The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the
Church Commissioners was asked—
Restoration Grants:
Churches
(Twickenham) (LD)
To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing
the Church Commissioners, how much the Church of England
administered in grants to churches for the purpose of restoration
in the last financial year.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England has
administered £10 million of the Government’s culture recovery
funding to 68 churches and cathedrals and about £250,000 in
conservation grants. The £300 million additional funding
announced yesterday is very welcome, as is the fact that the
levelling-up fund specifically includes churches and cathedrals.
The national Church does not routinely fund capital works, but it
does liaise closely with a wide network of funders who provide
support for parish churches and cathedrals.
[V]
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his answer. St Michael’s church in
Fulwell was closed and in a semi-derelict state when a new church
was planted there in 2014. Since then, the committed team have
been holding Sunday services and serving their community with no
formal heating or lighting. In order to restore this listed
building to achieve their vision of being community centred, they
have raised over £1.5 million, but they need a further £230,000
to make the church functional. What support might the Church
Commissioners be able to offer to help plug that gap for St
Michael’s?
I am delighted to learn about the growing congregation and all
the good work happening at St Michael’s Fulwell. The
commissioners provide strategic development funding to the Church
nationally in order to support major change projects that will
make a significant difference to mission and financial strength
across dioceses. In addition to the culture recovery fund, the
National Lottery Heritage Fund has recently launched a new set of
funding priorities to support covid-19 recovery and is open to
applications now.
Landholdings: Public
Transparency
(Bristol East) (Lab)
What steps the Church of England is taking to increase public
transparency of its landholdings.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Church Commissioners have been working through the process of
registering their land holdings with the Land Registry, which can
be searched publicly. In addition, on page 81 of the
Commissioners’ annual report there is a list of the 20 largest
real estate holdings.
[V]
When I met the Commissioners, I was told that they did not have
comprehensive digital maps of their lands that they could
publish. However, a recent report from the
recommended that the Church map all of its land holdings by using
the Good Steward Mapping Tool. I note that its website features
digital maps of the Church Commissioners’ lands. In the interests
of transparency, will the Commissioner make those maps public?
As part of the work of the Archbishop’s housing commission, the
Church has indeed commissioned a draft map of the land holdings
of the Commissioners, dioceses and parishes, to improve planning
and joined-up working between all parts of the Church. This is
work in progress, which is currently being trialled by a number
of dioceses.
Persecution for Faith
or Belief
(Aylesbury) (Con)
What representations the Church of England is making in countries
where people are persecuted for their faith or belief.
(Congleton)
(Con)
7. What representations the Church of England is making to
countries where people are persecuted for their faith or belief.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
The Church of England has regular meetings with the Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office about countries where people
are persecuted for their faith or belief, so that our Government
can raise these vital issues with the Governments of the
countries concerned. The Church also engages with our heads of
mission, civil society groups and, where possible, with the
foreign Governments in question.
[V]
Congregants at one of Aylesbury’s churches are deeply concerned
about Christian charities in India being forbidden from receiving
funds from overseas, amid reports of persecution based on faith.
Such organisations often help some of the most vulnerable people
in Indian society, so will my hon. Friend tell me what steps the
Church of England is taking to help Christian charities and to
stop faith-based persecution, both in India and elsewhere?
The Church of North India and the Church of South India seek to
comply with Indian law in this respect. Pressure from outside
India may make the situation worse for those who receive funds.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office should make the
Indian Government aware of the impact of such restrictions on
Indian citizens. In the past, I have visited the Indian high
commissioner in London with a cross-party group of MPs, all of us
friends of India, to successfully raise a similar issue; my hon.
Friend might like to consider such a visit.
[V]
Some 83% of the world’s population live in countries where
freedom of religion or belief is not adequately respected. This
freedom is essential for societies to secure democratic freedoms,
economic development and peace, yet many people, including young
people, are unaware of its importance. What is the Church of
England doing to help to educate young people about the
importance of freedom of religion or belief for all?
It is a great pleasure to reply to my hon. Friend, the Prime
Minister’s new envoy for freedom of religion or belief. The
Church of England strongly supports educating young people to
advocate for freedom of religion or belief for everyone globally.
We are working with schools in the Gambia and, indeed, in
Pakistan and Bangladesh to do exactly that, to help young people
be advocates for freedom of religion or belief in their schools,
families and communities.
(West Dorset) (Con)
To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing
the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Commissioners have
made of the potential effect on the Church of England of the
Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to take a sabbatical in May
2021.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner ()
While he is carrying out academic study and writing a book, the
Archbishop will delegate some of his duties to the and other
bishops. Study leave is available to all clergy and bishops, and
the Archbishop’s two immediate predecessors also both took study
leave.
I thank my hon. Friend very much for his answer. It is a concern
of many members of the frontline clergy, in the light of press
reports, that there will be a reduction in the number of clergy
in the Church of England. Given that the Archbishop is going on
sabbatical and there is considerable concern about that, will my
hon. Friend just outline how the Church of England will protect
frontline clergy in the event of any review of Church structure?
My hon. Friend will be reassured that the told the
General Synod on Saturday that the Church needs more priests, not
fewer, and a parish system revitalised for mission to tell even
more people about the good news of Jesus, building on the amazing
work that the Church has done to meet those in need during the
pandemic.
