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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

1356890

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
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: Assets
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 recent estimate he has made of the value of investment and liquid assets of the Church of England (a) centrally and (b) by diocese and cathedral, including those of the Church Commissioners less the liability for pensions for which they are responsible.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	51619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>At the end of 2020 the total value of the Church Commissioners’ assets, less the estimated value of future pensions obligations, was £7,573m.</p><p>The Commissioners have additional and ongoing statutory funding obligations over and above pension liabilities, including support for the work of bishops and cathedrals. The Commissioners also make grants to support the work of the Church across the country, with a focus on supporting the poorest communities.</p><p>The Commissioners plan their spending in three year cycles and estimated expenditure in 2020-22 is £930m including £383m for pensions.</p><p>Further information is available in the most recent annual report of the Church Commissioners: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/church-commissioners-england/how-we-are-governed/publications" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/church-commissioners-england/how-we-are-governed/publications</a></p><p>The year end balances for Dioceses in 2019 (the most recent information available) were £1,692m in investments (the majority restricted for particular purposes) and £184m in cash. For cathedrals this was £524m in investments and £50m in cash. The majority of investment assets are in property investments, which are less liquid than stock market investments. Typically around two-thirds of diocesan incomes come from parish share, the majority of which is funded by individuals’ donations to Parochial Church Councils. This funding stream has been impacted by the pandemic and resulted in a significant draw on diocesan reserves.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 20/10/2021 17:14:45 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 23248 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1356891

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
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: 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, how much has been paid in (a) National Lottery Funds and (b) Government grants to Church of England bodies including (i) dioceses, (ii) parochial church councils, (iii) cathedrals, (iv) the Church Commissioners and (v) the Churches Conservation Trust in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	51620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p><em>Dioceses, parochial church councils and cathedrals:</em></p><p>The Church Commissioners do not hold figures broken down by Church of England diocese, parochial church council or cathedral, for National Lottery Heritage Fund or Government grants.</p><p>Grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to Church of England churches and cathedrals over the past five years are as follows. Brackets indicate the number of grants awarded:</p><p> </p><p>2016 £ 49,292,200 (166)</p><p> </p><p>2017 £ 25,264,900 (184)</p><p> </p><p>2018 £12,458,450 (144)</p><p> </p><p>2019 £11,652,300 (57)</p><p> </p><p>2020 £3,376,200 (67)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Government (DCMS) figures for grants equal to the value of VAT for works to listed Church of England places of worship over the past five years are:</p><p> </p><p>2016 £20,689,034</p><p> </p><p>2017 £23,839,469</p><p> </p><p>2018 £24,773,038</p><p> </p><p>2019 £24,522,362</p><p> </p><p>2020 £24,665,225</p><p> </p><p>This website, maintained by DCMS, contains details of the Listed Places of Worship Scheme and recent total disbursement: <a href="http://www.lpwscheme.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.lpwscheme.org.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Grants to Church of England listed places of worship under the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund in 2020-21 totalled £54,387,240, broken down as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Building type</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grants</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total amount of funding</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cathedral</p></td><td><p>107</p></td><td><p>£29,424,529</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Major Parish Church</p></td><td><p>154</p></td><td><p>£14,903,597</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Parish Church</p></td><td><p>484</p></td><td><p>£9,889,114</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><em> Church Commissioners:</em></p><p> </p><p>The Church Commissioners do not receive funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund or Government grants.</p><p> </p><p><em>Churches Conservation Trust:</em></p><p> </p><p>The Churches Conservation Trust is an independent charity reporting to both Parliament and the General Synod. It receives income from donations from individuals, trusts and foundations, and core funding from Government (DCMS) and the General Synod of the Church of England via the Church Commissioners. Funding for the last five years is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lottery Grants</p></td><td><p>£1,325,882</p></td><td><p>£683,053</p></td><td><p>£537,795</p></td><td><p>£1,394,687</p></td><td><p>£2,193,611</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Government Grant Funding</p></td><td><p>£2,749,000</p></td><td><p>£2,738,001</p></td><td><p>£2,604,000</p></td><td><p>£2,608,000</p></td><td><p>£4,533,451 of which £2,788,000 grant in aid</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Church Grant Funding</p></td><td><p>£1,355,000</p></td><td><p>£1,355,000</p></td><td><p>£1,655,000</p></td><td><p>£1,430,000</p></td><td><p>£1,430,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Annual Report and Accounts of the Trust are laid before Parliament and are available at <a href="https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/annual-report-accounts.html" target="_blank">https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/annual-report-accounts.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The National Churches Trust October 2020 report ‘The House of Good’, found that the total economic and social value that church buildings generate in the UK amounted to at least £12.4 billion per year, an average of around £300,000 per church. The report can be viewed here: <a href="https://www.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org/" target="_blank">https://www.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org/</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 20/10/2021 17:18:45 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 23249 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy