Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what legal advice the Church of England has received on the proposed use of church funds for slavery reparations through the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
I refer the Hon. Member for Romford to the written answer to the question asked by the Hon. Member for the Weald of Kent published on 6 May 2025 (UIN 47114). Any legal advice received is subject to legal privilege in the usual way
An application to the Charities Commission for a new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is being prepared
Please note that the response to the historic links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’) is not “slavery reparations”.
The Church Commissioners hope and pray that the new Fund will be an act of reparative justice and part of a meaningful process of healing and repair to bring about a better, fairer, future for all.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what legal advice the Church of England has received on the proposed use of church funds for slavery reparations through Project Spire.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
I refer the Hon. Member for Romford to the written answer to the question asked by the Hon. Member for the Weald of Kent published on 6 May 2025 (UIN 47114). Any legal advice received is subject to legal privilege in the usual way
An application to the Charities Commission for a new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is being prepared
Please note that the response to the historic links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’) is not “slavery reparations”.
The Church Commissioners hope and pray that the new Fund will be an act of reparative justice and part of a meaningful process of healing and repair to bring about a better, fairer, future for all.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact on the decriminalisation of abortion on clergy’s cure of souls.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
In her capacity as Lead Bishop on Health and Social Care, the Bishop of London made a statement related to the proposed changes to abortion law on 20th June 2025, which can be found in full on the Church of England website at: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/abortion-law-changes-comment-bishop-london
It included the following:
“Considering any fundamental reform to this country’s abortion laws should not be done via an amendment to another Bill. There should be public consultation and robust Parliamentary process to ensure that every legal and moral aspect of this debate is carefully considered and scrutinised. We need a path that supports women, not one that puts them and their unborn children in the way of greater harm.”
Assessing the potential impact of such a legal change is a long-term process, and Lords Spiritual continue to engage with the Crime and Policing Bill as it progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on gender ideology.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England does not provide specific standalone guidance to clergy on gender ideology.
On complex issues the House of Bishops may from time to time publish guidance and advice for clergy, designed to inform local response. This has included the 2020 book ‘Living in Love and Faith’, which is available to view or order on the Church of England website.
Following a vote of the General Synod in 2017 to welcome and affirm transgender people, the House of Bishops provided guidance in 2018 called ‘Pastoral Guidance for use in conjunction with the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith in the context of gender transition.’
Within Church of England schools, clergy and teachers are advised to align with the “Pastoral Principles”: www.churchofengland.org/about/general-synod/structure/house-bishops/pastoral-principles
Guidance is also available in ‘Flourishing for All: Anti-bullying Guidance for Church of England Schools’ (updated April 2025): www.churchofengland.org/about/education-and-schools/education-publications/anti-bullying-guidance-church-england-schools
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to encourage more people under the age of 40 to attend Sunday services in Romford constituency.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England has committed to ‘Growing Younger’ as part of its Vision and Strategy for the 2020s, which prioritises creating a church that is younger and more diverse. The central goal is to double the number of children and young active disciples by 2030.
Most recently, £16.3 million was allocated by the National Church Institutions to youth evangelism projects nationwide, including £6.45 million for the Diocese of Chelmsford’s “Believing in Barking” youth and community mission project, which will also include projects in Romford.
The Diocese of Chelmsford and its clergy are actively engaging people under 40 in the life of the Church, supporting a variety of initiatives and vocations in worship, ministry, youth work, schools, and community outreach.
There are three specific projects in the Romford Constituency about to get underway; the projects detailed below constitute a direct investment in the constituency of over £ 1.25 million across the next 5 years. The Hon member for Romford may wish to visit the projects once they are commenced.
• All Saints Ardleigh Green, where the parish is recruiting a Children, Young People and Families Worker in the new year, is shared with St Andrews Hornchurch. This role will focus on children, young people, and family support, particularly working with NewCity Academy. An additional stipendiary role is also planned at Holy Cross Church in 2026 with another CYPF worker shared with St Andrews.
• St Albans Romford – will be recruiting a missional priest, with specific responsibility for developing a younger demographic within the existing congregation.
• St George’s, Harold Hill – As one of the active estate churches within the diocese, it will receive additional support and funding to support its children and youth provision.
