Church Commissioners The right hon Member for Meriden, representing
the Church Commissioners, was asked— Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes)
(Con) 1. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church
of England had at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018
on freedom of...Request free trial
Church Commissioners
The right hon Member for Meriden, representing the Church
Commissioners, was asked—
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1. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions
the Church of England had at the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting 2018 on freedom of religion or
belief; and if she will make a
statement. [904962]
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The and the
Commonwealth initiative for freedom of religion or
belief convened a two-day summit at Lambeth Palace last
week involving 40 parliamentarians and religious
leaders from 11 Commonwealth countries. The aim of the
meeting was to look at ways in which parliamentarians
and leaders from across the Commonwealth could champion
freedom of religion or belief.
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That is encouraging to hear. The Commonwealth and the
Church of England have similar values where they
overlap. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the two
organisations continue to work in unison to influence
Governments in countries where freedom of religion is
not respected?
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The geography of the Anglican Communion and the
Commonwealth do overlap; in fact the communion is
larger still. The charter of the Commonwealth contains
a commitment to freedom of religion or belief, but the
truth is that not all members abide by that. The
personal relationships built at Commonwealth meetings
and across the Anglican Communion mean that faith
communities must advocate for the same global standards
for freedom of religion and belief.
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It is sad to see Commonwealth countries on Open Doors
UK’s world watch list of Christian persecution around
the world. What further can we do following the Heads
of Government conference to promote tolerance between
people of faith and none in the long term in the
Commonwealth?
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A number of actions were agreed at that seminar. For
Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion, freedom of
religion remains an important priority. Every time the
visits a
Commonwealth country where there is a problem you can
be sure, Mr Speaker, that he will raise it.
Part of the initiative in the Commonwealth involves
developing a toolkit that Members of Parliament can use
to champion issues of freedom of religion and belief in
our constituencies.
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Is the Church of England aware of deeply disturbing
reports that restrictions on the freedom of Christians
to practise their faith have severely increased this
year in China, including a ban on taking children under
18 to church? If so, what step is the Church taking on
this?
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The Church of England is very aware of those reports,
and China is a priority for the . He
hopes to be able to take up the invitation to go there,
when I am sure he will raise these issues. Even before
such a visit, Church officials are engaging with
Chinese officials to discover the implications of the
new five-year plan on religious engagement and raise
concerns where it appears that Christians are being
oppressed.
Circular Economy
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2. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment
the Church of England has made of the potential merits
of the circular economy. [904964]
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The Church has for many years been involved in
recycling, reuse and repurposing of materials. It
completely embraces the circular economy. Most
recently, the Church’s environment programme ran a
“Lent Plastic Challenge”, which was supported by 40
MPs. It produced a calendar of things we could do on
each of the 40 days of Lent, and it was helpful to all
who took part to see how much we can do individually.
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Last weekend I attended the launch of the Catholic
diocese of Middlesbrough’s book about how we can live
simpler lives. What is the Church of England doing to
further its reach into communities to help people to
change their behaviours and lifestyles?
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As I have said, all of us as MPs had a golden
opportunity during Lent to use the calendar produced by
the Church of England, which was available to all
Church members and was very popular throughout the
Church community. Every day it set a challenge to each
of us to do something to change the way we live our
lives so that they are simpler and embrace the circular
economy. Within the Church, a number of churches
embrace the concept completely, with 860 participating
as eco-churches in the Big Church Switch, for example,
which is looking at ways to ensure that the energy we
use comes from renewable sources. We promote the
circular economy right across the Church of England.
Rural Schools
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3. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the
Church of England has to support rural
schools. [904965]
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Yesterday I hosted a reception to highlight the
interest of the Church of England in working with the
Government and others to support a viable future for
rural schools. The Church has published “Embracing
Change: Rural and Small Schools”, which I commend to
the House.
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The Church obviously should be taking a long-term, if
not eternal, approach on rural schools. People in
Startforth were disappointed when a brief dip in
performance led to the closure of that Church school,
so in future will the Church take into account the
significance of rural schools as community assets?
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The Church of England has 4,700 schools, of which 53%
are in rural areas. That often presents challenges—for
example, the difficulty in recruiting and retaining
teachers—but the report that I have referred to
highlights those challenges. In addition to that
report, we have a Church of England educational
leadership foundation, which is designed to encourage
and retain teachers, to ensure that children in small
rural schools do not suffer as a result of the shortage
of teachers.
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The hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) can bang
on about out-of-school educational settings instead.
