Jim Shannon

The escalating violence in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories is of deep concern. Representatives of the Church continue to work closely with the Department of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the British Consulate in Jerusalem, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem and other faith leaders in the city. The Archbishop of Canterbury remains in close contact with the Archbishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, the Rt Revd Hosam Naoum, and the Bishop of Southwark regularly visits the region with Roman Catholic bishops as part of the Holy Land Coordination Group.

Following the attacks, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a statement that read, “The desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem is a blasphemous act. I join the Chief Rabbi [Ephraim Mirvis] and religious leaders in Jerusalem in condemning it and hope those responsible will be brought swiftly to justice. As we continue to pray for peace in the Holy Land, I stand with Archbishop Hosam Naoum and other Jerusalem church leaders in calling for respect, protection, equality and justice for its Christian community – who are the Living Stones of the church.”

Interviewed immediately after the attacks Archbishop Naoum spoke about the increasing use of exclusion, segregation, and intolerance alongside increasing attacks on the holy sites.

The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have urged all sides to "actively reaffirm their commitment to a promotion of an environment of safety, mutual respect and religious tolerance in the Holy Land." They also called for assurances to be given to the Christian community in Jerusalem following the increasing levels of extremist threats against them. At a recent meeting with the Jordanian Parliament Committee of External Affairs in Amman, the Heads of Churches raised concerns about the future of a continued presence of Christians, specifically Arabic Christians, in Jordan, Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The statement by the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Rt Revd Hosam Naoum, can be read here: https://j-diocese.org/wordpress/2023/01/04/statement-on-the-recent-vandalism-and-desecration-of-the-protestant-cemetery-on-mt-zion-4-january-2023/

The statements of the Patriarchs and Head of all Churches in Jerusalem can be read here: https://j-diocese.org/wordpress/2023/01/05/head-of-churches-statement-on-the-recent-vandalism-desecration-of-the-protestant-cemetery-on-mt-zion/

The statement of the World Council of Churches can be read here: https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/wcc-statement-on-desecration-of-historic-protestant-cemetery-in-jerusalem

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is committed to improving the accessibility of our cultural and heritage attractions across the UK for everyone, regardless of their background.

In June 2021 the Government Disability Unit launched an enhanced programme of Disability and Access Ambassadors. As part of this, David Stanley was appointed as the Arts and Culture Disability and Access Ambassador. The Department is working closely with him to improve accessibility to the sector for people with disabilities.

DCMS investment has enabled important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via the joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, and via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. Examples include support for level access at the National Gallery, and new lifts, ramps, and signage at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, amongst other projects.

DCMS’s arm’s-length body The National Lottery Heritage Fund has a longstanding commitment actively to promote accessibility in heritage through its grant-making. The Heritage Fund invested £950,900 in the Curating for Change placement programme, led by and for disabled people, working with 16 national and local museums to deliver employment opportunities. In 2022 research was undertaken by ‘Vocal Eyes’ to improve digital access and information on cultural sites, to expand engagement with blind and visually impaired people.

Arts Councils across the UK are also working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme by early 2024. This scheme will operate across all arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs.

A debate about the pressures on the cost of living was held in the General Synod at its February 2023 sessions. Renewed calls and commitments were made there to provide continuing support for the most vulnerable, through parish-based local community partnerships with charities and food bank providers

The Trussell Trust report that their network of food banks receives a significant proportion of their donations from churches and despite a fall during the pandemic when church congregations were not meeting, donations have increased again over the last year, despite the increasing costs that churches and congregants face themselves.

Ensuring that donations keep match with demand is crucial for helping food banks to support everyone who needs them, though decreasing overall demand in the longer term is a shared goal of the Church, providers and Government

A vibrant children’s and youth ministry is often a key component of church growth and creates intergenerational support for new parents and caregivers from experienced parents, grandparents and youth workers. Most Church of England parishes provide activities to engage with families and young people. Examples include breakfast, lunch and holiday clubs, youth clubs, messy church and events in partnership with local authorities, other churches and faith communities. Most dioceses have specialist children, youth or families advisers. More information and resources can be found on the Church of England website here: Our work with children and young people | The Church of England

The Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households will soon be publishing a report looking at the role of the family in today’s society. Details of the Commission are here: Families and Households Commission | The Church of England .

Public libraries policy in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. The funding of the public library service in Northern Ireland, including Newtownards library, is a matter for the Department for Communities, with provision and promotion of the service secured through Libraries Northern Ireland.

Officials from the National Church Institutions are seeking a meeting with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss the 2017 independent Taylor report on the sustainability of Church Buildings. Despite being commissioned by the Government, the Government has yet to respond.

The Church Commissioners are providing £11million in funding for 2023-25 to support a new “Buildings for Mission” programme to provide support, through dioceses, to local parishes with the challenges they face in maintaining their church buildings.

National grant funding is no longer ring-fenced for religious buildings despite the largest number of listed buildings in the country being from that classification. While grant funding is also available from national and local charities, this can only go so far. The Church of England is grateful to the great many congregations and local philanthropists who continue, despite current financial difficulties, to support the work of the Church.

Recent reports from the National Churches Trust have shown that every £1 invested in a church building returns £16 to the community in other services and facilities. If the Church can spend less time on repairing buildings, an even greater focus could be given to supporting the communities it serves. The evidence for this can be found in the 2021 House of Good report, available at: House of Good 2021

Freedom of Religion and Belief was discussed at the 2022 Lambeth Conference of global Anglican bishops, where many first-hand accounts of the context in different countries were shared.

Bishops and officials of the National Church Institutions are working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative, to equip civil servants, Government ministers, bishops and churches to respond effectively as possible to violations of freedom of religion, and in follow up to the Bishop of Truro’s report.

Freedom of religion was one of the founding principles of Hong Kong, which has led to a high diversity of faith communities and of those with no faith. The Church of England remains concerned about the treatment of these communities and is monitoring the situation closely.

The Church remains involved in providing welcome and support to those arriving here from Hong Kong under the British National Overseas passport scheme. One local example from Leeds diocese can be seen here: https://www.leeds.anglican.org/news/hong-kong-arrivals-welcomed-and-baptised-leeds-church

Churches across the country will be organising events to celebrate the coronation. Many will mark the occasion by ringing a special peal of bells and encouraging new ringers to help. The Central Council of Bell Ringers is able to provide advice and support to towers of ringers who want to join in and ‘Ring for the King’: Ring for the King – Ringing for the King’s Coronation

The Royal School of Church Music are also encouraging choirs to join their ‘Sing for the King’ project. More information is available for directors of music, organists and clergy from the RSCM here: Sing for the King! | RSCM

Buckingham Palace has announced a series of events and festivities over several days, in which churches and community groups will take part. Many parishes are likely to be hosting a service of thanksgiving, alongside participating in the ‘Big Help Out’, and other local celebrations. Guidance and resources will be sent to all dioceses and parishes in the coming weeks.

During 2021 the Church Commissioners planted approximately 2 million trees across their land holdings. In 2021 the Commissioners also purchased land in Wales with the intention of establishing a new woodland of c.85,000 new trees (subject to the grant of planting permissions).

Across the land portfolio the Commissioners have conducted numerous woodland reviews assessing opportunities for new planting schemes, creating wildlife corridors. Via the implementation of environmental land management schemes farm tenants are planting more hedgerows and the Commissioners are encouraging the inclusion of in-hedge trees.

First and foremost cathedrals are places of worship, but like parish churches they are also community buildings and often a focus for civic gatherings of faith, political and business leaders in our cities, which facilitate discussions for the common good. They are regularly used for pilgrimages, festivals, concerts, exhibitions and lectures, which are open to all in the community.

The 2021 report by the Association of English Cathedrals (Economic Social Impacts of England’s Cathedrals) put the combined economic value of cathedrals at approximately £235 million in local spending per year

Some examples of community cohesion projects include:

