Church Commissioners
The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the
Church Commissioners, was asked—
Best Start for Life Policy Paper
Dame (South Northamptonshire)
(Con)
2. What steps the Church of England is taking to help support the
roll-out of (a) family hubs and (b) the other policies in the
Department of Health and Social Care policy paper entitled “Best
start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days”, published
on 25 March 2021.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
My right hon. Friend is a tireless campaigner for families and
young children. The Church strongly supports family hubs and
their further expansion. The Church is already supporting many of
the “Best start for life” recommendations through our messy
church and toddler groups, and the Archbishops’ commission on
families and households will report next month.
Dame
Is my hon. Friend aware that the 75 local authority areas in
England that are taking part in the Government’s family hub and
best start for life programme are required to work with not just
the public sector, but charities, faith groups and volunteers, to
roll out the support services to give every baby the best start
for life? Can he tell us what connections there are between the
Church and those local authority areas to make that a reality?
I am delighted to hear what my right hon. Friend says. I can tell
her that the Church works commission chaired by the includes 15 major
denominations and is working very closely with the National
Centre for Family Hubs. Churches are already involved in
delivering 18 out of the 24 areas for delivery, and the key to
that is good local authority joint working. I am pleased to say
that there is lots of momentum—long may that continue.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Will the hon. Gentleman join me in welcoming the new Bishop of
Huddersfield, announced yesterday? We will give her a very good
welcome in Huddersfield. Those family hubs are something that she
is very keen on, because she was part of their creation.
I am delighted to welcome the new Bishop of Huddersfield, and I
am equally delighted that she is keen on family hubs. She will
have a crucial role to play in making sure they succeed in the
hon. Gentleman’s area.
Family Relationships, Parenting and Marriage
(Don Valley) (Con)
6. What steps the Church of England is taking to help support
family relationships, parenting and marriage.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Church will always support marriages and family relationships
that are committed to mutual flourishing —Jesus’s first miracle
was, after all, at a wedding in Cana in Galilee. The Archbishops’
commission to strengthen families and households will report next
month.
The 2021 census has shown that people living on their own are
more likely to be renting, less financially secure, have lower
levels of happiness and higher levels of anxiety. Some 60% of
people living alone are men. Marriage is a sacred bond between
man and woman. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should promote
marriage at every opportunity and bring back tax allowances to
suit?
My hon. Friend is right to look at all the measures that can
support marriage, given that in the UK 23% of households are
lone-parent households, compared with, say, 13% in the
Netherlands. He is also correct that there is a lower burden of
family taxation in France, Germany and the USA. There will be a
range of measures to support marriage in the Archbishop’s
proposals next month, which I hope my hon. Friend will support
when they are published.
(Strangford) (DUP)
Can I say how very pleased I am to hear that answer from the hon.
Gentleman? I am one who believes very much in the sanctity and
importance of marriage. I have been married for 35 years to a
long-suffering wife, Sandra. My mum and dad were married for 60
years, and Sandra’s mum and dad were married for 60 years, so we
believe in marriage and its importance, as do others in this
Chamber. What is the hon. Gentleman able to do to ensure that
those having difficulties in marriage can have Relate discussions
to ensure that their marriage can last for all their lives?
I am grateful to my friend the hon. Gentleman for raising that
point. It is certainly my hope that churches across the country
will be involved in the best possible marriage preparation, but
also marriage support, because all of us get into bad habits,
including the hon. Gentleman and me, and need little pointers and
reminders from time to time.
Mr Speaker
I call the Father of the House.
(Worthing West) (Con)
I am not sure this is the right place to advertise virtue or
claim vice.
Can I put it to my hon. Friend that the Church of England
Children’s Society 50 years ago supported the social entrepreneur
Bob Holman in establishing family centres? Can we praise the
Church and all its parishes for the way they help to support the
confidence and competence of parents, who often go through
difficult situations?
I am grateful to the Father of the House for reminding us of that
important fact and of what the Church has done in the past, and I
hope he will be equally supportive of what our right hon. Friend
the Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame ) is doing with her fantastic
initiative on family hubs. That is an important continuation of
that early work.
Outreach: Lichfield Diocese
(Lichfield) (Con)
7. If he will meet the Lord to discuss outreach
work in that diocese.
