Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 20th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Dame Caroline Spelman)]

Mr Speaker, do you wish me to reply to the question? The Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission cannot respond to it.

[Mr Speaker]

I rather thought that the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mrs Trevelyan) was posing a supplementary to Question 1, which was the basis upon which I called her. Never mind; it is not a great sin.

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[Dame Caroline Spelman]

I genuinely believe that this new initiative will spread best practice. I am sure that all bishops regard themselves as a bishop for marriage. However, there is no doubt that there has been a decline in church weddings, and that is in part due to the fact that there has been liberalisation of the legislation around where couples can get married. None the less, we should celebrate the fact that they want to get married. I will finish with one good new trend: women over 65 are getting married in increasing numbers.

[Mr Speaker]

It is always useful to have additional information. We are most grateful to the right hon. Lady.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

5. What assessment the Church of England has made of recent trends in the number of vocations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dame Caroline Spelman]

Obviously, the topography of Lancashire is challenging, so I am very sympathetic to my hon. Friend’s case. In fact, I went to see an example of a wi-fi booster signal, and as long as there is a line of sight between a church tower and another church tower, or a high building, it is possible to provide internet coverage in remote rural areas that currently have no signal. I encourage him to speak to the Bishop of Carlisle and I will give every support in his endeavour to ensure that his constituents are not digitally divided.

[Mr Speaker]

This is very reassuring indeed.

[Chris Davies]

Right across the country, church buildings are central to strong local communities. Will my right hon. Friend explain whether it has been possible to provide wi-fi and broadband in listed churches and chapels to help those buildings to remain sustainable well into the future?

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[Dame Caroline Spelman]

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the congregation of St Mark’s on having the vision to create a new church. In fact, the Church of England is opening as many new churches, typically in new developments, as it is closing old ones. Of course a new facility like that is a wonderful venue for the arts and for exhibitions such as those that we are discussing.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope the Hansard text of the right hon. Lady’s reply to the hon. Gentleman will be posted on the church door. That would seem only fitting.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the right hon. Lady also bear in mind not only exhibitions, but new music? Will she look at a work performed at Peterborough cathedral only a few days ago, “Even You Song”, with a wonderful new libretto by someone called Dr Lucy Sheerman?

[Dame Caroline Spelman]

I am very impressed to hear about that. When one looks through the list of the exhibitions that are being held in cathedrals up and down the country, one cannot fail to be impressed by the range and depth. May I commend to hon. Members an exhibition about refugees at Southwark cathedral, a mere short step from the House, should they require some respite from the labours of the House and its debates? This is a very current topic, and I commend it to the House.

[Mr Speaker]

Splendid.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Many parish churches in the borough of Kettering, particularly in rural villages, are opened up for a variety of community activities, including art exhibitions. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is an excellent way of getting people into churches who might otherwise never cross the threshold?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 24th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dame Caroline Spelman]

Some 23,000 services have been added to the website by more than 5,000 parishes. It might interest hon. Members to know that it has filters, so, for example, disabled parishioners can find out how easily they can access a church, and there is a filter for those who wish to know whether mince pies and mulled wine will be served. The social media campaign also includes a video in which Mr Speaker’s very own chaplain makes her important contribution under the hashtag #joytotheworld. I recommend that we all watch that.

[Mr Speaker]

That is very good news, because she is an excellent woman, as everybody in the House can testify, and, if I say so myself, a fine appointment by me.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 13th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mrs Caroline Spelman.

[Dame Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

Brexit creates an opportunity to put agriculture on a more sustainable footing, but can the Secretary of State reassure the House that Brexit will not change the international leadership the UK has provided on sustainable development?

[Mr Speaker]

I apologise: I should have referred to the right hon. Lady properly—Dame Caroline Spelman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 7th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

Yes, indeed, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his son’s confirmation. An increasing number of younger women have indeed entered the priesthood. Some 47% of the clergy ordained in 2015 were female, and 22% of the women ordained in 2015 were under 40.

[Mr Speaker]

I hope the whole House wishes to congratulate Tomlinson junior. That is now on the record.

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[Mrs Spelman]

The Church Buildings Council has been promoting through its “Open and Sustainable Churches” initiative how parishes can adapt their buildings for wider community use. Most schemes for work in church buildings that the Church Buildings Council now see will include installing an accessible toilet if there is not one already present.

[Mr Speaker]

Let us hear the views of Mr Mann on the matter of toilets.

[Mr Speaker]

The House is very expectant. We really want to hear this answer.

