Tag: Church of England

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Church of England Assets and Finances

On 20th October 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:

Kerry McCarthy MP (Lab, Bristol East): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how much has been paid in (a) tax rebates, including of VAT on repairs and (b) Gift Aid to Church of England bodies including (i) dioceses, (ii) parochial church councils, (iii) cathedrals, (iv) the Church Commissioners and (v) the Churches Conservation Trust in each of the last five years.

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Church Commissioners Written Answer – Vision and Strategy

Question for Church Commissioners, UIN 31286, tabled on 12 July 2021

Michael Fabricant, (Conservative, Lichfield): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the article by the Revd Marcus Walker, Rector of the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London, entitled, Is this the last chance to save the Church of England, published in the Spectator on 10 July 2021, what assessment the Church has made of the implications for its policies of the (a) findings of Revd Walker and (b) potential merits of proposals to create 10,000 new lay-led churches in the next 10 years in private homes and public halls.

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Church Commissioners written answer: rural parish support

24th May 2021

Rt Hon Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on what steps the Church of England is taking to support the diocese of (a) Hereford and (b) Lichfield; and what plans the Church of England has to support dioceses with large rural parishes.

Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire): Diocesan resourcing of mission and ministry is supported by congregational giving, historic investments and other income. Additional support is provided from national funds generated by the investments of the Church Commissioners and distributed by the Archbishops’ Council.

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Bishop of Durham moves Cathedrals Measure

On 22nd April 2021, the Bishop of Durham moved the Church of England Cathedrals Measure in the House of Lords, asking that the measure be approved for Royal Assent. The Bishop of Oxford also spoke in support of the measure:

The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Cathedrals Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.

My Lords, I beg to move the second Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. The Cathedrals Measure provides a new statutory framework for the governance and regulation of 41 Church of England cathedrals and will replace the framework in the Cathedrals Measure 1999.

Our cathedrals are national treasures which it is both a privilege and a responsibility to care for. They play a key role in our national life, with some 10 million adults visiting them each year and around 330,000 children enjoying free educational visits to them. All our cathedrals are involved in work in their local community, and they contribute around £220 million annually to the UK economy, employing some 3,000 people. Above all, however, each cathedral serves its community as the mother church of its area and the seat of a bishop, and remains in use for its original purpose.

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Church Commissioners Written Answers

On 22nd April 2021, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Luke Pollard MP (Lab, Plymouth, Sutton & Devonport): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of suspending licences for trail hunting on land owned by the Church; and if he will make a statement.

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Archbishop of Canterbury holds debate on Coming Home Report on Housing, Church, and Community

The Archbishop of Canterbury led a debate on the report Coming Home by the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church, and Community on 24th March 2021:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: That the Grand Committee takes note of the report Coming Home by the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community, and the case for setting out a long-term housing strategy.

My Lords, I am very grateful to the usual channels for permitting this debate and to all noble Lords who are taking part. I express my sadness at the beginning at the sudden death of Lord Greaves, whose voice in this area, as in so many others, especially those involving the day-to-day concerns of people, will be deeply missed.

The Archbishop’s annual debate is normally held every year, just before Christmas—although I am not sure that it counts as a Christmas present. Due to the pandemic and other issues, it has not happened for a couple of years. You may have thought you were spared but that is not so, for, like Jairus’s daughter, the debate is not dead but was only sleeping. And when better to resurrect it than just before Easter?

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Farms

On 19th March 2021, Andrew Selous MP, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:

Church of England: Farms

Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what forums are available for the church to engage with its farm tenants on ideas for farm business development and environmental management of holdings.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Family Life

On 4th March 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Sarah Dynes MP (Con, Derbyshire Dales): To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to support family life during the covid-19 lockdown.

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Church Commissioners Written Questions: Bishops – Offences Against Children

On 24th February 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answer to a question to an MP:

Neil Coyle MP (Lab, Bermondsey and Old Southwark): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the composition of the (a) Gibbs and (b) Whitsey reviews are; and if he will place non-redacted copies of the reports in the Library.

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Church Commissioners Questions: Clergy Discipline

On 25th January 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answer to a question from an MP:

Rachael Maskell (Lab, York Central): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress has been made on the review of the Clergy Discipline Measure.

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