• Bradford Cathedral‘s Faiths Trail, which offers opportunities to link visitors to worship spaces in the city, including the cathedral, a mosque, a Hindu temple and a gurdwara.
• In Birmingham Cathedral a new Common Wealth table installation in the grounds has been booked for cross-faith community conversations.
• Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas market attracts over 400,000 visitors annually, generating local employment and offering local craftspeople an opportunity to showcase their work.
• St Edmundsbury Cathedral hosted a summer flower festival this year to celebrate 1,000 years of the Abbey at Bury St Edmunds, and has hosted an animatronic dinosaur, science and art activities during the school holidays, and film screenings and lectures.
• Liverpool Cathedral held a charity abseil down its tower to support local initiatives with 800 people taking part. It has an annual sleepout to raise money for the Whitechapel Centre homeless project, hosts a community market and provides hospitality to the local community.
• Gloucester Cathedral has recently employed a full-time member of staff as a Community Engagement Manager, reflecting the amount of outreach work the Cathedral does. It has run a regular breakfast club for the homeless twice a week since 2007. More recently, the cathedral has started a gardening group and a walking rugby group. The Cathedral also regularly exhibits the work of a formerly homeless photographer, to raise awareness of the level of homelessness in the city.
• Leicester Cathedral has run a series of local community arts events in partnership with local schools.
• Norwich Cathedral hosted ‘Dippy the Dinosaur’ this year, on loan from the Natural History Museum, and also regularly hosts art and music events for the county.

More details on the economic and social impact of England’s cathedrals are available in the Association of English Cathedrals Report: Economic Social Impacts of England’s Cathedrals

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Families and Households is considering all aspects of this subject and will publish its report in early 2023. The Church of England’s support for families, parenting and marriage comes in many forms. Parishes offer:

• early years groups and children’s clubs to support child development and provide parental support.
• counselling and social support for those in need, such as work with foodbanks, credit unions and Citizens Advice to reduce the pressures of financial difficulty on relationships.
• marriage guidance for couples wishing to marry, prior to the ceremony.
• work with organisations such as Relate to offer relationship advice and support or counselling.
• tackling loneliness in the young and old, by visiting people in care homes and hospitals, and by providing spaces for groups, clubs and societies to meet.

Nationally the Church of England provides resources to clergy and couples considering marriage through the ‘Your Church Wedding’ website: https://www.churchofengland.org/life-events/your-church-wedding This gives advice for couples at all stages of marriage preparation.

Marrying in the local church remains one of the most cost-effective ways of having a relationship recognised in law and costs around £550 (approved by Parliament). This fee can be reduced for pastoral reasons at the discretion of the local Incumbent.

The National Churches Trust report ‘House for Good’ has updated its estimates of the contribution of churches to their local community. The report estimates the national value of the Church’s work on counselling and mental health support at over £4.5million, work with youth groups and young people at an additional £1.8million, support with food and foodbanks at £36million and drug and alcohol support at £0.5million. The full update is available here: House of Good 2021

The Cathedral and Church Buildings team of the National Church Institutions (NCIs) are working closely with the cathedrals and major churches of the Church of England to evaluate the overall maintenance work required. The Church Commissioners are providing £11million in funding for 2023-25 to support a new “Buildings for Mission” programme to provide support, through dioceses, to local parishes with the challenges they face in maintaining their church buildings

The Church is grateful to the Government for its support for cathedrals and major churches during the pandemic when the Culture Recovery Fund made over £60.6m available to 582 parishes and cathedrals. The Church advocates for the continuation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, worth up to £42m a year, until a suitable alternative can be found. The NCIs are working closely with Government, heritage partners and philanthropic funders, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund in response to its recent strategic review.

The Church awaits the response of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the recommendations made by the Government’s independent review led by Bernard Taylor into the sustainability of Church buildings, which was published in 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/english-churches-and-cathedrals-sustainability-review

In 2016 there were 1,184 ordinands in total, including 476 ordinands starting training. In 2020 those figures had risen to 1,373 in total, including 591 starting training, the largest number in a generation.

The latest numbers, for 2021, show 1,276 in total, including 478 starting training, which is partly a result of the impact of Covid. There is an expectation that overall numbers will increase again.

The Church Commissioners Responsible Investment Team regularly engages with the companies in which they invest on environmental and social issues, and good governance. The Church Commissioners’ Stewardship report 2021 contains examples of work on impact investment, respect for the planet and respect for people: https://www.frc.org.uk/getattachment/8e8fdb87-6c32-4bf3-b549-e8209db00976/The-Church-Commissioners-for-England_Stewardship-report-2020.pdf The Commissioners are signatory members of the Financial Reporting Council, which has approved the report.

