safeguarding – Page 2 – The Church of England in Parliament

Church Commissioners Questions: Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, Makin Review, Hyde Park Estate, Racial Justice

In the House of Commons, the Second Church Estates Commissioner gave the following answers to questions from MPs on 16th January 2025:

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

Dave Robertson MP (Lichfield, Lab), Kirsteen Sullivan MP (Lab, Bathgate & Linlithgow), Liz Twist MP (Lab, Blaydon & Consett), Ruth Jones MP(Lab, Newport West & Islwyn), and Gregory Stafford MP (Con, Farnham and Bordon), asked: What assessment the Commissioners have made of the effectiveness of the listed places of worship grant scheme.

Bishop of London asks about safeguarding in asylum processing

On 3rd December 2024, the Bishop of London asked a question on safeguarding practices for enforced return of asylum seekers whose claims have been found ineligible:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I welcome the action that the Government are taking to get on top of the asylum backlog and to process claims formerly deemed as inadmissible. I appreciate, therefore, that more individuals may be found ineligible for asylum and may need to return. Therefore, are the Government going to review the current safeguarding policies in place for enforced return and, if so, how?

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 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: Independent Safeguarding Board, Charity Commission Reports, Church Security

On 8th February 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Independent Safeguarding Board

Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners:

how many and what proportion of the case reviews that the Independent Safeguarding Board agreed to undertake have been commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews.
whether the commissioners have had recent discussions with (a) the Archbishops’ Council and (b) other stakeholders on the commissioning of case reviews that the Independent Safeguarding Board agreed to undertake; what the timescale is for case reviews commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews; and what steps are being taken to ensure the adequacy of such reviews.
whether the commissioners have had discussions with the Archbishops’ Council on the potential impact of recommendations from case reviews commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews on earlier cases.

Bishop of St Albans asks about cases of whistleblowing in NHS Hospitals

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many cases of whistleblowing occurred in NHS hospitals in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Lord Markham (Con, Department of Health & Social Care): The information requested is not collected or held centrally.

Hansard

Bishop of London responds to government statement on crimes at Countess of Chester Hospital

On 5th September 2023, the Bishop of London spoke in response to a government statement on the inquiry into the Countess of Chester Hospital and the crimes of Lucy Letby, welcoming the inquiry and asking why existing policies on whistleblowing and safeguarding were not enough to prevent the crimes, and what could be done in future to mitigate this:

The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, I also declare my interests as noted in the register, specifically as a previous Chief Nursing Officer for England and as a non-executive director of a number of NHS trusts for a number of years. I also extend my sympathy and prayers to those who have been impacted by these awful and unimaginable atrocities.

I join others in welcoming that this is now a statutory inquiry. I also support the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, particularly around NHS manager regulation. I ask the Minister whether, when the Government look at that regulation, they will consider that it should go beyond the NHS executive, who themselves are managers, so providing external scrutiny.

Church Commissioners Written Questions: Finance, Parish Voices, Church Buildings Upkeep, and the Independent Safeguarding Board

On 25th July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:

Church of England: Finance

Rachael Maskell MP (Lab, York Central): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church Commissioners have had with stakeholders on (a) their spending priorities and (b) how these align with the mission of the church.

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendment to ensure safeguarding of migrant children in local authority care

On 3rd July 2023, during a debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham tabled amendment 89, which would “limit the Secretary of State’s power to transfer a child out of local authority care and into accommodation provided by the Secretary of State, by providing that they may only do so where to do so is necessary to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child.”

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I declare my interests as laid out in the register. I will speak to Amendment 89, and I am grateful to my noble friends from differing Benches—the noble Lords, Lord Coaker and Lord German, and the noble Baroness, Lady Helic—for their support. It is a damning indictment that an amendment of this nature is even required, as it proposes such a basic safeguard to ensure the well-being of unaccompanied children. It requires that, if a child is to be transferred from local authority child protection systems, a justification should be provided as to why it is in their best interests to be looked after by the Home Office rather than the local authority.

Church Commissioners Written Answers: Independent Safeguarding Board and Truro Diocesan vacancies

On 3rd July 2023, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from an MP:

Independent Safeguarding Board

Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners:

what steps the Church took to resolve the dispute with members of the Independent Safeguarding Board before the decision was made to give them notice.
whether the Commissioners made an assessment of the potential implications of any obligation to provide an independent mediator to resolve the Independent Safeguarding Board dispute.
what process the Church is using to appoint new members of the Independent Safeguarding Board.
whether the work started in phase one of the Independent Safeguarding Board will be completed following the disbanding of the Board.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: