On 13th April 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Church of England: Farms
Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, other than in cases where a tenancy is replacing a previous tenancy let under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 how many tenancies have been let (a) for an initial fixed term of five years or less (b) for an initial fixed term of five years or more in each of the last five years, ending with 2020.
Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): The Church Commissioners’ and their managing agents review the term of each new farm letting and all tenancy renewals on a case by case basis. In the period 2016 to 2020, the number of holdings let by the Church Commissioners on a Farm Business Tenancy (on an area of more than 50 acres) for a term under five years is 64, with a further 30 new tenancies offered for a term of 5 years or more. Each holding is assessed at the time of letting, and other factors considered when determining term length.
Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the average level of compensation paid for tenants’ improvements following the expiry of farm tenancies let by the Church Commissioners was in each of the last five years, ending with 2020.
Andrew Selous: Compensation payments made by the Commissioners to their tenants are of a commercially sensitive nature.
The Church Commissioners discuss land and environmental improvement works with their agricultural tenants on an ongoing basis with a view to supporting enhancements to holdings. End of tenancy payments are made as appropriate to the scale and value of such improvement made.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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