Out-of-school Education
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4. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment
the Church of England has made of the Government response
to the consultation on out-of-school education
settings. [904966]
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Following the publication of the findings from the
Department for Education’s consultation on out-of-school
settings, I am pleased to say that the Government have
sharpened their focus on tackling risks associated with
unregulated out-of-school settings and have come up with
proposals that are far more proportionate for use. The
Church of England has welcomed this.
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Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is essential that
the Government combat radicalisation, but in a way that
does not mean the state encroaching on the realm of
religion or crossing the Rubicon in a way that could one
day lead to the assessment of Sunday schools and the
like?
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Of course, the Church of England completely underlines
the importance of tackling radicalisation, but the
original proposals might have caught education in
out-of-school settings such as Sunday schools, where
teachers are subject to Criminal Records Bureau checks—as
everybody in this place who has ever taught in one will
know—and domestic premises used to teach children out of
school have to be inspected too. The new proposals are
proportionate to use and have been welcomed by the Church
of England.
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The right hon. Lady knows that I have been a champion of
forest schools and out-of-school education with the John
Clare Trust over many years. Even more worrying is
out-of-school education in foreign parts. Many churches
support orphanages around the world, but very often they
are not orphanages and are not for orphans, but are used
in child trafficking. Many churches support these
so-called orphanages, so will she look into that?
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The hon. Gentleman raises a serious point. I heard the
broadcast of the “Sunday” programme about an Australian
Senator who is pioneering an amendment to Australia’s
modern-day slavery legislation to ensure that the whole
world wises up to the risks associated with donating to
orphanages that might be a scam or a front for children
who are subsequently trafficked, or certainly put at
risk. All of us need to be aware in our dealings with our
constituents and their churches of the need to look
carefully at where those resources go and how they are
used.
Protection of Churches
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8. To ask the right hon. Member for
Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners,
what recent discussions the Church of England
has had with local authorities on protecting
historic church buildings and
settings. [904971]
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The Church works closely with Historic England
and other bodies to provide advice and guidance
for local authorities. In most cases, good and
sensible decisions are made. Disputes do arise
in a small number of cases, such as at my own
parish church, where the argument was
eventually won that we could use a lead
substitute product after the lead had been
stolen twice.
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I am grateful for that answer. St Mary the
Virgin’s church in my constituency is a rare
and beautiful example of one of the finest
small Anglo-Saxon churches in the country,
going back to the 7th century. It is threatened
by a large-scale development and it has fallen
to Historic England to submit objections.
Historic England indicates that the proposals
would have a harmful impact on the setting of
the church and, indeed, of Seaham Hall. Is
there a role for the Church of England or the
Church Commissioners to object to such
developments in order to protect the setting of
churches of historical importance?
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I understand that the local authority has taken
a decision that would adversely affect the
setting of this beautiful grade I listed
Anglo-Saxon church. I will be in discussion
with the diocese about what support we can
provide as a stakeholder in this important
decision.
Theft from Churches
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9. To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden,
representing the Church Commissioners, what
recent discussions the Church of England has had
with the Government and the insurance industry on
the theft of metal, stone and decorative objects
from churches. [904972]
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10. To ask the right hon. Member for
Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners,
what recent discussions the Church of England has
had with the Government and the insurance
industry on the theft of metal, stone and
decorative objects from
churches. [904973]
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The Church is concerned about the significant
rise in metal theft, which is not unconnected to
the fact that the price of lead and copper on
world markets has risen by 65%. Our advice to
churches follows that of the police, which is to
do target hardening wherever possible. There are
a certain number of practical suggestions that I
can provide that may assist with this inquiry.
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While all thefts should be condemned, it is
particularly despicable to steal from churches
and their graveyards. Will my right hon. Friend
tell the House what impact the Scrap Metal
Dealers Act 2013—pioneered by —has
had on the situation?
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There is no question but that the private
Member’s Bill promoted by our dear friend and
former Member of this House gave rise to a change
in Government legislation on metal theft.
However, there are new thefts—not just of metal,
but of stone, ornamental artefacts and even,
recently, some 12th-century keys. This is why I
have joined the revised all-party parliamentary
group on metal and stone theft, and I encourage
other Members to support its work in Parliament.
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Will the Church Commissioners urge Ministers to
introduce a scrap stone Act along the lines of
the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, which improved
councils’ regulation of metal and stopped the
trading of scrap metal in cash?
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Just as with metal, it is very important to mark
artefacts with smart water, dye or in other ways
where possible, so that thieves may be caught and
ultimately prosecuted when artefacts turn up in
dealers’ yards. The APPG will be involved in this
work and the Church of England will actively
support it.
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