church funding – The Church of England in Parliament

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Charities

On 22nd November 2024, Marsha De Cordova MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Church Commissioners: Charities

Danny Kruger MP (Con, East Wiltshire): To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what the (a) charitable object and (b) nominal current value is of each (i) trust and (ii) other fund held by the Church Commissioners; and what document defines each such charitable object.

Church Commissioners Questions: Rural Communities, Former Church Sites, Access to Places of Worship, Independent Safeguarding Board Review, Recognition of Positive Impact, Interfaith Understanding, Ordination of Women: 30th Anniversary, Restoration Funding,

On 17th October 2024, Marsha de Cordova MP, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, gave the following answers to questions from MPs:

Small Rural Communities

Ms Julie Minns MP (Lab, Carlisle) asked: What steps the Church of England is taking to support parish life in small rural communities.

Church Commissioners Questions: Affordable & Sustainable Housing, Diocesan Support: Interregnums, Educational Attainment: Church Schools, Parish Churches: Funding, Academy Schools, and Support for People in Gaza

On 23rd May 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following answers to questions from MPs in the House of Commons:

Affordable and Sustainable Housing

Selaine Saxby MP (Con, North Devon) asked: Whether the Church of England is taking steps to provide affordable and sustainable housing on its land. (902965)

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): I can tell my hon. Friend that the Church Commissioners are bringing forward substantial new amounts of housing across England, including affordable homes, in accordance with local planning policy in the areas concerned. Where the commissioners are able to, we also seek to go further— for example, through the use of rural exception sites to provide a higher proportion of affordable housing than the local plan requires.

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Churches in Nigeria, Silent Discos, Asylum, Independent Safeguarding Board, CofE Staff, and Church Finances

On 26th February 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Churches: Nigeria

Sir Edward Leigh MP (Con, Gainsborough): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church has had discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the attack on the St Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Nigeria in 2022; and whether the Church is providing aid for the victims of that attack.

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Land Use, Finance

On 19th September 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Derelict Land

Julian Knight MP (Ind, Solihull): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to release brownfield sites within its Estate to the Church Housing Association to increase social housing.

Levelling-up & Regeneration Bill: Government amends Bill in response to call from Bishop to clarify local authorities grant-making powers to places of worship

On 13th July 2023, during a report stage debate on amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, the Government Minister Baroness Scott introduced an amendment to the Bill to give clarity in the law on the question of the ability of local authorities to issue grants to parish churches and places of worship. The Bishop of Bristol had called for this at the earlier Committee stage, introducing her own amendment, which was not accepted at the time. The Minister’s amendment recognises the need for the changes, and is made in response to the arguments advanced by the Bishop and others at Committee. There was a short debate on the amendment, which the House agreed without a vote.

Church Commissioner Questions: Christmas Celebrations and Services, Church Investments, and Historic Cathedrals

On 1st December 2022, MPs put questions to the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, during his monthly question time in the House of Commons.

Christmas Celebrations and Services

Bob Blackman MP (Con) asked:

1. What steps the Church of England plans to take (a) nationally and (b) in Harrow East constituency to celebrate Christmas.

Kevin Foster MP (Con) asked:

4. What steps the Church of England plans to take to encourage families and children to attend events and services at their local parish church at Christmas.

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Investment, Clergy Vacancies, Provincial Episcopal Visitors, and Use of Church Monies

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs on 21st November 2022:

Jim Shannon MP (DUP): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to promote environmental, social and governance leadership in its investments.

Andrew Selous MP (Con): The Church Commissioners Responsible Investment Team regularly engages with the companies in which they invest on environmental and social issues, and good governance. The Church Commissioners’ Stewardship report 2021 contains examples of work on impact investment, respect for the planet and respect for people: https://www.frc.org.uk/getattachment/8e8fdb87-6c32-4bf3-b549-e8209db00976/The-Church-Commissioners-for-England_Stewardship-report-2020.pdf(opens in a new tab) The Commissioners are signatory members of the Financial Reporting Council, which has approved the report.

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Church Development

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP on 8th July 2022:

Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the Low Income Communities Funding, if the Commissioners will ask the Bishop of Truro to pass on the benefits from that funding to mission in Truro’s lowest income communities, such as by reducing their parish share, as opposed to leaving it to underwrite the diocesan deficit.

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Church Finances

Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP on 30th May 2022:

Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to Figure 10 of the report entitled Independent Review of Lowest Income Communities funding and Strategic Development Funding published by Sir Robert Chote and others in February 2022, how many of the national total of 25,923 new disciples the Church of England expects to be in Truro Diocese; and how many of the 5,019 new disciples have been recorded by the Strategic Development Unit.

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