Tag: church buildings

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

On 18th December 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha de Cordova MP, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Mr Wil Forster MP (LD, Woking): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) Christ Church in Woking and (b) other community services run by Churches.

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Bishop of Manchester speaks in debate on Autumn Budget

The Bishop of Manchester took part in a debate on the autumn Budget on 4th December 2025, welcoming plans to end the two-child limit and reduction in household energy bills, and calling for further support for clergy and maintenance of places of worship:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I congratulate my right reverend friend the Bishop of Portsmouth on his excellent maiden speech. Not least as our lead Bishop on education, I believe he will have an immediate and valuable contribution to make to the remaining stages of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. He and I first met as opponents on the cricket field many years ago; I am sure he will build as long and solid an innings here in your Lordships’ House as ever he did at the wicket.

I also join many noble Lords in adding my deepest thanks to the Government for bringing the two-child limit to an end. I never felt it right or just to push a child into poverty simply for having too many sisters or brothers; it makes even less sense when we badly need a birth rate that will provide Britain with tomorrow’s workforce without having to rely on migration to fill the labour market gaps. I look forward to seeing the wider child poverty strategy.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church of England (CCTV)

On 1st December 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Church of England: CCTV

Laurence Turner MP (Lab, Birmingham Northfield): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church makes funding available for the installation of CCTV cameras at pastoral buildings that are not churches.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Churches – Listed Buildings

On 23rd September 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Churches: Listed Buildings

Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, how many churches are listed places of worship.

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Bishop of Southwark asks about Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 16th September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government whether they are considering using the underspend in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to lift the cap on individual claims in the second half of the 2025–26 financial year.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Religious Buildings, Retired Clergy, Church Closures, Clergy Vacancies, Slavery, Religious Practice

On 1st September 2025, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Religious Buildings

Andrew Rosindell MP (Con, Romford): To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the National Church Institutions have issued guidance on the use of sacred places of worship for secular purposes.

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Westminster Hall Debate: Impact of Churches and Religious Buildings on Communities

In Westminster Hall, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova MP, hosted a joint debate with John Glen MP on the impact of churches and religious buildings in communities on 13th May 2025:

Marsha De Cordova MP (Lab, Battersea): I beg to move,

That this House has considered the impact of churches and religious buildings on communities.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I am pleased to have secured this important and timely debate with the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen). Today, I speak with two hats on, as the MP for Battersea and as the Second Church Estates Commissioner.

It is undeniable that churches and religious buildings have a positive impact on our communities in constituencies across the country, and I intend to show examples of this throughout my speech. Churches such as St Mary’s in Battersea do valuable work in their communities every day, and their contributions are often delivered at no cost to the state but with such a great return for the communities in which they serve. That is part of their vocation to serve—their desire to reflect the values of Jesus Christ through their faith, love, hospitality and service to their neighbours. I hope that this debate will allow us to recognise the incredible work of our local churches and other religious organisations.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Repair and Maintenance, Rural Areas, and Church Organs

On 21st March 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

Kevin Hollinrake (Con, Thirsk and Malton): To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the Law Commission’s consultation on burial and cremation, published on 3 October 2024, on the finances of local authorities taking over the maintenance of closed churchyards.

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Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Bishop of Manchester speaks in support of amendments on community and voluntary groups

On 12th February 2025, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. The Bishop of Manchester spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Lord Murray of Blidworth aiming to provide further support for community and voluntary organisations under the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I support the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Murray of Blidworth, in this group. As the Bishop of Manchester, I have got something like 400 churches and church halls in my diocese, but these amendments go rather wider than that. For places of worship, there are already some grant schemes for protecting against terrorism, given the particular threat that places of worship, especially Muslim and Jewish places of worship, have traditionally faced.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church Music, Conservation, Food Banks

On 23rd January 2025, Marsha De Cordova MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Churches: Music

Stuart Anderson MP (Con, South Shropshire): To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in rural areas engage local communities in music.

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