On 8th June 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Clergy: Ordination and Retirement
Damien Moore MP (Con, Southport): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Commissioners are taking steps to reduce average lengths of time between (a) the retirement and enthronement of bishops in dioceses and (b) the retirement and consecration of priests in parishes.
Andrew Selous (Con, South West Bedfordshire): Diocesan bishops are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister following a recruitment process overseen by the Crown Nominations Commission. Every effort is made to appoint suitable candidates swiftly, however an interregnum is often necessary to allow the Vacancy in See Committee to consult on and produce an up to date statement of needs. Suffragan bishop appointments are overseen by the diocesan bishop, who is required to present a role description to the Dioceses Commission so that an assessment can be made of mission and ministry needs, capacity and resources in the diocese. Parish priest appointments are a matter for diocesan bishops.
Clergy: Vacancies
Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the average length was of vacancies for a parish (a) incumbent and (b) priest-in-charge in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous: Parish priest appointments are a matter for diocesan bishops. Data about the number of vacancies for incumbents and priests-in-charge per annum in parishes across the 42 dioceses of the Church of England are not held centrally by the National Church Institutions. It would incur a disproportionate cost to assemble and present the information requested.
Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many parishes have a vacancy for (a) an incumbency and (b) a priest-in-charge in each diocese; and how many (i) incumbent and (ii) priest-in-charge vacancies there have been in each diocese in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous: Parish priest appointments are a matter for diocesan bishops. Data about the number of vacancies for incumbents and priests-in-charge per annum in parishes across the 42 dioceses of the Church of England are not held centrally by the National Church Institutions. It would incur a disproportionate cost to assemble and present the information requested.
Clergy: Leicestershire
Alberto Costa MP (Con, South Leicestershire): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many Minster Communities are proposed in Leicestershire; and how many parishes are proposed in each.
Andrew Selous: Management of a diocese and the ordering of parishes is a matter for the diocesan bishop and their senior staff, not the National Church Institutions (NCIs).
The NCIs are aware that in October 2021, 72% of members of the Leicester Diocesan Synod voted in favour of the Minster Community model. The Church Commissioners, as the appeal body for any formal parish reorganisation, are unable to comment further as it may prejudice future decisions of the Mission, Pastoral, and Church Property Committee should Leicester Diocese decide to bring forward formal parish reorganisation proposals.
Enquiries about the Minster Communities plan should be directed to the offices of the Bishop of Leicester, the Archdeacon of Leicester or the Archdeacon of Loughborough. Contact details can be found on the diocesan website here: https://www.leicester.anglican.org/whos-who
Alberto Costa: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many ordained stipendiary priests are proposed to serve each Minster Community in Leicestershire; how frequent the Commissioners expect the provision for Holy Communion in each church to be; and how many such priests have been identified as ready to (a) serve in Minster Communities and (b) provide Holy Communion, not by extension.
Andrew Selous: Management of a diocese and ordering of parishes is not a matter for the National Church Institutions (NCIs), but for the diocesan bishop and their senior staff in discussion with the diocesan mission and pastoral committees and liaison with parishes. The NCIs are aware that in October 2021, 72% of the Leicester Diocesan Synod members voted in favour of the Minster Community model.
Enquiries about the Minster Communities plan should be directed to the offices of the Bishop of Leicester, the Archdeacon of Leicester or the Archdeacon of Loughborough. Contact details can be found on the diocesan website here: https://www.leicester.anglican.org/whos-who
Alberto Costa: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many ordained priests are available to perform the Occasional Offices in Leicestershire parish churches.
Andrew Selous: From the records held by the National Church institutions and the diocese, at the present time the Diocese of Leicester has the following ordained clergy and lay ministers:
- 134 clergy
- 43 curates
- 117 lay ministers (including Readers, Evangelists, Pastoral Assistants, etc.)
- 122 Permission to Officiate (often retired clergy)
Clergy
Alberto Costa: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Commissioners are taking steps to help ensure that ordained priests are not expected to officiate in parish churches of a different tradition in a way which (a) they and (b) the parishioners are not comfortable with.
Andrew Selous: Management of a diocese and the ordering of parishes is a matter for the diocesan bishop and their senior staff, not the National Church Institutions.
Clergy, retired clergy and lay ministers regularly offer cover across dioceses during vacancies, an incumbent’s illness, or for other pastoral reasons. The diocesan bishop and local archdeacon are responsible for overseeing this process.
Church of England (Leicestershire)
Alberto Costa: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what information the Commissioners hold on whether the Minster Community model reduces (a) church attendance and (b) parish giving.
Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners have not received any formal parish reorganisation proposals or impact assessments relating to the Minster Communities model. Enquiries about the Minster Communities model should be directed to the offices of the Bishop of Leicester, the Archdeacon of Leicester or the Archdeacon of Loughborough. Contact details can be found on the diocesan website here: https://www.leicester.anglican.org/whos-who
Alberto Costa: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, which Church of England legislation, Measures and Canons provide a description of the functions and responsibilities of Oversight Ministers and Co-Area Deans; and what the functions are of the Launde Minster Community Oversight Minister, Revd Jonathan Dowman, commissioned on 30 April 2023 by the Bishop of Leicester.
Andrew Selous: Clergy of the Church of England who are officeholders generally hold their roles and responsibilities according to their current appointment and Statements of Particulars, with the duties of bishops, priests and deacons being set out in the Ordinal and the Canons. The responsibilities of area deans more particularly include those set out in legislation, but their specific roles are defined at the local level. Some diocesan roles, such as Co-Area Dean or Oversight Ministers, are not defined in legislation but may refer to a particular role in a diocese.
The engagement of diocesan clergy and staff is not a matter for the National Church Institutions. It would be best to contact the offices of the Bishop of Leicester, the Archdeacon of Leicester or the Archdeacon of Loughborough, who will be able to give more details about what is envisaged for these roles. Contact details can be found on the diocesan website here: https://www.leicester.anglican.org/whos-who
Churches: Security
Dr Matthew Offord MP (Con, Hendon): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance has been published to assist with the security of churches.
Andrew Selous: The Cathedral and Church Buildings team of the National Church Institutions has been in touch with all Diocesan Advisory Committees to remind them of its security guidance, which is also available on the Church of England website here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/security-and-crime-prevention (opens in a new tab)
The guidance includes details of safes that are compliant with current standards. Advice on the locking of churches during the day has not changed despite the recent spate of burglaries. Historic England and Ecclesiastical Insurance advice is that existing security alarms be extended to include the church safe, or the room in which the safe is housed.
Churches: Energy
Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Answer of 22 December 2022 to Question 102787 on the Energy Costs Grant, whether the Commissioners have now gathered feedback to examine (a) how much of the Grant dioceses have allocated, (b) by what mechanism dioceses have distributed that funding and (c) what proportion of the Grant was used to supplement the Ministry Hardship Fund.
Andrew Selous: All dioceses took up the Energy Costs Grant, and none has returned unspent sums. The National Church Institutions intend to gather detailed feedback from dioceses in the Autumn on how dioceses distributed grants to their parishes and what proportion was used to supplement the Ministry Hardship Fund.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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