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1232231

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Church Schools: Coronavirus
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 steps the Church of England is taking to support children to return to school as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>During the period of lockdown Church of England schools remained open to the children of key workers and to vulnerable children, with teachers working extremely hard to provide support for children at school and those who remained at home.</p><p>Church of England schools continue to follow national guidelines on opening and teaching during the current stage of the pandemic.</p><p>Parishes have supported local schools and teachers during this difficult time, with examples including donations of equipment for pupils, and parish rooms and halls being made available for use as extra classrooms in cases where social distancing has required it.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:16:07 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46288 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1232232

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
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 Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the extent of the global persecution of Christians during the covid-19 pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>The Church of England is in regular communication with the Government and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief on the issue of persecution of Christians worldwide.</p><p>The Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating the challenges facing Christians who have experienced persecution in some parts of the world as well as Christians and other faith groups in contexts of civil war. The leaders of the Anglican Communion are in close contact with each other to support in practical and prayerful ways.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:18:07 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46289 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1232233

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Coronavirus
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 progress the Church of England is making on reopening (a) churches and (b) cathedrals for (i) worship, (ii) weddings and (Iii) other ceremonies.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86659
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>Worship, weddings, christenings and funerals in COVID-secure church buildings where appropriate social distancing can be achieved, remain permitted and are unaffected by the most recent Government announcement. The Church of England's most up to date guidance on COVID can be seen here: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:17:41 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46290 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1232234

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches
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 progress the Church of England is making on its plans to establish 2,700 churches over the next ten years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>In July 2020 the Church of England announced a Funding package worth £24 million to increase its presence in urban and deprived areas. More information can be found at: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/church-england-awards-ps24-million-grants-spread-christian-faith-towns-and" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/church-england-awards-ps24-million-grants-spread-christian-faith-towns-and</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:18:55 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46291 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1232235

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Ordination
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 progress the Church of England has been made on increasing the number of ordinands.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>550 people began training for ordained ministry in the Church of England last year and 570 deacons were ordained in 2019 to a curacy parish.</p><p>The number of stipendiaries, or paid clergy, remained stable at 7,700, between 2018 and 2019, following a period of decline. There were 7,830 Readers or licensed lay ministers compared to just under 10,000 in 2010. Readers and licensed lay ministers are not ordained but can lead worship and preach in churches, among other roles.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:19:16 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46294 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1232236

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Marriage
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 steps the Church of England is taking to support marriage (a) for couples on low incomes (b) more widely.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	86662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>Couples who live within a parish or have a qualifying connection to it are able to marry in their parish church according to the rites of the Church of England. Marriage in a church remains a relatively inexpensive option, but an incumbent has the authority to waive some of the fees to help couples who may have particualr financial difficulties or who are on low incomes.</p><p>Many parishes attend wedding fayres and work with local businesses, such as florists and events planners, to increase awareness of the options available to couples to be married in their local church.</p><p>In response to the Law Commission's announcement of a consultation on reform of wedding law, a Church of England spokesperson said: &quot;Our research shows that being married in a place that has meaning is still important to couples and their families. The moments of waiting to walk down the aisle, standing at the steps, exchanging timeless vows that can only be said in a church, and turning to walk out of the church as a newly married couple, are cherished.&quot;</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 14/09/2020 16:20:03 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous previous answer version 46295 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1185182

