Oral Answers to Questions

James Gray Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

1. What recent estimate the Church Commissioners have made on the cost of metal theft from Church of England property.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

6. What estimate the Church Commissioners have made of the number of churches from which lead has been stolen in the last 12 months.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry)]

Ecclesiastical, the insurance company that insures the vast majority of churches, reports that last year alone more than 2,500 churches suffered thefts of lead, and that the cost of the resulting claims was about £4.6 million. Each of those claims represents a loss to a local community and a distraction to parishes from using their resources for local community life.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gray]

My hon. Friend may recall that last time we met I raised with him the issue of metal theft from war memorials that happened to be on church property. Since then, I have had meetings with people at the Imperial War museum, who told me that, of the estimated 100,000 war memorials in England today, only 60,000 are recorded. Will my hon. Friend enter into discussions with the Imperial War museum—perhaps in association with the Heritage Lottery Fund—to find not only funding but volunteers, so that we can complete the registration of all 100,000 war memorials?

[Tony Baldry]

As we come to the anniversary of the first world war from 2014 to 2018, I am sure that there will be considerable interest in war memorials. In my constituency and elsewhere, parishioners are writing books recording the history of those who took part, and I am sure that the Church would want to co-operate constructively with the Imperial War museum, the War Memorials Trust and any other organisation that sought to ensure that we protect war memorials. The theft of lead from war memorials is a particularly despicable crime.