The Church Commissioners and other global investors are also acting to eliminate commodity-driven deforestation from their investment portfolios to drive progress towards a net zero, nature-positive economy. These investors make up the Finance Sector Deforestation Action (FSDA). Details can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/press-releases/church-commissioners-and-other-investors-tackle-commodity-driven

More information about the Church Commissioners' work in responsible investment can be seen here: Responsible Investment | The Church of England

The Church Commissioners encourage existing farm tenants to adopt environmentally friendly farming practices across all their agricultural land. Throughout the year the Commissioners’ asset managers and agents have conducted meetings with their existing agricultural tenants to discuss various environmental opportunities, including hedgerow improvements, benefits of cover crops and other regenerative farming practices.

When re-letting farmland on the open market the Church Commissioners emphasise their net-zero ambitions and seek out tenants who adopt nature-friendly farming methods, via a vigorous tender process, farm letting particulars and updated farm business tenancies. The new tenancies include soil improvement clauses and requirements for landlord and tenant to work collaboratively on conducting carbon audits and environmental improvements such as hedgerow planting.

The Church Commissioners are currently promoting land for approximately 30,000 new homes across England. Approximately 30% of these new homes will be classed as affordable. The Commissioners aim is to deliver high-quality new homes and employment opportunities within sustainable communities which support and enhance their local surroundings.

The Commissioners have recently appointed an Affordable Housing Asset Manager to increase the delivery of affordable housing across the portfolio, and have recently collaborated with a Housing Association to deliver ten affordable homes and three bungalows in a rural community known as Shepherdswell, near Dover in Kent.

The toolkit published on the Church of England website contains information for parishes and individuals seeking to respond and is updated regularly with the latest advice and guidance: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/community-action/war-ukraine-responding

Numbers being hosted continue to rise. We are aware of particularly good models in the London and Canterbury dioceses, and other dioceses have partnered with Citizens UK, working collaboratively to deliver partnerships for hosting. Many churches are also working on welcome and education programmes, and community hubs.

The Church is also addressing concerns around the risk of exploitation and modern slavery facing Ukrainian refugees, through the work of the Clewer Initiative with national and diocesan safeguarding bodies.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ met online earlier in the year, and channels of communication remain open. A brief meeting took place between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Russian Orthodox delegates at the World Conference of Churches Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany (31 August to 8 September 2022) where there was a robust exchange. The Archbishop of Canterbury also met with leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Church continues to pray for an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue in order to secure a negotiated peace settlement. The Church calls on all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and for the humane treatment of all prisoners of war.

The Church Commissioners intend to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up 30% from £930 million in the current three-year period, to support the Church’s mission and ministry, including through parishes across England. The core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry and go some way to continue enabling local parishes to serve their communities and the whole nation. The distributions will help fund dioceses’ plans by reaching more young and disadvantaged people, radically cutting the Church’s carbon footprint, and addressing issues of racial justice.

During the cost of living crisis, the Church Commissioners have worked with the Archbishops’ Council to provide £15 million for dioceses, both rural and urban, to help churches struggling to pay energy costs. The fund will help churches to remain as centres of worship and pastoral care and will also make a key difference in helping churches to continue opening their buildings for vital practical support for their communities over the winter through social action such as food banks and warm hubs.

Funding from the Church Commissioners has helped to enable the continued rise in the numbers of ordinands in training, who will be the parish clergy of the future, and the most recent data from the 2020 Ministry Statistics are available here: Ministry Statistics 2020 report . An updated document is in the process of being compiled.

The Church of England is in regular contact with officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding the implementation of the Bishop of Truro’s Review Recommendations and what further measures might be needed to support freedom of religion our belief for all. The Church of England offered support and advice in advance of the Ministerial on International Religious Freedom that the Government hosted in July 2022 and is assisting with follow up to the Ministerial.

Parish churches are signing up to the Eco Church scheme, which asks them to consider how they manage their building and their carbon footprint, and how they manage their churchyard or other land around the church for the benefit of people and nature. It also asks them to integrate environmental issues into their worship and teaching, to join in with wider environmental issues in their community and beyond, and to challenge congregation members to take steps to reduce carbon and take care of the planet in their own lives.

As of October, over 4,000 CofE churches have signed up to the Eco Church scheme, 1,350 have reached bronze, just over 400 silver and 25 gold. Case studies can be seen here: Net Zero Carbon and Environmental case studies | The Church of England. Projects include replacing heating systems with heat pumps or direct electric heating, a community garden in urban Liverpool, and a wild flower garden in the space next to the graveyard in a Sheffield city church. Churches are also being encouraged to review how and when they put the heating on, good maintenance and wherever possible fixing draughts, to reduce overall energy use.

