Church Commissioners
The right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church
Commissioners, was asked—
Serious Youth Violence
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
(Con)
1. What steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle
serious youth violence; and if she will make a statement.
[911477]
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
7. What steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle
serious youth violence; and if she will make a statement.
[911484]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame Caroline
Spelman)
The Church was represented at the knife crime summit organised by
the Prime Minister at No. 10 earlier this year, and the General
Synod will be debating this subject at its session next month.
There is no question but that this issue is of the utmost
seriousness, as too many young lives are being lost.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Youth violence is
often a symptom of a lack of role models and moral leaders. What
part does she feel the Church can play to help communities in
this area?
Dame
I think it is very well known that the Church provides role
models for young people, such as youth workers. In the community,
we work alongside young people in schools, youth groups and
congregations. Our clergy, teachers and members of our
congregations are supporting young people who are at risk of
getting caught up in violence and their families, and young
people in pupil referral units.
My constituent Ben Lindsay recently set up Power the Fight, a
charity that enables churches to become part of the solution to
tackling youth violence. The period after school is one of the
most dangerous times for violence among young people. Churches
have resources, buildings and volunteers that Power the Fight
believes could be used to disrupt violence and keep young people
safe. Will the right hon. Lady meet me and my constituent to talk
about this valuable work?
Dame
I am very happy to meet the hon. Lady, who will know that the
Church uses its community halls and facilities in particular to
reach out to young people. There are a number of examples of
that, but may I especially cite the work of Premier Christian
Radio, which broadcasts from London? It has raised awareness of
youth violence and what the Church can do to help. We are
certainly active in this area, and I would be happy to meet her.
Mr (Kettering) (Con)
Will my right hon. Friend join me in praising the work of street
pastors, including those active in Kettering, who often find
themselves helping to defuse potentially violent situations in
our town centres late at night?
Dame
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to pay tribute to the work of
street pastors. In Birmingham, the nearest city to my
constituency, I have gone out with street pastors at night and
seen them minister to very vulnerable young people, making sure
they are safe on their streets. The street pastors do amazing
work.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the right hon. Lady for her response. Will she outline
the benefits that church-run youth clubs provide, and has she had
discussions with the Chancellor to secure additional funding for
faith-based youth clubs?
Dame
I think I have been outlining that. The Church actually provides
youth workers in our communities where many have fallen away, and
it continues to support the presence of such role models in our
society, as is recognised by the Government. I could give the
hon. Gentleman a whole series of examples of how the Government’s
community fund is being used, through churches, to deliver knife
crime awareness training and to help to tackle this problem.
Indeed, many churches provide amnesty boxes for weapons that may
otherwise cause people to lose their lives.
Mr Speaker
As the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) is a member of
Kettering Borough Council and also a special constable, my only
surprise is that he does not serve as a street pastor, but that
may be only a matter of time.
Clergy Recruitment: London
(Chelsea and Fulham) (Con)
2. What steps the Church of England has taken to recruit clergy
in London in the last 12 months. [911479]
Dame
London presents a very positive picture in the life of the Church
for the recruitment of clergy. The Church set itself a target to
increase the number of vocations in all dioceses by 50% by next
year. Most dioceses are well on track, and London expects to
reach that target this year.
I welcome that great news on recruitment in London. A year ago
three of our major parishes in Fulham had vacancies, but in April
I was delighted to attend the induction of Rev. Ross Gunderson at
St Etheldreda. Next Wednesday will be the induction of Rev. Penny
Seabrook at All Saints, and we hope soon to fill the vacancy at
St John Walham Green. Will my right hon. Friend join me in
congratulating and welcoming our new clergy in Fulham?
Dame
With pleasure—I wish all those incumbents great success in their
new parishes. That demonstrates that the commitment to more
training for vocations is really working, and I should share with
the House the fact that there is now a 50:50 ratio of men and
women in training.
Cathedrals: Contribution to Local Economies
(Lichfield) (Con)
4. What estimate the Church of England has made of the
contribution that cathedrals make to the local economy; and if
she will make a statement. [911481]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame Caroline
Spelman)
It is estimated that in 2017 there were more than 10 million
tourist and leisure visitors to our cathedrals, including
Westminster Abbey, generating some £125 million for their local
economies. That is a 37% increase from 2004, the last time that
that was measured.
That is encouraging news; I know how Lichfield Cathedral benefits
the local community.
Mr Speaker, you may be interested to learn that next year will be
the 900th anniversary of the birth of Thomas à Becket and the
400th anniversary of the establishment of the American colony of
the Pilgrim Fathers. To mark that, I believe there will be an
initiative: the year of the cathedrals. Will my right hon. Friend
say a little more about how that will stimulate local economies?
Dame
We had a meeting of the deans of cathedrals in Parliament this
week, and the Dean of Lichfield, who is a fantastic champion for
that cathedral, came up with an interesting proposal, through the
Association of English Cathedrals, to introduce a pilgrimage
passport. That would encourage people—not just from this country,
but from abroad—to visit more of our cathedrals, obtaining a
stamp at every one, and would indeed assist the overall economy.
Mr (Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Having a cathedral city is a very fine thing, but will the right
hon. Lady explain the arcane procedures through which a town can
get a cathedral? Many places that I would call diddly-squat
little places have a cathedral, whereas Huddersfield, a bursting,
successful major university town, does not have the status of a
cathedral city.
