if the Church Commissioners will publish (a) all requests for Church Commissioners’ finance for the project, (b) the responses to each request, (c) progress reports made and (d) comments by the Strategic Investment Board on those reports.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	3459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/05/2022 answer text <p><em>The diocese has asked for funding for the Transforming Wigan project once, in 2014, and was awarded £900,000 of SDF at that time.</em></p><p><em>Funding has also been awarded to projects to improve the strategic capacity (£168,000), multiply congregations in deprived areas (£1m) and to invest in younger generations (£4.6m) across the whole Diocese of Liverpool, which also have elements which support ministry in Wigan.</em></p><p><em>All SDF projects are announced when they are funded, are reported to the General Synod in the SIB annual report, and a full list is available on the Church of England’s website. All projects go through a robust process of a 2-stage application with full project plan, annual reporting, continuing engagement between the diocese and the national church, and a final independent evaluation. The diocese has chosen to publish their application on the Transforming Wigan website <a href="https://d3hgrlq6yacptf.cloudfront.net/603eb0893e402/content/pages/documents/1602081544.pdf" target="_blank">1602081544.pdf (d3hgrlq6yacptf.cloudfront.net)</a> but in general this robust process is dependent on being able to have open, honest and confidential conversations, both at Board level and with dioceses.</em></p><p><em>Transparency and learning have been mentioned in the Independent Review of LInC and SDF as areas where the funding programme can do more, and the Strategic Investment Board is working on proposals to improve both learning and transparency without compromising the quality and robustness of its accountability. Overall, the Strategic Investment Board has confidence in the Transforming Wigan programme and its engagement with young people, founding of new church communities, and training of clergy and lay leaders.</em></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 27/05/2022 16:08:26 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 1446 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1461810

registered interest
date	11/05/2022
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to Figure 10 of the report entitled Independent Review of Lowest Income Communities funding and Strategic Development Funding published by Sir Robert Chote and others in February 2022, how many of the national total of 25,923 new disciples the Church of England expects to be in Truro Diocese; and how many of the 5,019 new disciples have been recorded by the Strategic Development Unit.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	582
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/05/2022 answer text <p>The question relates to the ‘Transforming Mission’ project in the Diocese of Truro. Strategic Development Funding was granted initially in 2017 for Transforming Mission in Falmouth and further grants were awarded in 2019 to extend the project to Truro, Camborne, St Austell, and Liskeard. Transforming Mission represents a significant investment in parish ministry in the county of Cornwall, benefitting many deprived parishes. While the project has been hit hard by Covid, with disruption meaning detailed and up-to-date data is not available, early signs are that there has been a positive recovery and return to church since the pandemic; although more time will be needed to fully realise its planned outcomes compared to if the pandemic had not happened. <br> <br>Transforming Mission in Falmouth has shown encouraging results, with growth in the existing parish congregation and a new congregation, and increased engagement with the community and university in Falmouth. In Camborne, at the time of the funding award in 2019 the parishes were in regular contact with 20 children and young people per month. By May 2022 this had increased to 460 children and young people, and 230 parents and carers in regular contact with the parishes.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 30/05/2022 18:36:51 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 395 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1455278

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Transforming Wigan project in the Diocese of Liverpool, if the Church of England will provide figures for the worshipping community in each of the (a) 29 former parishes and (b) 7 new parishes in the deanery of Wigan in the Diocese of Liverpool in each year from 2016 to 2021.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	149136
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2022 answer text <p>While financial accounts of parishes are publicly available on the Charity Commission’s website, it is not the policy of the National Church Institutions to publish the data on attendance and finances that they request from individual parishes, because the right to publish is not given by parishes when they provide the data to the national Church.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 149137 149138 question first answered 27/04/2022 15:56:46 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 61845 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1455279

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Transforming Wigan project in the Diocese of Liverpool, if the Church of England will provide figures for parish giving in each of the (a) 29 former parishes and (b) 7 new parishes in the Deanery of Wigan in the Diocese of Liverpool in each year from 2016 to 2021.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	149137
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2022 answer text <p>While financial accounts of parishes are publicly available on the Charity Commission’s website, it is not the policy of the National Church Institutions to publish the data on attendance and finances that they request from individual parishes, because the right to publish is not given by parishes when they provide the data to the national Church.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 149136 149138 question first answered 27/04/2022 15:56:46 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 61846 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1455280

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
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: Wigan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the pastoral reorganisation of Wigan in the Diocese of Liverpool, Scheme 08072019, if the Diocese will provide figures for the (a) requested and (b) donated Parish Share in each of the 29 former parishes and the 7 new parishes in each year from 2016 to 2021.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	149138
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2022 answer text <p>While financial accounts of parishes are publicly available on the Charity Commission’s website, it is not the policy of the National Church Institutions to publish the data on attendance and finances that they request from individual parishes, because the right to publish is not given by parishes when they provide the data to the national Church.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 149136 149137 question first answered 27/04/2022 15:56:46 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 61848 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw