On 4th February 2016, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, Second Church Estates Commissioner, responded to a written question from Karl McCartney MP, on the community use of church buildings:
Church of England: Community Relations: Written question –
On the 15th January 2016 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, answered a written question on uptake of the church roof repair fund in Devon and Cornwall.
Mrs Caroline Spelman: The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund grants are distributed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, on behalf of the Government. There has been one round of grants to date, announced in March 2015,(a) 22 churches in Devon were offered grants totalling £1,199,700
(b) 7 churches in Cornwall were offered grants totalling £492,700.
A second round to distribute a further £25 million allocated by the Treasury is currently open, with applications closing on Friday, 26 February.
(via Parliament.uk)
On 17th December 2015 the House of Lords debated a motion from Lord Holmes of Richmond, “To move that this House takes note, on the occasion of its 21st birthday, of the contribution made by the National Lottery to sport, culture, charities and national heritage throughout the United Kingdom.” The Bishop of Chester, Rt Revd Peter Forster, spoke in the debate,paying tribute to the positive impact lottery funding has had on cathedrals and church buildings.
The Lord Bishop of Chester: My Lords, most of us will remember the strapline which launched the National Lottery: “It could be you”. Well, I never quite believed that it would be me but, nevertheless, the lottery has had great success over time. Many people thought that it would slightly fade from view and lose some of its initial gloss. Indeed, people worked out that it probably would not be them at all. It is very interesting how it has become a national institution. In that sense, we have been led into temptation on a grand scale. Continue reading “Bishop of Chester pays tribute to Heritage Lottery Fund support for cathedrals and church buildings”
On the 17th December 2015 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, answered four oral questions in the House of Commons about Syrian refugees, fossil fuel investments and the protection of hedgehogs.
On 16th September 2015 Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, answered a written question from Mark Hendrick MP about regulations relating to graveyards in Blackburn Diocese.
Mr Mark Hendrick: [9765] To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which Church of England dioceses have published regulations on monuments on burial plots and inscriptions on gravestones; which dioceses (a) allow and (b) do not allow nicknames on gravestones; which dioceses allow monuments; which dioceses (i) allow and (ii) do not allow pictorial etchings on gravestones; and which dioceses (A) allow and (B) do not allow freestanding containers on burial plots. Continue reading “Gravestones and monuments – written answer”
On 10th September 2015 Caroline Spelman, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, answered two oral questions in the House of Commons,on climate Change and open and sustainable churches.
Climate Change
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab): What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to support the Church of England’s international efforts to tackle climate change. [901256]
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Mrs Caroline Spelman): The Church of England, along with the wider Anglican Communion, is actively tacking climate change in four ways: assessing its investment strategy and, where necessary, divesting in the context of our climate change policy; actively engaging with public policy; attending the forthcoming Paris conference; and encouraging its parishes to reduce their carbon footprint and their parishioners to do the same. Continue reading “Church Commissioners’ questions – climate change and open church buildings”
On the 10th September 2015 Caroline Spelman MP, Second Church Estates Commissioner, asked Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss about churches providing access to rural broadband.
Rt Hon. Caroline Spelman 
(Meriden) (Con): The Churches are keen to offer their buildings to help address better rural broadband provision. Would the Secretary of State be willing to convene a roundtable of interested dioceses and suppliers to share the findings of the rural superfast broadband pilots? Continue reading “Churches’ role in helping rural broadband provision”
Continue reading “Church Commissioner Written Questions – Church Buildings & Solar Power”
On 18th June 2015 the Rt. Hon Caroline Spelman MP answered questions from MPs as Second Church Estates Commissioner. Mrs Spelman, who was answering questions for the first time since taking on the role, was asked about improving the sustainability of church buildings, Christians in Iran, the wellbeing of clergy and the diversity of the General Synod of the Church of England. Mrs Spelman also paid tribute to the former Second Church Estates Commissioner the Rt. Hon Sir Tony Baldry and expressed sympathy for the Methodist Church in South Carolina following the recent tragic shootings.
The full text is available below and a video link is also available, here
On 10th June 2015 the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Rt Hon Caroline Spelman MP, received a written answer to a question she had asked of DEFRA on bats in churches.
Asked by Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) on: 04 June 2015
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bats: Churches
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the application and interpretation of provisions in the Habitats Directive on bats inhabiting church premises in other EU member states. Continue reading “Rules on bats in churches – Second Estates Commissioner asks DEFRA”
The Church of England in Parliament 
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