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 previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1506682

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
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 Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions he has had with the Church Commissioners about repair and renewal of the church estate.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	51610
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners and Archbishops' Council have agreed to funding of £11 million for 2023-25 in support of Buildings for Mission, which includes £2m for places of worship maintenance/repairs, and funding for up to 20 support officers to work with communities on the care of their church buildings. This is alongside a one-off commitment of £190 million (over nine years) to support the whole Church, including its buildings, in the transition towards Net Zero 2030.</p><p>12,500 church buildings are listed, with 45% of all England's Grade I listed buildings being cathedrals and churches. The average annual cost for the maintenance and repairs to parish churches alone is estimated at £150 million, and the maintenance of our churches across the country is mostly financed by generous local donors and volunteers. Support and advice, including on available grants, is available from ChurchCare: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchofengland.org%2Fresources%2Fchurchcare&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293809797%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=poekhrb1CI4yW97ulmdixIHccG8YqHdFRdSDPWdQvGk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare</a></p><p>The Church remains grateful for the continuation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and the Culture Recovery Fund. Money invested in church buildings has positive benefits to the wider community: the 2021 House of Good report by the National Churches Trust (<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293809797%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2FB8xLomcISN%2F0bZwDgRcsyF%2BJE5AzSvx5vXC2OrVlLs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org/</a>) found that &quot;the annual social and economic value of church buildings to the UK is worth around £55 billion. This sum, calculated using the latest HM Treasury Green Book guidance, includes the contribution churches make to wellbeing and to local economies.&quot;</p><p>The Church is committed to engaging with the Government on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2017 Taylor Review into the sustainability of church buildings (<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fthe-taylor-review-sustainability-of-english-churches-and-cathedrals&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293809797%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=wfHZliRC73QqxGvktlee4WscPJ9PKXIX6gfC%2FRN6qVg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>).</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 30/09/2022 09:18:21 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1506683

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Vandalism
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 he has had discussions with the Church Commissioner's about preventing vandalism on the church estate.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	51611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>Acts of vandalism to church property cause distress and great inconvenience to clergy and volunteers who work hard to keep churches accessible and in good repair. For churches suffering anti-social behaviour, guidance is available here: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchofengland.org%2Fresources%2Fchurchcare%2Fadvice-and-guidance-church-buildings%2Fanti-social-behaviour-churchyards&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293653531%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=lMPp6xrCBBIvjg932Gj2kWFFaHR13UT%2FuTQWpWhOR%2FE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/anti-social-behaviour-churchyards</a><br> General advice given to parishes is that opening the building and increasing footfall into and around the Church can help.</p><p>Thefts of metal and architectural stone from church property are of additional concern, and although the number of incidents is low compared to the height of metal theft in 2017-18, the severity of the incidents indicates that this is now part of serious organised crime. Advice is available at <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchofengland.org%2Fresources%2Fchurchcare%2Fadvice-and-guidance-church-buildings%2Fcrime-and-security-prevention&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293653531%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=NgM5cMfbFIVuvQWkpzC%2BRJKr8KoeYzDzLhCsPrhNdT4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/crime-and-security-prevention</a></p><p>The Church is grateful to the Home Office for its continued support to all places of worship threatened by hate crime through the protective security scheme.</p><p>Further advice is available from the Cathedrals and Church Buildings Department of the National Church Institutions: <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.churchofengland.org%2Fresources%2Fchurchcare&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csimon.stanley%40churchofengland.org%7C5ef6934bfcfd4606ad4308daa22bced9%7C95e2463b3ab047b49ac1587c77ee84f0%7C0%7C0%7C638000606293653531%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=nTkeaxBKamchMNOCp0geChOM7W%2BHNC50CmW9Fg%2B9kFc%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 30/09/2022 09:13:28 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1503499

registered interest
date	02/09/2022
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: Kirklees
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 has taken to ensure that an (a) Agricultural Land Classification and (b) Soil Assessment is undertaken prior to any applications being submitted to Kirklees Council relating to land at Heybeck, Batley and Chidswell, Dewsbury.
tabling member constituency	Dewsbury
tabling member printed	Mark Eastwood
uin	45060
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2022 answer text <p>The Agricultural Land Classification was reviewed as per the Agricultural Land Classification Map for Yorkshire and the Humber region (ref 10-111c). The site is identified as grade 3 agricultural land and referenced within the Planning Statement. The Environmental Impact Assessment submitted with the application looks at the impact of the development on soil.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 16/09/2022 14:08:24 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4807 label Biography information for Mark Eastwood

1484633

registered interest
date	29/06/2022
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 discussions the Church Commissioners have had with Christians Against Poverty on protecting Christians from persecution.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	27615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2022 answer text <p>Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK-based debt advice charity independent of the Church of England. Staff of the National Church Institutions have held discussions with CAP but these have not been on the protection of Christians from persecution.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 04/07/2022 21:36:05 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1484243

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	Church of England: Truro
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 Low Income Communities Funding, if the Commissioners will ask the Bishop of Truro to pass on the benefits from that funding to mission in Truro's lowest income communities, such as by reducing their parish share, as opposed to leaving it to underwrite the diocesan deficit.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2022 answer text <p>The award, monitoring and evaluation of Lowest Income Communities Funding is the responsibility of the Archbishops' Council, as delegated to its Strategic Investment Board. The primary business of the diocese is to fund mission in parishes, chiefly through funding the provision of stipendiary clergy, and so the primary driver of a deficit or surplus is the difference in cost between ministry funded and funds received from parishes and other sources towards these ministry costs. <br> <br>The Diocese of Truro expects that by 2023 all or nearly all of the funding received from the Lowest Income Communities Fund will have been passed onto funding ministry and mission in the diocese's lowest income communities, and not underwriting the diocesan deficit.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/07/2022 10:39:47 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1484247

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	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 paragraph 76 of the Diocese of Liverpool's Transforming Wigan bid document and the 500 per cent increase in the number of young people involved in church, as reflected in average weekly attendance figures, in the performance reporting on SDF projects, what figure has been reported against that target to the Archbishops’ Council Strategic Development Unit.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest monitoring report for the 'Transforming Wigan' project dates from April 2020. The project team reported that this was the most challenging part of the project. An initial attempt to develop a Network Youth Strategy was brought to an end as it did not provide the growth required or connect well with the whole. The Wigan team undertook a significant review to re-engage and develop a more embedded youth strategy, building on learning what worked well. The next phase of work was to be built around pioneer chaplaincy, an internship scheme for engaging young people in mission, and a Brighter School of Discipleship. From the information available to the National Church Institutions there have been over 2,000 direct contacts with young people in schools through this work.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/07/2022 10:42:16 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1484248

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	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 Diocese of Liverpool's Transforming Wigan bid document, and the expectation expressed in paragraph 76 of that document that there would be a real-terms increase in annual giving of £500,000, what figure has been reported against that target to the Archbishops’ Council Strategic Development Unit in performance reporting on Strategic Development Fund projects.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2022 answer text <p>Based on learning from the project, the focus of this objective was changed to focus on the long term sustainability of the deanery – to clear the parish share backlog of the deanery with the diocese, to establish an annual balanced budget that is fully funded by the deanery, and to develop a deanery giving scheme focused on the mission, engaging more people in the parish, and increasing overall giving year-on-year. This was on track at the end of 2019, at which point Wigan had cleared its historic backlog. Since then, Covid has had a significant impact, and the deanery is seeking to rebuild its financial position. A final evaluation of the project has been commissioned and should be provided internally to the Strategic Investment Board by the end of the year. More information about the Transforming Wigan project is available from the Diocese of Liverpool here: <a href="https://liverpool.anglican.org/about-us/liverpool-dbf/sdf-projects/transforming-wigan/" target="_blank">https://liverpool.anglican.org/about-us/liverpool-dbf/sdf-projects/transforming-wigan/</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/07/2022 10:44:34 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1484250

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	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 Diocese of Liverpool's Transforming Wigan bid document, and the list of expectations expressed in paragraph 76 of that document, according to performance reporting on Strategic Development Fund projects, (a) which of those expectations were achieved in full by the end of 2021 and (b) which have not been achieved in full.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2022 answer text <p>Over time there have been adjustments to the programme to reflect learning and the experience on the ground. The latest internal project review with the national church dates from April 2020, and at this point a majority of these objectives were seen as on track. An end-of-project independent evaluation has been commissioned and will be presented to the Strategic Investment Board later this year. More information about the project is available from the Diocese of Liverpool here: <a href="https://liverpool.anglican.org/about-us/liverpool-dbf/sdf-projects/transforming-wigan/" target="_blank">https://liverpool.anglican.org/about-us/liverpool-dbf/sdf-projects/transforming-wigan/</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/07/2022 10:46:11 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

1484259

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	Church of England: Leeds
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 their decision to award the Diocese of Leeds £3,094,588 of Strategic Development Funding (SDF), and figure 10 of the Independent Review of Lowest Income Communities funding and Strategic Development Funding by Sir Robert Chote and others, how many of the (a) anticipated and (b) recorded numbers of new disciples came from the project Strengthening Mission Across the City of Leeds between 2017 and 2021.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	26685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2022 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners do not award funding to specific dioceses; this is the role of the Archbishops' Council, as delegated to the Strategic Investment Board. <br> <br>The Independent Review notes on page 27 para 3.32, beneath Figure 10, that &quot;the Strategy and Development Unit do not regard the estimates of new disciples witnessed and expected for individual projects that underpin the aggregates as a robust basis to compare their actual and expected performance, which of course suggests that one should be wary of combining them into an aggregate figure.&quot; <br> <br>The figure used in the report is 175 new disciples out of an anticipated 1125 by 2024, but is based on older data. More up-to-date figures from the end of 2020 show that the project as a whole is ahead of its interim goals for attendance by the end of 2021, and early data shows further growth into 2022. As with all churches, the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still to be worked out. The Chote Review of Lowest Income Communities funding and Strategic Development Funding can be found at: <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IRLS%20-%20final%20report%20%282%29.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/IRLS%20-%20final%20report%20%282%29.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 08/07/2022 10:48:47 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

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