Church
Commissioners
The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the
Church Commissioners, was asked—
Covid-19: Support for
Vulnerable People
(East Ham) (Lab)
What assessment the Church of England has made of the
effectiveness of partnerships between local authorities and faith
groups in providing support to vulnerable people during the
covid-19 outbreak.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
I am delighted that Lichfield, Rochester, Blackburn and Salisbury
cathedrals are among the church buildings being used as
vaccination centres. As well as providing worship, prayer and
community support, parishes have been providing food, medicine
delivery, bereavement counselling and much more, serving the
needs of everyone in their local communities.
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The “Keeping the Faith” report in November showed the remarkable
extent to which local councils have turned to churches and other
faith groups during the pandemic, especially for help in
distributing food, and how positive an experience for councils
this has proved to be. Will the Church of England urge Ministers
to help these new partnerships with local councils continue
beyond the pandemic?
Yes indeed, and I warmly commend the all-party group on faith and
society for its research, as well as the Kruger review. I look
forward to Colin Bloom’s report, commissioned by the Government,
which assesses faith community engagement. I hope it will build
on my right hon. Friend’s important and very welcome all-party
group research.
Persecution of
Christians: Nigeria
(Lewisham East) (Lab)
What progress the Church of England has made on its work to help
tackle the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
I begin by very warmly welcoming the appointment of my hon.
Friend the Member for Congleton () as the Prime
Minister’s special envoy for freedom of religion and belief. She
has campaigned both knowledgeably and forensically on these
issues for many years.
The Church is deeply concerned about the unravelling of the state
security apparatus in Nigeria and the activity of non-state
actors, which is politicising and polarising identity in Nigeria.
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A recent Open Doors UK event highlighted that Christians are more
likely to be tortured and murdered for their faith by Islamic
militants in the north of Nigeria than in any other country.
Persecution also includes denying Christians food, aid and
treatment for covid-19. The UK Government need to place pressure
on the Nigerian Government to defend and protect their Christian
population. What is the Church of England’s involvement in
supporting these persecuted Christians, and what relief work is
it doing with Nigerian internally displaced people camps?
The ,
who knows Nigeria well, is monitoring the recent violence and the
kidnapping of 300 schoolboys. He and I have met the family of
Leah Sharibu, who was kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2018, and who is
still a prisoner, as she refuses to renounce Jesus. Clergy who
have spoken out have been threatened by prominent civil society
organisations, and the Church continues to stay closely involved.
Lockdown: Church
Attendance
(Devizes) (Con)
What additional support has been provided to the clergy and
churches to help people attend church in person or online during
the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
(Rother
Valley) (Con)
What additional support has been provided to the clergy and
churches to help people attend church in person or online during
the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Church is grateful to the Government for not imposing another
national closure of religious buildings. It is right that
parishes take local decisions on what to offer. There were nearly
36 million viewings of the Church’s Christmas “Comfort and Joy”
series. For those who prefer the telephone, the DailyHope worship
has received 350,000 free calls.
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It is very encouraging to hear that. It is a matter of deep
regret that churches were closed during the lockdowns last year.
I very much appreciate that they are allowed to conduct services
this time. Obviously we hope that we will all be out of
restrictions soon, but there is always a danger of further
restrictions. We worry a lot about the provision of online
teaching in schools. Does my hon. Friend agree that the delivery
of online live church services is enormously important, and—we
must be frank—that this is not a skill that might come naturally
to many vicars? Does he agree that the Church of England should
make an absolute priority the provision of online resources, and
the training of vicars and church teams to deliver them?
Indeed I do. Over 7,000 people have now attended the Church’s
digital training, equipping parishes across the country to stream
services on a variety of different platforms. My own rector has
now been commended for her YouTube skills by eight-year-olds in
her benefice.
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Many churches in Rother Valley have adapted during these times by
holding online services, such as the many wonderful services at
the Wales parish church and St Joseph’s, Dinnington. However,
Rother Valley’s churches have lost a great deal of income from
the in-person offertory collections and fundraising events,
putting church maintenance and repairs at risk, including the
much-needed repairs to St Simon and St Jude church in Thurcroft.
Does my hon. Friend share my concern regarding the black hole in
local churches’ budgets and potential delays to repairs, and will
he work with churches to ensure that they have what they need to
survive?
My hon. Friend raises a really important point. I draw his
attention to the Parish Giving Scheme, which people can do by
direct debit, and to various online giving options. Of course,
the commissioners have provided tens of millions of pounds to
help churches. I would also say that perhaps people who are not
paying for a season ticket might want to pay a little bit more to
their local church, given that they have made a saving in that
area.
Persecution of
Christians
(Coventry North West) (Lab)
What steps the Anglican communion is taking to tackle the
persecution of Christians.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Church speaks up on behalf of all those who are unable to
exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief. The Church
of England is part of an international consortium that has just
received £5.6 million from the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office to equip parliamentarians and religious
leaders in eight countries in Africa and Asia to counter these
challenges.
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From Nigeria to Eritrea and Burkina Faso to India, Christians are
facing grave persecution because of their faith. The persecution
of Christians, particularly where they are a religious minority,
is a matter of growing concern among my constituents, and this
has been reflected in the casework I am receiving. What steps is
the Anglican Communion taking to tackle persecution of Christians
across the world? Is the hon. Gentleman able to provide me with
information on what guidance and support he is offering to
churches in the UK in helping those who have fled persecution?
