Katie Lam

The Church Commissioners have had informal and constructive dialogue with the Charity Commission about how to implement the Church Commissioners’ response to their historic links to African chattel enslavement (known as “Project Spire”).

This informal engagement has now concluded, and subject to authorisation by trustees the Church Commissioners anticipate that they will make appropriate applications to the Charity Commission.

Project Spire’s implementation timeline depends on this external authority to the extent that the Charity Commission will determine how long it takes to come to a decision.

Peer-reviewed publications are usually written for an academic audience. For instance, an academic journal will send a proposed article to anonymous peer reviewers. Likewise, an academic monograph proposal will be sent for peer review. Documents intended for a public audience go through a different process of internal review.

The report was initiated in 2019 via a query raised at the Church Commissioners’ Audit and Risk Committee. It is rooted in the Church Commissioners’ risk management and fiduciary duties as a 320-year-old in-perpetuity endowment fund and responsible investor. Accordingly, the analysis in the Church Commissioners’ report was underpinned out by independent professional accountants who deployed fundamental forensic techniques: detailed transactions analysis, account reconstruction and asset tracing. An overview of the work carried out by the independent accountants can be found here. The Church Commissioners also engaged independent, expert, professional historians as advisors in compiling its report.

The Annual Reports of the Church Commissioners’ contains information on fees relating to forensic accounting services provided to support a research project into the fund of Queen Anne’s Bounty, one of the Commissioners’ predecessor bodies. Information (2023, p.105; 2022, p.105; 2021, p.90) can be viewed here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/national-church-institutions/church-commissioners-england/who-we-are/publications

Further information will be included in the Church Commissioners’ Annual Report and Accounts for 2024, which will be published next month.

The Church Commissions have not made an application to the Charity Commission to seek authority for a payment under section 105 or 106 of the Charities Act 2011 in relation to Project Spire.

The Church Commissioners have held discussions with the Charity Commission about making an application to authorise an ex-gratia payment under section 106 of the Charities Act 2011 in relation to Project Spire.

Subject to the decision of trustees and the approval of the Charity Commission, the Church Commissioners plan to set up a new charitable fund, which they propose to call the Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice, as part of the delivery of Project Spire.

Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) currently play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide durable, safe, year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, helping more people to access the benefits of physical activity.

The Government is aware of potential impacts which AGPs have related to the spread of rubber crumb - which contains microplastics. While, currently, there is no clear alternative, DCMS continues to work closely with Defra and the wider sector to help identify a viable long-term solution, which can maximise opportunities to get active in the most healthy and sustainable way possible.

In 2017, the European Chemical Agency published findings from a study which found there is no reason to advise people against playing sports on synthetic turf containing recycled rubber granules as infill material. Further European-led research published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment in 2020 reported there were no health concerns for AGPs, and in 2024 the US Environmental Protection Agency published a report noting no significant difference in chemical exposure between players on artificial grass and those on natural grass fields.

Since January 2025 there have been 16 pieces of correspondence addressed to Defra ministers by producer organisations, expressing their concern over the discontinuation of the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme on 31 December 2025.

Defra ministers regularly visit farms and meet with farmers nearly every week.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office deploys Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fund a range of organisations and programmes which address the productivity of farmers and small-medium enterprises in agri-food value chains in developing countries.

Figures for the UK 2024 ODA are due to be published in Autumn 2025 through the Statistics on International Development report. ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis.

The Home Office holds information on all notifiable crimes, including sexual offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales and their investigative outcomes. The extent of the data held in each case will depend on what information has been collected by the police as part of their investigation.

Statistics on the outcomes of cases are routinely published by the Ministry of Justice, and contain breakdowns of convicted offenders by age, gender, ethnicity, police force area and type of offence. This can be assessed via their outcomes by offence data tool available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2024

The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash-terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced and can be used by local authorities on local priorities, including transport spending.

On average, places with a significant rural population will receive almost a 6% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, and no council will see a reduction in their Core Spending Power.

My Department has no plans to compulsorily purchase land in Kent or in the Weald of Kent constituency.