Churches: Reopening of Buildings

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, the decision to close places of worship was not taken lightly, but it was in response to the fact that the virus is highly contagious, particularly in areas where people gather indoors. In recent months, historic places of worship have been able to apply for grants from Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund of some £55 million, and listed places of worship can get around £200 million for heritage construction projects. I refer to the DCMS guidance on my noble friend’s third point.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

My Lords, many of our churches and cathedrals are desperate to enable small groups of singers, perhaps four singers standing five metres apart from each other. Is there any possibility that that will be allowed soon? Secondly, will the Minister tell the House whether there are any plans for the compulsory wearing of face masks in places of worship?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, I will have to write on the policy regarding face masks in places of worship. We have announced that indoor musical performances to a live audience are expected to resume after 1 August, subject to a successful completion of pilots and provided that prevalence remains at around or below current levels.

Covid-19: Churches and Places of Worship

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My noble friend is right that churches and all places of worship play a crucial role in the cultural, as well as spiritual and moral, life of our country. Where possible, we should therefore seek to support as a priority the long-term sustainability of places of worship. As to the decision to extend the C-charge to a Sunday, I am wholly opposed to it. That decision was made by the Mayor of London.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

My Lords, legislation has not kept up with the practice of public giving or developments in technology, especially now, when, as a result of the pandemic, cash carries the risk of infection. Charities, including churches, can currently claim only on cash and contactless gifts—not on online gifts and donations. Will the Government consider allowing online donations to qualify for gift aid, as part of the gift aid small donations scheme?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

We have given guidance to churches on the safe handling of cash, which can continue, and we encourage contactless where possible. We will certainly look to see whether we should extend this to small gift aid donations online. In the meantime, we encourage churches to get people to register, so that the whole amount of their donation can be claimed.

Covid-19: Local Government Finance

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I know of my noble friend’s love of the game of cricket. I am sure that we can take that up with the Ministers responsible.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

My Lords, it is not only these five councils who are facing severe challenges. Luton Borough Council in my own diocese, which is one of the most innovative and forward-looking councils in the country, owns Luton Airport. Due to the lockdown, the collapse of this income stream is resulting in a massive hole in the council’s revenue. What conversations have Her Majesty’s Government had with Luton Borough Council? What are the Government intending to do to support Luton?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I agree with the right reverend Prelate. A number of local authorities will feel impacts as a result of Covid-19 pressures, particularly Luton Airport. This was raised with me by officials who have been dealing with the local council. As I mentioned before, if there are specific councils that face unique problems, as in the case of Luton Airport, they should contact officials. These will be dealt with on an individual, case-by-case basis.

Social Housing

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I cannot add to the timeline that I have already provided. However, I will say that we are a matter of weeks away from publication of the new building safety Bill, which will transform the safety of many of those who are currently living at risk of similar events to Grenfell. That will form a new regulatory oversight for all tenants, including those in social housing.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

My Lords, these Benches welcome the upcoming White Paper, but we are still losing tens of thousands of social housing units annually, with a net loss of 17,000 in 2019 alone. Can the Minister confirm to your Lordships’ House that increasing social housing will be addressed in the White Paper, and is he able to give us some indication as to the steps that Her Majesty’s Government will implement to address this worrying decline?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

It is fair to say that the record of this Government is quite impressive when compared with the previous decade under Labour. Some 450,000 affordable homes is considerably more than the 399,000 built during the years 2000 to 2010. Of course, the Chancellor has already set out a considerable sum of money—an unprecedented sum of £12 billion—for the affordable homes programme and, by lifting the housing revenue account borrowing cap, many local authorities are now building council homes again. Although we are waiting on the social housing White Paper, a lot has been done to ensure the continued supply of affordable housing and social rented housing.

Local Government: Economy

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, the high street is the very heart of a local economy and a number of measures have been taken by the department. The places, urban centres and green spaces guidance which has been issued will help operators and owners on the high street and in our town centres. In addition, on 25 May the Government established a £50 million Reopening High Streets Safely Fund, as well as enabling an additional £6.1 million funding for business improvement districts in high streets and town centres.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]]

I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. What discussions have taken place about reviewing business rates, so that large online retail companies, which perhaps have no actual shops and many of which pay relatively small amounts of tax, do not have an unfair advantage over our small shops in our high streets which are under threat at the moment?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The most important measure that has taken place during this pandemic is the deferral of business rates, and that is a significant measure to support businesses. I will have to write to the right reverend Prelate about the specifics on the review of business rates.

Islamophobia

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The noble Lord has picked up on what I just said: it is a challenging issue. I can reassure him that we intend to move as quickly as possible to come to a definition. As I said, it is important to discuss this fully and make sure that we get it right.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

My Lords, we on these Benches deplore all attacks on any religious groups and we note particularly the huge rise in the deeply concerning issue of attacks on Muslims. The Minister will be aware of the media reports on Imam Asim of Makkah mosque in Leeds and his comments on free speech. Does the Minister agree with me and the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury that Muslims and all religious groups deserve better media? Does he further agree that, alongside law, we need to seriously address this through education?