I would be delighted to meet Michael Ipgrave, the new Lord , and I look forward to
doing so very much indeed.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. In fact, I was present in
the other place when the now Lord , Michael Ipgrave, was
introduced. We have many outreach projects in Lichfield. There is
the St Michael’s church project, which has set up a film club
that meets every month, and it offers a meal and a warm space.
There is “Burntwood Be A Friend” and so many others. Is there any
manner by which different dioceses can learn from each other?
I thank my hon. Friend for his continuous support for not just
the cathedral, but the whole diocese of Lichfield. He makes an
excellent point about sharing best practice. Dare I say it, but
in public life and in government, we often do not do that as well
as we could, and it would be good if the Church could show the
way and lead as an example in that area. He is absolutely right.
Same-sex Relationships: General Synod Decisions
(Exeter) (Lab)
8. What steps the Church of England is taking to implement the
decisions of the General Synod on same-sex relationships; and if
he will make a statement.
At the General Synod last month, it was agreed that the “Prayers
of Love and Faith” would be finalised, that pastoral guidance for
clergy would be produced, and that a culture of welcome towards
LGBTQI+ people would be embedded throughout the Church.
Mr Bradshaw
I would be grateful for an assurance that there will not be any
backsliding on the timescale on that, and that the pastoral
guidance will deal finally with the issue of priests being able
to marry and be freed from the current celibacy rules. On a wider
issue, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that a number of
provinces in the global Anglican communion have in effect made a
unilateral declaration of independence from the Church of
England. A small number of parishes here have begun to withhold
their money from their dioceses in protest at these very small
steps forward. Is it not increasingly clear that a small minority
in the Church of England will never be reconciled with treating
lesbian and gay people equally, and it would be better to let
those people go, so that the Church can focus on the majority of
Anglicans in this country who support treating lesbian and gay
people equally?
The pastoral guidance is being worked on, and the bishops remain
committed to implementing their response to Living in Love and
Faith, which the General Synod approved last month. The timing
may depend on the July Synod’s response to the pastoral guidance
and “Prayers of Love and Faith”. The Synod is a democratic body
and, like this Parliament, its decisions cannot be guaranteed in
advance.
On the second part of the right hon. Gentleman’s question, he is
correct that our proposals do not go far enough for some and go
too far for others. There have always been disagreements in the
Anglican communion, as there have been in the Church of England,
and we need to learn to disagree well.
Nigeria: Killing and Abduction of Christians
(Harrow East) (Con)
9. Whether representatives of the Church of England have had
recent discussions with the Church of Nigeria on taking steps to
help tackle the killing and abduction of Christians in that
country.
The murder and abduction of Christians in Nigeria is
distressingly common, totally abhorrent and has gone on for far
too long. The was in Nigeria last
November to support the Church of Nigeria, and the , who knows Nigeria
well, stays constantly in touch with the situation there.
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Clearly, the recent
election in Nigeria has led to a complete spike in terms of
violence, particularly towards Christians. What attempts are
being made by the Church to reach out to Christians in Nigeria to
assure them of our support, and to the victors of the election to
make sure that they safeguard Christians in that country?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing that matter before
the House. He is right to do so. I know that the Church of
England and the Anglican communion will do exactly what he says.
It is worth putting on the record that, even before the
elections, 21 Christians were killed, and churches, houses and
food were destroyed. In November last year, female students at
the state university were raped in Bokkos and in January Catholic
priest Isaac Achi was burned to death and another priest was shot
and injured in Paikoro. Open Doors believes that Nigeria has the
highest recorded level of violence against Christians in any
country.
(Denton and Reddish)
(Lab)
Of course, violent Islamist militants are not the only threat to
Christians in Nigeria. The so-called motorbike bandits that
operate in the border areas are abducting women and causing all
kinds of violence. In the middle belt, Christian farmers face
mass displacement and murder. It is not just about sending
solidarity through the Church of England to Christians in
Nigeria. What more can the Church of England do to influence the
British Government and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office to do more to assist Nigeria in defeating those militants
who are persecuting Christians?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his interest in this
matter, which needs as much attention as we can give it. The
Government are actively implementing the Bishop of Truro’s
recommendation that the Church of England checks regularly with
the Government that all those implementations are being put into
place. He is right to mention that. It is ongoing work,
incredibly serious, and we need to keep focusing on it.