[Mrs Spelman]

I am delighted to be able to say that the Church is making great progress with the provision of the facilities that the hon. Gentleman describes. Currently, 55% of the 31 listed Church of England churches in his constituency have installed new toilet and kitchen facilities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 5th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

I look forward to visiting the Lichfield diocese. Indeed, the Government have been very generous in their funding for repairs to that beautiful cathedral. On the specific subject of human sexuality, I do not think that the Archbishop of Canterbury could have been clearer about his leadership in bringing the whole Anglican Communion together for the first time, united behind the doctrine that we should condemn homophobic prejudice and violence at home and abroad.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Sir David Amess—not here.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

3. What progress has been made on the Near Neighbours programme.

Points of Order

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

First, let me acknowledge and pay tribute to the extremely unselfish and conscientious work that the hon. Gentleman and others did on the Committee, under the distinguished and stoical chairmanship of the hon. Member for Poole (Mr Syms). Secondly, I would say to the hon. Gentleman that if the Government Chief Whip was here, he would have heard the hon. Gentleman’s point of order, but he is not, so he has not. That said, I feel sure that the thrust of it will be conveyed to the Chief Whip ere long.

[Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Of course I will come to the right hon. Lady, and will treat her with the very greatest respect.

As Members know, and as others attending to our proceedings need to be aware, these are not matters for the Chair. Members are ventilating their very real sense of grievance and unhappiness, but these are matters for the business managers to determine. They make their own judgments. People operate—if I can put it in this way—at their own level in regard to what they judge to be the proper treatment of business and of the thoughts on these matters of Members, including minorities of Members. Those are not judgments that I can second-guess. We all have our own views, but I think that I should properly leave it there.

[Mrs Spelman]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You will know that I, too, rarely make a point of order in the House.

I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for understanding the frustration that we feel, as Members representing the affected constituencies. The fact is that, given that roughly 50 amendments have been tabled, if we were to put our amendments to the vote in the time available—one hour for the first group and two hours for the second—there would be no time for us even to discuss them.

A great deal of work, and a great deal of excellent assistance from the Clerks, has gone into creating amendments that I believe would ameliorate the consequences of the Bill. Will you use your good offices, Mr Speaker? When you speak to the Lord Speaker, will you draw her attention to the fact that, although amendments were tabled, we had very little opportunity to debate them and press them to a vote?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 17th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

I was litter-picking over the Clean for the Queen weekend outside a local primary school, and I was dismayed to find that most items were recyclable. What could the Government do to encourage the next generation to recycle and not to miss the opportunity to forge a circular economy?

[Mr Speaker]

I hope other colleagues are as virtuous as the right hon. Lady. She has set a very high and exacting standard.

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[Mrs Spelman]

I could not agree more with that example, as it is incumbent on Christians to visit people in prisons. I have been very struck by an initiative from my own parish church, whereby volunteers mentor ex-offenders before they come back into society to help them prepare to go straight and to live a life in which they can sustain themselves. These are excellent examples that can be replicated in all constituencies.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Alan Mak. Where is the feller? I call Mr Stephen Phillips.

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[Mrs Spelman]

I am not sure that this question has a great deal to do with renewable energy; it may have more to do with Trollope. The vacancy in the Oxford diocese is, of course, a matter of concern, but there has already been one attempt to bring a list of candidates before those who can help to make that decision. I believe that a second attempt to produce such a list will be evident in May.

[Mr Speaker]

I note that the hon. Gentleman acutely exploited the diverse meanings of the word “power” so that he could remain in order.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

8. What support the Church Commissioners are giving to the Church of England to increase the representation of women in leadership positions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 10th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

What a splendid invitation—how could I refuse? The example that my hon. Friend gives might prompt all Members here to look at the Church’s website, where there is a toolkit to help any church wishing to broaden its use in the ways we have described to find out how that can be done and to share best practice.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Chi Onwurah. She is not here.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Spelman and John Bercow

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

The question relates to Glasgow or, at its widest interpretation, Scotland, but not Meriden or elsewhere.

[Mrs Spelman]

Scotland, in common with 27 member states of the European Union, is non-compliant with the EC arrangements. Does the Minister agree that low emission zones can help improve air quality in cities such as Glasgow and that, in proposing a low emission zone for London, the Mayor of London has offered a good way to improve air quality?

[Mr Speaker]

With reference to Glasgow.

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[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the right hon. Lady to her new responsibilities.

[Mrs Spelman]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course we must briefly pay tribute to my predecessor, who fulfilled this role with great aplomb and will be for ever remembered as enabling the legislation on women bishops.

The Church faces a great challenge in terms of its sustainability, particularly in rural areas. The Church Commissioners will be helping to support those churches that want to come back to the heart of the community by opening their doors to a wide range of uses that serve the community.