On 20th May 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Archbishops Council
Danny Kruger MP (Con, East Wiltshire): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, if she will (a) publish the amounts certified under subsection 2(6) of the National Institutions Measure 1998 for each year since that provision came into force and (b) place copies of the annual statutory certificates issued to the Church Commissioners under subsection 2(6) in the House of Commons Library.
Marsha De Cordova MP (Lab, Battersea): The Church Commissioners will be able to publish the 2024 certificate after the annual general meeting on the 19th June, when the Church Commissioners’ annual report will be published and laid in the House of Commons Library. The Commissioners have committed to publishing certificates from 2024 onwards on the Church of England website, but are unable to publish the retrospective information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.
Recent copies of the Church Commissioners’ annual report state which grants have been made to the Archbishops’ Council. In the 2023 annual report, this information can be found on page 101 (the-church-commissioners-for-england-annual-report-2023_1.pdf(opens in a new tab)).
Many of the older reports are available online at: Publications | The Church of England(opens in a new tab).
The complete collection of annual reports is available from the House of Commons Library.
Further details can also be found in recent Archbishops’ Council annual reports, at: Archbishops’ Council | The Church of England(opens in a new tab) (scroll down). In the most recent 2023 annual report, the additional information is located on pages 68-75, where the Church Commissioners’ funding provided the majority of the Archbishops’ Council’s charitable expenditure.
Overseas Trade: Israel and Occupied Territories
Kevin Hollinrake MP (Con, Thirsk and Malton): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether (a) the Church of England, (b) its pension funds and (c) its investment funds support (i) boycotts and (ii) divestment of companies selling (A) goods and (B) services (1) from and (2) to (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Territories.
Marsha De Cordova MP: The National Church Institutions do not have a policy of supporting boycotts or divestments related to Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Church Commissioners’ and the Church of England Pensions Board’s approaches are individually informed by the Ethical Investment Advisory Group, with neither institution implementing an automatic divestment policy for companies connected to Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board each implement a Human Rights policy, in line with which they independently screen holdings for corporate human rights risks in their distinct portfolios and run a Controversies Process. This includes reviewing companies that are alleged to cause, contribute to, or are linked to human rights risks and impacts. Each Fund looks at companies on a case-by-case basis and engages with companies that fail their controversy screens, which can lead to exclusions.
The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board each apply this approach across their separate portfolios. In conflict-affected and high-risk areas, each Fund notes the heightened risks of human rights harms and takes this into account when screening their portfolios.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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