In Church Commissioners Question TIme on Thursday 16th May 2013, Sir Tony Baldry MP asnwered questions on church bells, the same sex marriage bill, the Church of England, church attendance, religious freedom, and the English Baccalaureate.
Church Bells
Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con): What support the Church Commissioners provide to refurbish church bells
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Sir Tony Baldry): Church bells are an important part of our national character and heritage, and the Church of England has some limited grant aid available for work to bells and bell frames that are of historic interest. This is distributed by the Church Buildings Council, which also provides advice to help churches approach other funders, including the Heritage Lottery Fund. Continue reading “MPs Questions to Sir Tony Baldry MP”
On the 14th May 2013 the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Tim Dakin gave his maiden speech in the House of Lords. Following the convention of the House the Bishop spoke about his diocese and then addressed the debate covering his areas of interest education, social cohesion and agriculture.
On the 14th May 2013 Lord Dubs asked the Government a question about child poverty, the Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart asked a supplementary question regarding the ways in which the Government could close the gap.
On the 13th May 2013 the Bishop of Birmingham responded to the Queens Speech focusing on the areas of unemployment, business and the economy. The Bishop welcomed proposals for economic development and investment in transport which he hope would bring benefits to Birmingham and the wider region. He hoped the Government would tackle three areas, youth unemployment, personal debt and banking reform, quoting former Archbishop William Temple he urged the Government to “Give us the tools in the regions and we will finish the job”. 
On the 13th May 2013 Baroness Young of Hornsey asked the government a question about the UK clothing sector. The Bishop of Bath & Wells, the Rt Revd Peter Price asked a supplementary question regarding the safety of workers in factories overseas and highlighted the importance for UK companies to have representatives on the ground to ensure the safety of the workforce not just to maintain manufacturing standards.
On the 9th May 2013 the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish responded to the Queen’s Speech addressing his remarks to devolution, community cohesion, and the need to address the increasing London-centric bias of policy making. Bishop Michael used the Church of England as an example of a way to successfully balance competing interests to create a sense of cohesion and mutual belonging in our society.
On the 9th May 2013 the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill spoke in the debate responding to the Queen’s Speech. Bishop Jonathan addressed the areas of immigration and asylum reform along with a range of other areas relating to his interests in Home Affairs. Concluding his remarks the bishop reminded the House of the importance of ensuring a unified society, adopting polices which do not disproportionately impact those least able to make choices for themselves.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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