The Barking Episcopal Area of the Chelmsford Diocese has some specific priorities:
• To “double the number of churches with >25 children and young people attending”
• To increase the number of trained lay volunteers within children, young people and family ministry and work
• To have Deanery children, young people and family in place
Further projects that cover the Romford Constituency are in the early stages of development, to support:
• Ministry and support for low-income communities
• Resourcing children and young people's clubs and organisations
• Making worship more engaging/accessible
• Nurturing the faith of children, young people and their families.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to encourage more people to attend Sunday services in their local parish church.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The National Church Institutions have allocated £236million in the next funding window (2026-2028) to the Diocesan Investment Programme. This financial support goes directly to dioceses to advance their missional plans for local parishes and communities.
In the Chelmsford Diocese, which covers the Hon. Member for Romford's constituency, in the current funding period, the Barking episcopal area was granted £14.95m to resource parish churches across the London Boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Newham and Redbridge.
This funding is now being rolled out and will see appointments made to clergy and lay worker posts, children and families’ worker roles and a broad range of missional projects.
The combined effect of this investment will see missional growth stimulated, resulting not only in increased Sunday worship attendance but also greater footfall and take up of missional opportunities and social action projects throughout the week.
The Bishop of Barking or the local Archdeacon would be best placed to speak to if the Hon member has queries about the local context: https://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/about-us/our-areas/barking-area-team#team
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the year 8 reading test is used to direct interventions and not be used as a bench marking exercise for schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is determined to drive up standards for young people. Reading holds the key to the rest of the curriculum, with pupils who struggle to read so often struggling across the board, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The department will introduce a new, statutory reading test in year 8 to ensure a focus on reading in key stage 3. This builds on the wider support we are providing to drive up standards in reading, including training and resources for secondary school teachers to help them support readers at all levels, with a particular focus on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.
Development of the new statutory test will be led by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), experts in assessments who will work independently from ministers on the test’s contents. The STA will work with the sector to develop the test, including undertaking trials of test materials. Like the phonics screening check, school-level results will not be published. However, individual schools will receive their own pupils' results and will be able to access national, regional, and local authority data to ensure their pupils are on track.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The National Church Institutions do not provide specific guidance to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech.
In the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy it states that:
“The reputation of the Church in the community depends to a great extent on the integrity and example of its clergy, who should recognize their role as public representatives of the Church. Their lives should enhance and embody the communication of the gospel.” [paragraph 9.1]
“Ministers must not be members or active supporters of any political party or other organization whose constitution, policies, objectives, activities or public statements are incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England, as defined by the House of Bishops, in relation to the equality of persons or groups of different races.” [Paragraph 9.6]
“The clergy must remember that they are public figures whose opinions when proffered have weight and significance. In using social media ministers should always assume that anything they post or contribute is in the public domain and will be shared. The power of the internet for doing harm as well as good must always be borne carefully in mind and weighed before saying anything which may prove be damaging to oneself as well as to others.” [paragraph 11.11 ]
“The clergy are placed in a position of power and authority over others, in pastoral relationships, with lay colleagues, and sometimes with other ministers. In all forms of ministry, in leadership, teaching, preaching and presiding at worship, the clergy should resist all temptation to exercise power inappropriately. This power needs to be used to sustain others and harness their strengths, and not to abuse, bully, manipulate or denigrate.” [paragraph 12.2]
The full Guidelines are published on the Church of England website at The Guidelines | The Church of England
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to revise exam access arrangements to enable dyslexic learners to gain SPaG marks where they can demonstrate correct use of assistive technology.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The independent regulator of qualifications (Ofqual) is responsible for ensuring the exam system is fair and accessible for all students. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations must make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would otherwise be disadvantaged when taking exams and assessments. These adjustments are designed to remove barriers without changing the nature of the assessment.
Exams and assessments must give a valid and reliable measure of the student’s knowledge, skills, and understanding for that qualification.
In line with the recommendations made by the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations to ensure that accessibility implications are fully considered for all young people throughout the qualification development process.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce instances of (a) suicide and (b) self-harm.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App.
The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies eight priority groups for targeted and tailored support at a national level, including people who have self-harmed. The strategy also identifies key risk factors for suicide, providing an opportunity for effective early intervention.
NHS England published Staying safe from suicide: Best practice guidance for safety assessment, formulation and management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. The guidance requires all mental health practitioners to align their practice to the latest evidence in suicide prevention, and can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide
The NHS England Medium Term Planning Framework states that in 2026/27, all integrated care boards must ensure mental health practitioners across all providers undertake training and deliver care in line with the Staying safe from suicide guidance.