Adam Jogee

The National Church Institutions are supporting the dioceses of the Church of England with a variety of initiatives to assess vocations and recommend people for training. More information about this work can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/diocesan-resources/ministry-development/vocations

The Diocese of Lichfield has received £5,980,655 funding between 2022-2025 from the National Church Institutions via its Lowest Income Communities Fund, to support ministry in parishes which would otherwise not be able to maintain it. This is further to the Diocese of Lichfield being awarded £6,230,837 during 2020-2023, and £6,590,111 during 2017-2019

The Diocese recognises that, along with many dioceses across the Church of England, it is facing challenges recruiting clergy to vacant parishes. This has been exacerbated by a recent spike in retirements occurring at the same time as a reduction in the number of new ordinations.

The Diocese is taking action to address this by proactively taking steps to increase the number of those coming forward for licensed ministries, both lay and ordained. They are working hard with individual parishes through the recruitment process to help them assess vocations and attract the right candidates. For some parishes, finance is an issue. Where this is the case, the Diocese works with them to find the best way forward for both missional and financial sustainability. More details about the strategy of the Diocese of Lichfield are available here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/shaping-for-mission/#:~:text=From%202024%20to%202030%2C%20Lichfield%20diocese%20will%20be,overwhelmingly%20at%20the%20Diocesan%20Synod%20of%20March%202024

For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Following an extensive public consultation, which gathered input from over 11,000 individuals, the Church of England has made significant progress in the process of appointing the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The full membership of the Crown Nomination Commission (CNC), including the local and global representatives, has now been published here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/archbishops/canterbury-crown-nominations-commission/members-canterbury-crown-nominations-commission and will soon hold its first meeting, with further meetings in July and September 2025.

The CNC members will first establish a ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. They will also review a longlist of candidates, determine a shortlist and conduct interviews, before voting to submit a name to the Prime Minister and the Crown in the usual manner. The committee is expected to be in a position to make this recommendation to the Prime Minister in the autumn of this year.

The Church of England General Synod voted on this issue in 2012 and 2022 and on both occasions there was near-unanimous opposition to a change in the law. The position of the Church has always been grounded in a concern for the welfare of the most vulnerable and the theological principles set out in scripture to care for those in need, the widow, orphan and stranger. The precarious funding of palliative and end of life care means not everyone has full and equal access to the care that they need, which is one of the reasons why it is wrong to legislate for assisted suicide. Most recently, the Rt Revd Lord Bishop of London gave written evidence to the Bill Committee on behalf of the Church of England. This evidence can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdults/memo/TIAB28.htm

The House of Bishops and National Church Institutions are in regular dialogue with other churches and faiths in the UK. Leaders from a variety of faith traditions, including the Church of England, issued a joint statement in November 2024 against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and expressed their shared concerns with the legislation. You can read their letter here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/faith-leaders-join-oppose-bill-legalise-assisted-suicide

In April 2025 the Bishops of London, Gloucester, Bristol, Dover, Stepney, Croydon and Aston issued a joint letter with 105 other senior women of faith to highlight the impact of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill on vulnerable women

https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/in-the-news/2025/04/04/open-letter-from-women-of-faith-on-assisted-dying

Many churches across the Diocese of Lichfield are involved in initiatives to help those in poverty, including offering Warm Welcome Spaces, foodbanks, and school uniform banks. Such initiatives are developed according to locally identified needs and available resources in parishes.

St Thomas’ Church in Kidsgrove, St Luke’s Church in Clayton, and All Saints Church in Madeley are three of the six local distribution points for the Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank. These churches work with other denominations in Chesterton, Silverdale and Newcastle town centre to provide this service to the local community in Newcastle under Lyme. On the 22nd May, the Foodbank published data to show that in one year, it had provided 8,720 emergency food parcels to people in need. 3,018 of these parcels went to children across Newcastle under Lyme. More information is available here: https://newcastlestaffs.foodbank.org.uk/2025/05/22/end-of-year-stats-2/

The Diocese of Lichfield Strengthening Communities team works with communities and individuals, churches and other faiths across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, the Black Country and north Shropshire, to support community building and improve lives. More information about the work of the diocese can be found here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/about-us/strengthening-communities/ For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Nationally, the Church of England has committed to three priorities: to develop and grow more disciples, to develop a mixed ecology of churches and to grow a younger and more diverse congregation. More information about the national work is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/vision-and-strategy

A key priority for the Diocese of Lichfield in its Diocesan Strategic Framework is to reduce the age profile of congregation members. Various work strands are being developed to achieve this, including building on already strong relationships between churches and schools. Across some parishes good work is taking place ecumenically on initiatives that support younger people in their explorations of faith and build their confidence within the church.

In 2024, the Diocese of Lichfield was awarded £837,608 grant funding from the National Church Institutions Strategic Mission and Ministry Board (SMMIB). The Diocese has recently been awarded further SMMIB funding for new work beyond 2025, specifically operating in Stoke to establish new worshipping communities focused on those aged under 40

For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

The Diocese of Lichfield has licensed clergy ranging in age from 32 to 72 years. The most recent Ministry Statistics held by the National Church Institutions were published in 2024 and cover the years 2022-23. See: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/data-services/resources-publications-and-data#na The information can be found on sheet M in columns BA and BB of the 2022 data.

This data indicates that the Diocese of Lichfield has a total of 244 clergy in active ministry, including bishops, clergy, curates and non-parochial clergy. 17% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, with 50% being 40-59 and 33% being aged 60+. This is roughly comparable to the national landscape where 16% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, 55% are between 40-55 years old and 29% are aged 60+. It is not possible to say what age bracket the self-supporting clergy are, as this information is not held centrally.

For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Thanks to the pioneering work of Dame Cicely Saunders, many modern hospices started off as church-affiliated institutions. The majority of these organisations and charities have now become affiliated to Hospice UK, which supports over 200 hospices across the UK. Adult hospices in the UK receive on average only a third of their funding from the state, and for the rest, many rely on charitable support.

Professional bodies in the hospice sector have given written and oral evidence to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee to highlight their concerns about the legislation.

The precarious funding of palliative and end of life care means not everyone has full and equal access to the care that they need, which is one of the reasons why it is wrong to legislate for assisted suicide. It is crucial that the public funding that hospices currently receive does not come into question in relation to the provision of assisted suicide, should the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill pass.

Most recently, the Rt Revd Lord Bishop of London gave written evidence to the Bill Committee on behalf of the Church of England. The evidence can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdults/memo/TIAB28.htm

The Speaker's Committee has made no formal recomendations to the Electoral Commission since 12 December 2019.

The Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission is a statutory body established in part to examine performance and to review and approve the Electoral Commission's annual estimates, and five-year plan. The Committee also recommends the appointments of the Chair of the Electoral Commission and Electoral Commissioners.

As part of this statutory role, the Committee has reported on Commissioner appointments and the Commission's annual estimates.

The Committee does not have the power to direct or intervene in the Commission's operational work, but there is regular engagement to keep the Committee informed about ongoing activity.

According to the most recent ONS assessment, the median gender pay gap for all UK employees is 13.1% in April 2024. We are committed to going further and faster to close the gender pay gap. There are a number of measures within our landmark Employment Rights Bill which will support us in this ambition, and which will have a positive impact on women across the country.

In relation to my Hon. Friend’s constituency, the most recent ONS assessment states that the median gender pay gap for all employees who live in the constituency in April 2024 is 9.4%, down from 19.8 last year*, and significantly lower than the national figure.

*ONS recommend comparing GPG figures over the longer term. ONS publish GPG data back to 1997 however, the home parliamentary constituency table was published later. Given the small number of people in any parliamentary constituency included in the GPG calculations, ONS also produces a rating of the quality of this data. 2004 was the earliest that Newcastle-under-Lyme's GPG data was published and considered of "reasonable quality."

According to the most recent ONS assessment, the median gender pay gap for all UK employees is 13.1% in April 2024. We are committed to going further and faster to close the gender pay gap. There are a number of measures within our landmark Employment Rights Bill which will support us in this ambition, and which will have a positive impact on women across the country.

In relation to my Hon. Friend’s constituency, the most recent ONS assessment states that the median gender pay gap for all employees who live in the constituency in April 2024 is 9.4%, down from 19.8 last year*, and significantly lower than the national figure.

*ONS recommend comparing GPG figures over the longer term. ONS publish GPG data back to 1997 however, the home parliamentary constituency table was published later. Given the small number of people in any parliamentary constituency included in the GPG calculations, ONS also produces a rating of the quality of this data. 2004 was the earliest that Newcastle-under-Lyme's GPG data was published and considered of "reasonable quality."

My responsibilities relate to the work of the seven National Church Institutions, and I can give best-practice advice about diocesan and parish activity. I would be happy to meet with the Hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme to discuss his constituency and any specific concerns he may have. However, he may find a discussion with the Bishop of Lichfield and the team in the Diocese of Lichfield, who are responsible for the condition of the church estate in Newcastle-under-Lyme, more productive. I will write to him to arrange an introduction.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Transparency data is published alongside each New Year Honours List and King’s Birthday Honours List, giving an individual breakdown of recipients' names, level of award, their short citation and the city and country in which their correspondence address was located. Transparency data for each Honours List in each of the past five years can be found on gov.uk using the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/honours-reform-and-operation#honours-lists

The Cabinet Office does not collect home or work addresses for honours recipients; the information published reflects the correspondence address provided by recipients. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office.

Honours are awarded on merit basis. A key aim of the honours system is to ensure that it is more representative of the country as a whole and we will continue to encourage more nominations from every corner of the UK in future honours lists.

Honours committees are made up of individuals with considerable experience of the areas covered by the committee. Each of the ten independent committees are made up of senior civil servants (‘official members’) and people who are independent of government (‘independent members’). All honours committees have a majority of members who are independent and each has an independent chairperson.

Each committee sends their recommendations to the Main Honours Committee which is made up of the chairs of all ten honours committees as well as an official chairperson who is appointed by the Cabinet Secretary. This Committee agrees on a final list of recommendations which goes to the Prime Minister and then to The King, who awards the honour.

The names and positions of all committee members are published on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/honours-committees

It is right that as a country we reflect on Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy to mark her centenary on 21 April 2026. For more than 70 years, she was our greatest public servant, an anchor of stability in an ever-changing and often uncertain world.

The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee was appointed by the Government and Royal Household to develop recommendations for the national commemoration of Queen Elizabeth, including a national memorial in St James’s Park, London and a UK-wide legacy programme.

The Committee will announce the final design for the national memorial alongside plans for the legacy programme on 21 April 2026, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth. More information about this announcement and associated events will be shared in due course.

The Prime Minister updated the House on 25 November about his attendance at the G20 Summit, where he advanced an agenda for shared global growth and strengthened partnerships that deliver for the British people.

The Government Property Agency aims to utilise and support British businesses where applicable. Whilst there is no specific consideration towards bricks made in Britain, we aim to utilise our supply chain to support local business where possible.

Furthermore, this Government announced on 26 June 2025 a new 10-week consultation entitled Public Procurement - Growing British industry, jobs and skills. These reforms aim to go further to strengthen the UK’s economic resilience and support British businesses. By strategically leveraging our annual public procurement spend, we can protect our supply chains, open up new opportunities for local small businesses and social enterprises, create good local jobs, and deliver greater value for taxpayers.

The Government is considering legislation to scrap laws that get in the way of a modern and productive state.

Any such legislation will be brought forward and announced in the usual way.

This Government is committed to creating a productive and agile state. This means reducing bureaucracy through adoption of digital technology and AI tools; stripping back duplication and inefficiency in arms-length bodies; streamlining approval processes; and improving accountability for Civil Service performance. The Cabinet Office will continue to drive and track delivery of this important programme of work.

Royal Titles are granted very sparingly and there has always been an emphasis on the rarity of the honour. Permission to use protected Royal titles is given by the Sovereign on the advice of Ministers. The Royal Names Memorialisation Public Guidance is available on gov.uk, which confirms that the full title of Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be closely protected and only be granted for applications with strong Royal connections. Requests should be directed to the Cabinet Office (for requests in England and Northern Ireland), Scottish Government (for requests in Scotland) and Welsh Government (for requests in Wales). The Government also notes that Terminal 2 in Heathrow airport is already named after the late Queen.

The national resilience review is considering our resilience against the full spectrum of risks the UK faces, including extreme weather. It is considering existing resilience policy and practice to identify what should be kept, changed or improved to ensure we are best prepared now and into the future. The review will conclude in Spring 2025.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 8th October is attached.

The first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place on Friday 11 September, convening regional Mayors from across England and the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.

This first Council focused on investment and growth, ahead of the International Investment Summit. It was a key step in forging new partnerships across all levels of government, to ensure that all parts of the UK can secure, and benefit from, long term investment. This investment will increase economic growth and raise standards of living across the UK.