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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: Carbon Emissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to use its investments to support business transitioning to a low carbon economy.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	29873
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>As responsible investors and members of the UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the Church Commissioners regard climate change as a vital issue and have pledged to transition their investment to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions portfolio by 2050. They will set their first interim emissions reduction target as members of the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance in 2020 and will work with their public equities managers to achieve it.</p><p>The Church of England National Investing Bodies (NIBs), are guided by the commitments made by the NIBs in July 2018 General Synod debate on climate change and investment. Starting in 2020 the NIBs are committed to disinvest from companies that are not taking seriously their responsibilities to assist with the transition to a low carbon economy. In a new commitment, the NIBs indicated that by 2023 they would disinvest from fossil fuel companies that are not prepared to align with the goal of the Paris Agreement.</p><p>The Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) is a global initiative, co-founded by the Church of England National Investing Bodies in 2017, to assess companies' preparedness for the transition to a low carbon economy. It ended 2019 supported by investors with over $16 trillion of assets.</p><p>The Church of England Pension Board launched the FTSE TPI Climate Transition Index in January at the London Stock Exchange . The Index rewards those companies with public targets aligned to the Paris Agreement whilst significantly underweighting or excluding those that do not.</p><p>The new index embeds forward-looking climate data from TPI - namely the TPI <em>carbon performance metric that </em>assesses a company on its plans for alignment with the transition to a low carbon economy. Companies currently excluded from the index would be included if they set public emissions targets (covering all their emissions) aligned to the goals of the Paris Agreement. We believe it to be the first global index of its kind that will allow passive funds to play an active role in supporting the Paris Climate Agreement.</p><p>The Church is also part of Climate Action 100+ (‘CA100+'), which is an investor initiative seeking to ensure the world's largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change, consistent with goal of the Paris Agreement to restrict warming to well below two degrees Celsius. CA100+ is supported by more than 370 investors with over $41 trillion of assets. The Commissioners were founding supporters, the Transition Pathway Initiative is one of the Climate Action100+ official data partners, and its assessments are used to benchmark companies.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 18/03/2020 17:14:46 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1185183

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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: Carbon Emissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how the Church of England plans to deliver on the General Synod's decision to make the Church carbon zero by 2030.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	29874
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>The Church of England is committed to reducing its own carbon footprint and is developing several strategies to deliver this, including across its 44,000 properties and schools.</p><p>The General Synod at its meeting in February 2020 committed the Church to report back in three years time on whether it could meet the ambitious target set by the Synod of decarbonising the Church by 2030.</p><p>One of the first steps has already started and many listed buildings have started exploring installing new renewable technology to improve their energy use. A good example is Gloucester Cathedral, a grade 1 listed building, which has managed to install solar panels on its roof.</p><p>The Church is working with A Rocha to recognise achievement by church buildings and dioceses with Eco-Church awards at either bronze, silver or gold standard.</p><p>A new initiative the Church has developed is an energy rating tool for church buildings, which calculates the energy consumption of the parish church. It takes into account factors including the type of power the parish uses, whether they are on 'green' tariffs, the size of the building and usage.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 18/03/2020 17:17:41 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1185184

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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: Charitable Donations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the declining use of cash throughout the UK, what steps the Church of England is taking to change the way it collects donations in parishes.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	29875
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>The Church recognised in 2017 the need to adapt to the major move away from cash towards contactless payments. Today a much larger, fast-evolving range of contactless solutions is available through the Church’s own Parish Buying service, with over 1,900 churches now having the means to accept payments or donations by card or mobile phone. The Church aims to have over half of its 16,000 churches able to take contactless payments and donations in the next three years. The Church of England in partnership with the Church in Wales is working through its ‘Parish Buying' programme to negotiate competitive prices for churches. More information on that can be found at the ‘Parish Buying' website: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.parishbuying.org.uk%2Fcategories%2Fgiving-and-payments&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C463efdae0e324efdbb5d08d7cb5f674d%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C637201482941279346&amp;sdata=XLQDDc%2FkW4gGHUCAeltyWaZywD6ipD4RV2qcPgP%2FuOE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.parishbuying.org.uk/categories/giving-and-payments</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 18/03/2020 17:18:50 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1185185

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Archbishop of Canterbury: South Sudan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress is being made on the Archbishop’s plans to make a joint visit to South Sudan with His Holiness the Pope.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	29876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2020 answer text <p>The Archbishop of Canterbury remains committed to making a visit to South Sudan following the formation of the Transitional Government. Discussions are underway to assess opportunities for a joint visit together with His Holiness the Pope and a senior representative of the Church of Scotland.</p><p>Peace and security in South Sudan are of vital importance, and the Archbishop has been meeting with key regional figures such as President Museveni of Uganda and Special Envoy Kalonzo of Kenya to discuss this.</p><p>The Archbishop keeps in regular contact with Archbishop Justin Badi and the South Sudan Council of Churches leaders to discuss their priorities for the local church and how they can be best supported.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 18/03/2020 17:20:34 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon