Oral Answers to Questions

Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

1. What assessment the Church of England has made of the contribution of rural parishes.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)]

The Church of England has more than 10,000 churches in our towns and villages in rural areas. In addition to their regular processes of prayer and worship, parish churches play an important role in the life of our rural communities.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

In my constituency of Bridlington and The Wolds, rural parishes face huge financial pressures to maintain their historic church buildings. Their costs often run into tens of thousands, yet they receive no funding from the Church of England or the Government. The Church of England’s buildings comprise more than 50% of the country’s listed buildings, but all the money needed to maintain them has to be raised locally. This maintenance will soon be beyond the ability of our local churches in rural areas, so will the hon. Lady make representations to the Church of England to ensure that there is more financial support for local churches so that we save this wonderful part of our heritage?

[Marsha De Cordova]

I congratulate the hon. Member on being a true champion for his constituency and also for the need for additional resources that will ensure that our churches can truly stand the test of time. I shall certainly raise these issues and write to him about what steps he can take at a local level. It is also worth pointing out that representing rural communities and dioceses, bishops do meet regularly on a quarterly basis to look at best practice and other ways that they can support their diocese better.