On 23rd February 2016 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question from David Hanson MP about pay for male and female employees of the National Church Institutions.
Mr David Hanson (Delyn): To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what the average hourly earnings for their (a) female and (b) male (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employees was in each of the last five years.
Mrs Caroline Spelman: The following information relates to employees of the Church of England’s National Church Institutions (NCIs). Senior salaries, gender and race information are published each year in the annual reports of Archbishops’ Council, Pensions Board and Church Commissioners. Continue reading “Church Commissioners – levels of pay”


The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Minister has twice mentioned the changing nature of libraries. Of course, they are not just about books. Nowadays, they are a major and vital source for internet access, especially in poorer areas, where people need them to apply for jobs and where fewer households have broadband. Especially in rural areas where broadband coverage is much lower, they are a vital part of rural sustainability. The Government are rolling out broadband very quickly, and that is encouraging, but it does need time. What support are they giving to those vital online centres, many of which are closely related to libraries or in libraries, both for the sake of heritage but also for the sake of our economy?
On the 10th February 2016 Lord Storey asked the Government “whether they plan to legislate to ensure that food and drink provided in all types of schools follow Food Standards Agency food and nutritional guidelines”. The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Peter Forster, asked a follow up question.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, although I agree with all that the Minister has said in response to the questions, is it not the case that engaging parents—making sure that what is taught in schools relates to and engages parents as much as possible—is also important to any government action which may be forthcoming in the future? 

The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, as one of the bishops from Kent, may I take the Minister back to his previous answer? In fact, some 1,300 unaccompanied refugee children are housed in Kent, and the local authorities and the voluntary agencies are under very significant pressure. May I push him a little as to whether, in the light of the somewhat unencouraging response from other local authorities, Her Majesty’s Government intend to do anything else to ensure a more effective national dispersal programme—given that we are talking not just about this moment, but about the likely 10 years that will be needed to get a young person from the point of arrival to full integration, with all the work in education, language and healthcare needed to go with that, and the considerable investment required? Some assurance would help my colleagues in Kent.
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