Behaviour on Social Media
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
(Con)
1. What steps the Church of England is taking to promote positive
behaviour on social media. [912171]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame )
The Church of England supports the Government’s aim to make this
country the safest place to go online and has submitted evidence
to the Government’s online harms White Paper. On 1 July, the
Church launched its digital charter, which thousands of
individuals around the globe have signed up to and which the
Government have welcomed and support.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. I am sure that she
will share my serious concern about the level of hatred,
intolerance and rage that appears online, especially on Twitter,
sometimes with devastating consequences for young people who are
very vulnerable. We have seen tragic examples of that. Will she
take our appeal to the Church of England, asking that it does
everything possible to work with other organisations to try to
instil and inculcate in the next generation the importance of
behaving normally and politely on social media?
Dame
As one of the largest providers of school education, the Church
of England is encouraging all its schools to support the digital
charter initiative. However, safe internet use applies to people
who have faith or have no faith at all, and those of all ages.
All Members of this House will be aware of the hate and hostility
that many in this Chamber face on a daily basis. I urge all
colleagues to consider joining up and supporting the digital
charter so that we can foster a more positive experience for
people online.
Mr (Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Can I urge the right hon. Lady to make sure that all the
bishops—we seem to have a lot of them in the Church of England
now—lead this campaign? I am sure that Rose, our wonderful
chaplain, is going to be a very energetic Bishop of Dover. We all
wish her well and will miss her, but let us get these bishops
doing a bit of leadership on issues such as social media.
Dame
The bishops are all participating in social media and they are
signed up to this charter. Let me share with colleagues some of
the things that the charter advocates: that “what we post online”
ought to be “fair and factual”; that we should engage
constructively and think “the best of people”; that we should
consider “the language we use”; and that we should
“use social media in a way that genuinely engages others.”
These are good principles.
Since the Speaker’s Chaplain has been mentioned by the hon.
Gentleman, I say for the record that I condemn absolutely the
very unpleasant article in The Spectator about the Rev. Rose, who
has served this House outstandingly; I spring to her defence.
Telecommunications Masts in Parishes
Sir (New Forest West) (Con)
2. If the Church of England will expedite the process by which
parishes apply to host telecommunications masts. [912172]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame )
Following on from my right hon. Friend’s question to me last
month, I raised these concerns with the Secretary of State for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and I have met with BT, EE and
some of the small providers, including one from my right hon.
Friend’s constituency, to discuss the challenges of providing
reliable rural communications infrastructure.
Sir
Will my right hon. Friend also have a go at the Ministry of
Justice and ask it to put sufficient resource into the tribunal
system, so that case law can be expedited to make the new
telecommunications code work?
Dame
I absolutely say yes to that. Perhaps my right hon. Friend would
like to join me in going to meet the new occupants of the
positions concerned. It appears clear that the new digital code
tends to favour large providers, and the consequence of their
preference for using existing infrastructure is a greater digital
divide.
(Strangford) (DUP)
Churches, by their very nature, are historically and
architecturally important, and new telecommunications masts could
have an impact on buildings. What is being done to preserve these
buildings and ensure that their architectural and historical
value is retained?
Dame
That is a very important question, because the Church of England
has put its entire infrastructure at the disposal of providers,
so that we can, using towers and spires, beam a signal into
notspots. Historic England is quite comfortable about listed
buildings carrying small signal boosters, which are not
intrusive.
FCO Support for Persecuted Christians
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
5. What steps the Church of England is taking to help implement
the recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro’s
independent review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO support for
persecuted Christians. [912175]
(St Austell and Newquay)
(Con)
8. What steps the Church of England is taking to help implement
the recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro’s
independent review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO support for
persecuted Christians. [912178]
(Delyn) (Lab)
10. What steps the Church of England is taking to help implement
the recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro’s
independent review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO support for
persecuted Christians. [912180]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame )
First, I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing Foreign
Secretary for having the vision to commission a report on the
support that the Foreign Office provides for persecuted
Christians. It was warmly welcomed by both the Church of England
and the Catholic Church, and I sincerely hope that the new
Foreign Secretary will follow through on the its recommendations.
On 8 July, the now Prime Minister said:
“If I am fortunate enough to become PM, I will always prioritise
protecting religious freedoms and stand up for those facing
persecution.”
I know that it is very early days, but what plans does the right
hon. Lady have to speak with the Prime Minister about exactly
what he will do to support persecuted Christians around the
world?
Dame
We have had quite a lot of opportunities at hustings to ask quite
a few leadership contenders what they would do about the report
on Foreign Office support for persecuted Christians, and I am
pleased to say that the new Prime Minister did give a pledge to
follow through on this. If hon. Members have time to read the
report, they will find that it is very revealing, and it
acknowledged that a great deal needs to be done to provide more
support for persecuted Christians around the world.
One of the many important findings of the Bishop of Truro’s
report is that it highlighted a lack of religious literacy at the
Home Office, particularly when dealing with Christians fleeing
persecution and seeking asylum. Does my right hon. Friend agree
that the Home Office should take heed of this recommendation, and
does she believe that the Church has a role to play in improving
religious literacy across Whitehall?
Dame
The report, which of course is a Foreign Office report, does
reveal that lack of religious literacy, but the and the Cardinal
Archbishop of Westminster both wanted the proposal for improving
religious literacy to extend to all Departments, because in a way
there is hardly a Department that is not touched by the need for
better religious literacy. I know that the issue of religious
literacy in asylum applications has been raised in the other
place and that bishops have had meetings with Ministers.
In a letter to me, the Government have indicated that they will
look at sanctions against those who persecute Christians, or
indeed those of other religious beliefs. Has the right hon. Lady
had an opportunity to discuss with the Government what form those
sanctions might take?
Dame
I have not discussed that with the new incumbent at the Foreign
Office just yet, but I think that we need to go through all these
serious recommendations that were made through the excellent work
of the . For example, one of
the recommendations, which I commend to the House, is a UN
resolution to better protect Christians in the middle east and
north Africa, whose population has dwindled from 20% to just 4%.
(Congleton) (Con)
Last week, a number of MPs were the target of some really
unpleasant social media attacks, simply for speaking and then
voting in a conscience vote in this place according to their
biblical beliefs on marriage and the sanctity of life. What is
the Church of England doing to uphold freedom of speech and
religion for Christians in the UK? This is a growing concern for
thousands of Christians in this country today.
Dame
The hon. Lady might not have heard the answer to an earlier
question, but actually the Church has seized the initiative by
launching its own guidelines on safe and positive conduct on the
internet. I commend that guidance to all Members present. It is
certainly important that religious difference is respected.
Dialogue is a two-way business, but as the has said, the
Church needs to model disagreeing well.
Festivals in Cathedrals
(Lichfield) (Con)
7. What recent assessment the Church of England has made of the
effect of holding festivals in cathedrals on the number of
visiting (a) worshippers and (b) non-worshippers. [912177]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame )
Cathedrals all run a series of events and religious festivals
throughout the year, which vary in size, and collectively they
host over 11 million visitors a year. Lichfield cathedral, in my
hon. Friend’s constituency, is an outstanding example of that and
welcomes around 120,000 people a year to its excellent
exhibitions.
I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for her answer. She
will know that the Lichfield festival itself attracts over 50,000
people to the city of Lichfield and brings at least 10,000 people
into the cathedral itself, so what action is her Department
taking to encourage other cathedrals to do similar initiatives?
Dame
I find it an interesting idea that I have a Department, but the
Church of England will seize the initiative next year; it is a
great year for anniversaries in the Church of England, with the
Pilgrim Fathers and Thomas à Becket, and it will be a year of
cathedrals. The Association of English Cathedrals will provide a
pilgrimage passport for those at home and abroad who want to
visit as many cathedrals as possible.
Strategic Development Funding: Keighley
(Keighley) (Lab)
9. Whether the Church of England plans to allocate strategic
development funding to Keighley constituency. [912179]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame )
Mr Speaker, since this is the last question, I think, for me
today I want to thank the parliamentary division in Church House
and Simon Stanley in particular, as I do not yet know if I will
be renewed in post; I sincerely hope so, but I imagine this is
not high on the list of the Prime Minister’s priorities at the
moment. I am delighted to be able to tell the hon. Gentleman that
the Archbishops’ Council recently awarded funding totalling over
£1 million for Leeds diocese, £490,000 of which will be awarded
to the Anglican churches in Keighley.
I feel that I will speak for many in saying I hope that the right
hon. Member is reappointed by the Prime Minister by lunchtime,
but further to her reply, does she agree that the work of the
united parishes of Keighley is perhaps one of the finest examples
in the north of England of faith in action, along with the work
of the Catholic Good Shepherd Centre, the Salvation Army and,
indeed, Keighley’s mosques?
Dame
In the diocese of Leeds, Bowling, Idle, Great Horton and Clayton
have a strong focus on deprived areas and groups that the Church
of England found hard to reach, and that is why this large sum of
money has been conferred by the Church Commissioners to the
diocese.