The Church of England’s Environment Programme has produced guidance for churches that are reviewing their heating, and webinars for advice, which can be seen at: Heating | The Church of England & Webinars on getting to net zero carbon | The Church of England

The Church Commissioners intend to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up 30% from £930 million in the current three-year period, to support the Church’s mission and ministry, including through parishes across England. The core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry and go some way to continue enabling local parishes to serve their communities and the whole nation. The distributions will help fund dioceses’ plans by reaching more young and disadvantaged people, addressing issues of racial justice, and radically cutting the Church’s carbon footprint. By providing help for net zero programmes, and access to experts in renewable heating advice, parishes will be helped with their plans to replace gas and oil heating systems.

Bishops and officials of the Church of England regularly engage with Ministers and officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a range of thematic and geographic concerns regarding freedom of religion or belief, which include the human rights situation in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Bishops in the House of Lords regularly raise concerns about the same through questions to Government. Details of these can be seen at:

Nigeria: Nigeria – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Democratic Republic of Congo: The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

China: China – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Most recently on 17th November the Bishop of St Albans led a debate in the House of Lords on allegations of human rights abuses in China.

Bishops and officials of the Church of England regularly engage with Ministers and officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a range of thematic and geographic concerns regarding freedom of religion or belief, which include the human rights situation in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Bishops in the House of Lords regularly raise concerns about the same through questions to Government. Details of these can be seen at:

Nigeria: Nigeria – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Democratic Republic of Congo: The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

China: China – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Most recently on 17th November the Bishop of St Albans led a debate in the House of Lords on allegations of human rights abuses in China.

Bishops and officials of the Church of England regularly engage with Ministers and officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on a range of thematic and geographic concerns regarding freedom of religion or belief, which include the human rights situation in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Bishops in the House of Lords regularly raise concerns about the same through questions to Government. Details of these can be seen at:

Nigeria: Nigeria – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Democratic Republic of Congo: The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

China: China – The Church of England in Parliament (churchinparliament.org)

Most recently on 17th November the Bishop of St Albans led a debate in the House of Lords on allegations of human rights abuses in China.

The Church Commissioners intend to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up 30% from £930 million in the current three-year period, to support the Church’s mission and ministry, including through parishes across England. The core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry and go some way to continue enabling local parishes to serve their communities and the whole nation. The distributions will help fund dioceses’ plans by reaching more young and disadvantaged people, radically cutting the Church’s carbon footprint, and addressing issues of racial justice.

In addition, during the cost of living crisis, the Church Commissioners have worked with the Archbishops’ Council to provide £15 million for dioceses, both rural and urban, to help churches struggling to pay energy costs. The fund will help churches to remain as centres of worship and pastoral care and will also make a key difference in helping churches to continue opening their buildings for vital practical support for their communities over the winter through social action, such as food banks and warm hubs.

As the Strangford constituency is in the Province of Armagh of the Church of Ireland I regret I am unable to assist. The Church of England has recently updated its own guidance, which is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Equal_Access_to_Church_Buildings.pdf

No one should be denied employment on grounds of their Christian beliefs save in the most limited and legitimate circumstances, such as under a genuine occupational requirement. The Church of England comprises many different charitable bodies, each of which has its own charitable purposes. Each body would need to consider whether the provision of such support furthered its objects and came within its powers. There is a difference between support for Christians generally and the promotion of the work and mission of the Church of England, which is the purpose of the national Church. For this reason, the national Church has no plans to provide such support.

There are a number of such welcome hub initiatives already taking place in church premises. The decision to waive or reduce fees for use of premises is at the discretion of the Parochial Church Council or relevant management committee.