As part of the new Foreign Office project, the Church and the
other consortium members will be equipping parliamentarians and
religious leaders with the technical assistance and other
expertise they need to propose solutions in their own countries
to these terrible human rights abuses.
Landholdings
(West Dorset) (Con)
What steps the Church of England is taking to promote
regenerative agriculture on its landholdings.
(Broadland) (Con)
What steps the Church of England is taking to assess the efficacy
on its land of zero-till conservation agriculture in promoting
increased soil health, reduced use of carbon, biodiversity gain
and carbon sequestration.
The Church Commissioners are undertaking a natural capital
assessment to provide a baseline for our carbon outputs and to
understand our ecosystem services. This will provide a plan to
lower carbon outputs and inform our natural capital strategy.
Where possible, our tenancies have clauses relating to good
husbandry and the non-removal of topsoil, and with longer-term
tenancies, soil analyses are carried out at the beginning and the
end of leases to ensure that soil health is maintained to a good
standard.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. The Church Commissioners
own an estate of about 105,000 acres. What is the Church doing to
help its tenant farmers to achieve sustainable farming,
especially in the light of the current pressure that farmers face
during coronavirus?
I thank my hon. Friend for his interest in this important area.
Over 60% of our agricultural land is let on secure agricultural
tenancies and the remainder on more modern sorts of farm business
tenancies. When new tenancies are granted, we encourage
sustainable farming practices through our tenancy precedents. We
will be reviewing this further in the light of our natural
capital assessment results. We want to help our tenants to
achieve both sustainable and profitable outcomes.
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The Church Commissioners’ ownership of a large amount of
land—over 100,000 acres—gives us an opportunity to lead
development of conservation agricultural farming techniques,
improving soil health, reducing carbon inputs, and developing the
evidence base on carbon sequestration. Does my hon. Friend agree
that practitioners should approach management of their farming
assets in the same way as they do with their other ethical
investments?
As a leading global ethical investor, we regularly engage with
all the businesses in which we are invested to improve best
practice. While farming practices and management decisions are
mainly taken by our agricultural tenants, we have some who do
practice zero tillage, and we strongly encourage sustainable
farming practices when new tenancies are granted.
Covid-19:
Landholdings
(Dewsbury) (Con)
What assessment he has made of the financial effect of the
covid-19 outbreak on Church of England landholdings.
The Commissioners’ property assets are independently valued by
third parties on an annual basis. The audited financial results
for 2020 will be available later in the year and laid before
Parliament once an annual general meeting is able to take place.
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The recently appointed has
spoken in the past about the importance of caring for green
spaces. In his enthronement sermon, he declared that
“we are at risk of separating ourselves from the planet itself,
so obsessed have we become with the dangerous suppositions of our
own importance and dominion.”
Can my hon. Friend encourage the archbishop to act on his words
and impress upon the Church Commissioner landowners the need to
have a rethink of their plan for the unjustifiable destruction of
unspoilt countryside and farmland at Chidswell in Dewsbury?
I know that my hon. Friend works tirelessly for the people of
Dewsbury. I and the staff of the Church Commissioners have met
him to discuss this issue. Although the planning application is
yet to be determined, it is in line with the strategic objectives
of the Kirklees development plan. It will not only bring
much-needed new homes to his area, but new employment
opportunities and new public open space.
Covid-19: Persecution
of Christians
(Crawley) (Con)
What steps the Church of England is taking across the worldwide
Anglican Communion to tackle the persecution of Christians during
the covid-19 pandemic.
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for being one of three
Members today to raise this vitally important issue. The Church
is grateful for the Government’s continuing commitment to
implement the Bishop of Truro’s recommendations on this issue. In
this week of prayer for Christian unity, we need to be especially
mindful of persecuted Christians all around the world.
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What discussions has the Church of England had with the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office to ensure that covid-19
international assistance aid reaches all in need and is not
abused by discrimination against Christians, which has
appallingly occurred in some countries?
Last year, officials from the Church had regular meetings with
the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office—both Ministers
and staff—where concerns were raised that covid-19 was being
politicised and that minority communities were indeed being
discriminated against. Bishops regularly raise this issue in the
other place as well, and I can assure my hon. Friend that the
Church will continue to engage with the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office as the need arises.
Lockdown: Support for
Schools
(Eastbourne) (Con)
To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing
the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is
providing to schools during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
Diocesan education teams and local churches have focused on
supporting the wellbeing of students and staff through the
ongoing provision of collective worship, by providing and
distributing food for disadvantaged families and, in many cases,
by renovating and distributing technology to enable online
learning to supplement the Government’s provision.
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I thank my hon. Friend for his response. Church leaders and
congregations in Eastbourne and Willingdon at St Michael and All
Angels and St John’s Meads have stepped into the digital divide
by rallying round and providing laptops and devices for primary
school children in their parishes. Will he join me in thanking
them for their contribution, which complements the Government’s
support in this vital area?
Of course I will do that. I am delighted to learn of the work of
St Michael and All Angels and St John’s Meads. It is typical of
what the Church is doing across the country to help not just
schools but entire communities.
