Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

707153

registered interest
date	27/02/2017
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 steps the Commissioners are taking to assist urban parishes with capital funding for urgent restorative building work.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Mr Stewart Jackson
uin	909029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2017 answer text <p>The Church of England highly values the work of the Heritage Lottery Fund in running the Grants for Places of Worship Scheme, a fund which puts £30m a year into UK listed places of worship, of all faiths and denominations. This dedicated scheme takes account of the specific needs of places of worship that are primarily run by volunteers who cannot afford to employ the skills of professional grant-application writers.</p><p> </p><p>The Church has also worked closely with the National Heritage Memorial Fund during the recent Church Roofs Fund scheme that has invested £55m in over 400 places of worship, 300 of which were Anglican churches. This scheme has successfully kept the roof on churches where it was urgently needed in order to keep the building open for its community. This scheme has now ended and we are working with the National Heritage Memorial Fund to evaluate the impact of the scheme across the country.</p><p> </p><p>Given the profound contribution churches make to the social and economic life of the nation it is right that this is recognised in this way, especially as the scheme ensures outcomes from repairs including benefits to local people.</p><p> </p><p>The Church Buildings Council last year awarded just over £600,000 to churches for urgent repairs to buildings and objects including stained glass, sculpture and monuments. This is part of a long-term partnership with the Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim Trust and Radcliffe Trust. The partnership between Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim and Radcliffe Trusts has enabled a simple application process and fast response time, making it a relatively small but very valuable resource for struggling parishes. We are actively seeking to secure the future of this fund and increase its grant-giving capacity through the work of our new associated charity, the Anglican Parish Churches Fund.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 02/03/2017 12:34:40 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

674432

registered interest
date	16/01/2017
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 estimate the Church Commissioners have made of the potential cost of repairing historic windows in churches.
tabling member constituency	Dudley South
tabling member printed	Mike Wood
uin	908246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>It is extremely difficult to assess the potential costs of repairing specific elements of churches. Often the exact nature of the work to be done is not known until a detailed assessment has been made, something which in itself costs money. Windows are especially vulnerable to wind and weather, as well as isolated cases of vandalism and accidental damage to the glass. Along with roofs they are key areas that must be maintained in order to keep the buildings in use. Stained glass is particularly valuable and unusual – indeed it is the only type of art that also keeps the rain out. The Church of England is aware of a number of local projects to restore and repair windows in the Dudley area, one of the most recent being at St Marks Church, Pensnett, where an appeal for £33,000 was launched by parishioners to restore the masonry around the chancel windows.</p><p>The Church of England does not use its limited resources to assess potential costs in detail because any such survey would be out of date as soon as it was complete. Issues such as available grant funds, availability of specialist contractors and scaffolding, as well as the time of year all affect potential costs. What we do know is that the cost of maintaining these beautiful windows is often more than an individual parish can cover. We are grateful to the Wolfson Foundation, Pilgrim Trust and Radcliffe Trust who all work with our own specialist conservation committees to award valuable grants to churches for works such as repair of stained glass. The www.churchcare.co.uk/churches website provides more information on how to apply for these along with a list of recipients from previous years.</p><p>The London Stained Glass Repository part of the Glaziers Foundation is also a good location for churches looking to replace damaged windows ot install new windows. The Repository rescues good quality glass &amp; seeks to find new homes for it. Stained glass which is under threat from building closure or vandalism is brought to the attention of the Repository, usually by the Church Commissioners.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Dame Caroline Spelman question first answered 19/01/2017 12:39:41 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4384 label Biography information for Mike Wood

457721

registered interest
date	04/03/2016
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 assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the restoration and repair of listed church properties and church buildings.
tabling member constituency	Scunthorpe
tabling member printed	Nic Dakin
uin	29810
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2016 answer text <p>The Church of England has engaged with the recent consultation from the Treasury over the future of the Landfill Communities Fund. Local churches are able to apply to the fund to support restoration, extension and repair projects.</p><p>Local parishes have benefitted from this generosity since its creation in 1996. Over its lifetime the scheme has enabled churches across the country to benefit from an approximate £75 million worth of repairs. As part of its submission the Church of England asked the Treasury to consider reducing the administrative burdens on applicants to the fund.</p><p>The Church has since received assurances that the scheme will continue and we await with interest further detailed announcements from the Treasury regarding the operation of the fund.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Mrs Caroline Spelman question first answered 10/03/2016 16:45:34 answering member 312 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Spelman
tabling member	4056 label Biography information for Nic Dakin

224827

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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 Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how many applications have been received by the Commissioners for funding from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair fund; when the Commissioners will determine which of those applications have been successful; and what assessment the Commissioners have made of the proportion of those applications likely to be wholly or partly successful.
tabling member constituency	North Wiltshire
tabling member printed	Mr James Gray
uin	226202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2015 answer text <p>The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Scheme is not administered by the Church Commissioners but by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.</p><p /> <p>The Church Commissioners understand that despite the very short window for applications, a very substantial number have been submitted. This amply illustrates the need for such a scheme.</p><p /> <p>All decisions regarding successful bids should be completed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund by the end of March.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Sir Tony Baldry question first answered 06/03/2015 17:07:26 answering member 93 label Biography information for Sir Tony Baldry
tabling member	261 label Biography information for James Gray

177378

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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 Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2015 to Question 222329, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful claims have been made by parochial church councils in court against lay rectors for recovery of chancel repair liability from 1 January 1985; and what amount was recovered.
tabling member constituency	St Ives
tabling member printed	Andrew George
uin	223121
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>I refer to the answer I gave to <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-01-27/222328/" target="_blank">Written Question 222328</a>. Each Parochial Church Council is an independent legal entity and no central record is kept relating to the number of claims made against lay rectors for the recovery of chancel repair liability as this is dealt with at a local parish level. The Church Commissioners are only aware of the case where the Parochial Church Council of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley was awarded £187,000 plus VAT.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Sir Tony Baldry question first answered 09/02/2015 15:57:41 answering member 93 label Biography information for Sir Tony Baldry
tabling member	227 label Biography information for Andrew George