The Church of England’s Social Impact Investment Programme has committed £2m towards the second Social and Sustainable Housing Fund [SASH II] managed by Social and Sustainable Capital. SASH II seeks to enable charities and social sector organisations to acquire and own portfolios of property so that they can provide a combination of high quality housing and targeted support to vulnerable people. More information can be found here: Church of England commits £2m to enable charities to purchase housing to support vulnerable people | The Church of England

The Archbishops’ Housing Commission made recommendations to the Church and Government about building new communities and the future use of land. An example is St Bride’s Church in Trafford, which worked with Trafford Housing Trust (THT) to release land that was used to build a new church and the Limelight Centre: 81 extra-care apartments for over 55 year-olds and a new expanded community centre. The full report from the Commission can be found here: Archbishops Housing Commission

The signing of the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use by 145 world leaders committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Alongside this political commitment, an ambitious policy package was announced. Specifically, 12 donor countries pledged to provide $12 billion (£8.75 billion) of public climate finance from 2021 to 2025 to a new Global Forest Finance Pledge (GFFP); the UK convened a $1.7 billion public and private donor pledge to advance Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ (IPLC) forest tenure rights; and 33 financial institutions committed to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.

On point 6, the UK is developing tools to drive transparency in the financial sector, including requirements for UK financial institutions to have a robust transition plan setting out how they will decarbonise as the UK meets its ambitious and legally binding net zero targets. The UK also actively supports the Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), including £2.8m of funding for the development of a framework for corporates and financial institutions to assess, manage and report on their dependencies and impacts on nature.

There was a recent call for evidence regarding updating the green finance strategy, which closed in June 2022. This included questions regarding deforestation. We are in the process of analysing the responses to the call for evidence and will reflect on them, alongside other sources of evidence, including the Global Resource Initiative’s (GRI) finance report.

To ensure the money committed in the Pledge is delivered to these communities, a report on the progress of the GFFP will be presented by COP27. The UK is a leading member of the donor coordination group to advance IPLC pledge commitments and report on progress by COP27. The UK will continue to work with donors to ensure pledged funds are delivered to local communities and indigenous peoples.

The signing of the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use by 145 world leaders committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Alongside this political commitment, an ambitious policy package was announced. Specifically, 12 donor countries pledged to provide $12 billion (£8.75 billion) of public climate finance from 2021 to 2025 to a new Global Forest Finance Pledge (GFFP); the UK convened a $1.7 billion public and private donor pledge to advance Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ (IPLC) forest tenure rights; and 33 financial institutions committed to eliminate investment in activities linked to deforestation.

On point 6, the UK is developing tools to drive transparency in the financial sector, including requirements for UK financial institutions to have a robust transition plan setting out how they will decarbonise as the UK meets its ambitious and legally binding net zero targets. The UK also actively supports the Taskforce on Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), including £2.8m of funding for the development of a framework for corporates and financial institutions to assess, manage and report on their dependencies and impacts on nature.

There was a recent call for evidence regarding updating the green finance strategy, which closed in June 2022. This included questions regarding deforestation. We are in the process of analysing the responses to the call for evidence and will reflect on them, alongside other sources of evidence, including the Global Resource Initiative’s (GRI) finance report.

To ensure the money committed in the Pledge is delivered to these communities, a report on the progress of the GFFP will be presented by COP27. The UK is a leading member of the donor coordination group to advance IPLC pledge commitments and report on progress by COP27. The UK will continue to work with donors to ensure pledged funds are delivered to local communities and indigenous peoples.

COP26 Devolved Administrations Ministers Meetings, chaired by the COP President, have formally convened five times. The COP President uses these meetings to consult devolved administration Ministers on a wide range of issues.

Domestic Energy Policy remains the responsibility of the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). With support from the devolved administrations, BEIS has established an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) that covers Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change. This brings together Ministers from the four administrations to discuss emission reduction efforts across the UK.

The prevalence of any alleged discrimination by employers because of religion or belief is not routinely monitored by government. However, there are clear provisions set out in the Equality Act 2010 which prevent employers from discriminating against an employee, or a prospective employee, because of religion or belief (including any lack of religion or belief).

The Government sponsors the Equality Advisory & Support Service, which is a free service offering help and advice to anyone who feels that they have suffered discrimination, and the EASS statistics for contacts to the service relating to religion or belief discrimination within employment over the last five years are:

The year 2021 saw an increase in contacts, partly due to a number of people claiming that it was their philosophical belief to object to having a vaccination against Covid. Such concerns would be registered by the service under the ‘religion or belief’ protected characteristic category.