Dame
The hon. Gentleman is right: the process is arcane and
complicated. My nearest city of Birmingham has what is known as a
parish church cathedral, whereas Coventry, the city across the
other side of my constituency, had an ancient cathedral which was
bombed and then renewed. I think the best thing I can do for the
hon. Gentleman is to write to him about how this is arrived
at.
Employee Pay Gap
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
6. What estimate she has made of the gap between the highest paid
and lowest paid employees of the Church Commissioners. [911483]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame Caroline
Spelman)
The national church institutions have a unified pay policy that
operates across all the institutions. There is an eight-band pay
structure that is designed to ensure that staff in posts of equal
value are paid the same. If we were to exclude staff in the
Church Commissioners investment division, the ratio between the
highest and lowest paid would be 7.3:1.
I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for that answer. The
has talked
extensively about the need for economic justice, so I was shocked
to read in Personnel Today that the Church Commissioners have a
23:1 pay ratio between the highest and lowest paid in the
organisation. The highest paid person receives £256,000 and one
staff member was given a bonus of £250,000. For charities, the
ratio is 10:1 and for local government the ratio is 15:1, so what
does she think about what is going on in the Church
Commissioners?
Dame
As I explained, the ratio, if we exclude the highest paid
investment division, is 7.3:1. The investment division includes
asset managers, who have to manage assets of over £8 billion.
They are paid at the market rate for asset management, but they
are nowhere near the top of the range. External advice is taken
by the Church Commissioners on what and how we should pay, but
those are the going rates for top asset managers in this country,
and the assets of the Church of England have to be well managed.
Global Businesses’ Working Practices
(Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
8. What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to use their
influence and responsible investment policy to engage positively
with global businesses on their working practices. [911485]
Dame
This question relates to the previous one in an interesting way.
This month, the Church of England was ranked second globally in
an industry survey of responsible investors. One of our most
recent engagements has been holding to account the mining
company, Vale, as responsible for the collapse of the dam in
Brumadinho, Brazil. That underlines the point that really good,
responsible asset management is something that one has to pay
for.
I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for that answer. The dam
collapse claimed the lives of 246 people. Vale is a British
company and it is totally unacceptable to have lower standards of
health and safety abroad than at home. What is the Church of
England’s strategy, as an investor, for tackling that?
Dame
The Church Commissioners hosted a roundtable meeting with other
investors and senior management from a number of the largest
mining companies in the world, which exposed the fact that this
is a widespread problem. To date, 29 of the top 50 mining
companies have made disclosures about tailings dams. This is how
investors can have an influence in an ethical way over their
policy.
Mobile Phone Masts
Sir (New Forest West) (Con)
9. What guidance the Church Commissioners issue to parishes
wishing to install mobile phone masts on church buildings.
[911486]
Dame
The Church of England signed an accord with the Government in
2017 that signalled its intent to support national targets on
mobile and broadband connectivity, particularly in rural and
hard-to-reach areas. At previous Question Times, I have
encouraged Members of the House by saying that if they have
notspots for broadband and mobile provision, all the towers,
spires, buildings and land of the Church of England is at their
disposal to address that.
Sir
But the new telecommunications code has wrecked the market by
advantaging big business at the expense of small sports clubs and
churches. Can I enlist the support of the Commissioners?
Dame
There is evidence that changes by the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport to the electronic communications code
are making it more complicated, although not impossible, for
churches and other community buildings to be used to address
shortcomings in the roll-out of digital infrastructure. We should
work together and go and lobby DCMS to tackle the unintended
consequences of the changes in that communications code.
Dr (Stroud) (Lab/Co-op)
The right hon. Lady will be aware of the growing controversy over
5G and of those who worry about its installation. It would be
quite wrong if the Church was brought into those arguments in
such a way that an unfair burden was put on it.
Dame
Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would like to join the lobbying party,
because this is one more aspect that needs to be seriously looked
into. There are gaps in provision under 4G, and the worst
possible thing would be for the digital divide to continue or get
worse as we move to 5G technology, so I think we should seek an
early meeting.
Persecution of Christians: ’s Inquiry
(Burton) (Con)
10. What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to promote the
’s inquiry into the
persecution of Christians. [911487]
Dame
The Church welcomed the decision by the Foreign Secretary to
invite the to chair an
independent review of the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office. That is not a Church of England inquiry, but a Foreign
Office inquiry. However, the Church is actively encouraging its
agencies and charities to feed in their experiences.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. I wholeheartedly
support her in congratulating the Foreign Secretary and the
on producing the
report, which highlights the persecution of Christians not only
on a large scale, as we saw in places such as Sri Lanka, but on a
small scale in everyday life. Is not promoting the good work of
Christians and Christianity in our society one of the best things
that we can do? May I draw her attention to the Renew church in
Uttoxeter, which has its mission week this week involving digging
gardens, helping schools, washing cars and showing the best of
Christianity?
Dame
It is just the interim report that has been published, and the
important thing was that it mapped where the persecution takes
place around the world. We await phase 2 with great interest,
when we expect to hear more about what we can actually get done.
I agree with my hon. Friend about the kind of approach that could
be taken.
