On 16th October 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioners, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Christianity: Palestine
Richard Baker MP (Lab, Glenrothes and Mid Fife): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is providing to Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Marsha De Cordova MP: The Church continues to support the Archbishops’ Appeal for the Diocese of Jerusalem, which helps more than thirty institutions, including hospitals, schools, clinics, rehabilitation centres, guesthouses, and retirement homes across the Diocese. Through charitable bodies like Friends of the Holy Land, the Church provides practical help directly to the most needy and vulnerable Christians, striking a balance between funding immediate relief of emergency needs and small, practical projects that help create a sustainable future in the Holy Land.
Children: Protection
Luke Myer MP (Lab, Middlesborough South and East Cleveland): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to implement safeguarding policies.
Marsha De Cordova: Significant progress has been made since I last answered a question on this subject. All major Safeguarding Policies have been completely revised, or are being revised, as Statutory Codes of Practice. These Codes are co-produced with victims, survivor groups and safeguarding professionals. The next step is to create an easily accessible resource for parishes and create guides to support the work of our safeguarding officers and volunteers, who are doing excellent work across the country at parish and diocesan levels.
Poverty
Luke Murphy MP (Lab, Basingstoke): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle poverty.
Marsha De Cordova: Church of England churches are involved in over 30,000 social action projects, hosting food banks, breakfast clubs, and much more besides. The Lords Spiritual continue to use their place in the House of Lords to raise concerns about poverty, and have long called for the two-child limit to be scrapped as the most effective means of reducing child poverty.
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.