As the chair of the Climate Action Implementation Committee, the COP President meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues and Ministers, as well as with representatives of the Devolved Administrations on an ad hoc basis, to discuss how the UK can accelerate its transition to a low-carbon economy.

The UK Government is committed to achieving a fully decarbonised power system by 2035, and technologies including renewables and hydrogen energy will be critical to delivering on that ambition.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is a UK-based debt advice charity independent of the Church of England. Staff of the National Church Institutions have held discussions with CAP but these have not been on the protection of Christians from persecution.

Equalities Ministers have regular discussions with other Ministers across government on a range of issues, including women’s health.

We have invested £520 million to improve access to general practitioners (GPs) during the pandemic. This is in addition to £1.5 billion in 2020 to create an additional 50 million GP appointments by 2024, which will improve access for patients with endometriosis. The NHS has also published the Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care which sets out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years.

On 23 December 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care published ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’, which sets out ambitions to improve the health and wellbeing of women in England and reduce disparities. The Women’s Health Strategy will be published later this year.

The UK Presidency is continuing to lead international collaboration on Forest and Land Use, building on progress made at COP26. We held an international ministerial meeting on 1 June in Stockholm and we are continuing to work with countries that have endorsed the Declaration to gather views on implementation. We are creating a space for countries that are actively engaged in accelerating progress on the GLD to drive momentum and collectively address shared challenges.

I have regular discussions with China’s Special Climate Envoy, Xie Zhenhua. We last spoke on the 16 February about the need for all countries to deliver on the commitments in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Every woman should be able to live without fear of harassment or violence in the workplace as much as anywhere else. In July 2021, as part of our strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, the Government announced a new package of measures which will strengthen protections for those affected by harassment at work.

We will introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as explicit protections against harassment by third parties. We are also supporting the Equality and Human Rights Commission to develop a statutory Code of Practice on workplace harassment, as well as preparing our own practical guidance for employers on preventing this issue.

In addition, the Government will be shortly launching a communications campaign to raise awareness and challenge behaviours that constitute violence against women and girls, including workplace harassment.

The steps we are taking will not only raise awareness of the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, but also motivate employers to prioritise prevention and ultimately improve workplace practices and culture.

The Church of England has invested substantial resource in supporting the development of teachers and education.

At a diocesan level, every diocese has an Education team which provides training and support for the 4,600 Church of England schools across England.

At a national level the Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership has invested in peer support leadership networks in which over 1,200 schools participate. These cover a variety of subjects important to education and also offer support for addressing mental health and well-being, grief, trauma and other issues that have been particularly important through the pandemic. The Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership also provides excellent leadership development programmes and the Church of England is one of 9 national providers of National Professional Qualifications, offering the suite of NPQs to ensure CPD for staff in Church of England, catholic and community school is prioritised. These NPQs are fully funded for all teachers in all state schools in England and are a brilliant opportunity for teachers and schools to benefit from high quality coaching, support and CPD.

Government restrictions on religion or belief have increased globally in recent years as have societal hostilities. Studies undertaken by the Pew Research Centre indicate that the level of religious restrictions is highest in the Middle East-North Africa region, but that some of the biggest increases in religious restrictions over the past decade have occurred in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, while the levels of social hostilities towards religion or belief norms have increase most in the Americas, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

The Glasgow Climate Pact is a historic agreement. We have a roadmap to keep 1.5°C alive but this is based on commitments made and relies on concerted and dedicated delivery by all countries. We will continue to demonstrate strong UK leadership over our Presidency year to make sure promises are kept and delivered to the highest standards, working with parties and civil society partners to advance rapid progress.

Leading up to and at COP26, I held regular discussions with China’s Special Climate Envoy, Xie Zhenhua, and I look forward to continuing to work with China throughout the UK’s COP26 Presidency to implement and build on the pledges China has made this year.

The Glasgow Climate Pact is a historic agreement. We have a roadmap to keep 1.5°C alive but this is based on commitments made and relies on concerted and dedicated delivery by all countries. We will continue to demonstrate strong UK leadership over our Presidency year to make sure promises are kept and delivered to the highest standards, working with parties and civil society partners to advance rapid progress.

Leading up to and at COP26, I held regular discussions with China’s Special Climate Envoy, Xie Zhenhua, and I look forward to continuing to work with China throughout the UK’s COP26 Presidency to implement and build on the pledges China has made this year.