Oral Answers to Questions
Marsha De Cordova Excerpts(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
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The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)
Churches nationwide provide chaplaincy and grief counselling services to hospices, patients and their families. Many modern hospices started off as Church-affiliated institutions thanks to the pioneering work of Dame Cicely Saunders. They are largely now affiliated to Hospice UK, which supports over 200 hospices across the UK, including the Royal Trinity hospice, near my constituency of Battersea. Only a third of adult hospices in the UK receive funding from the state. The rest rely on charitable support, and there is considerable concern that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill may divert much-needed funds from frontline care.
Rachael Maskell
Hospices have charitable aims to provide palliative care at the end of life, but these could be compromised by the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which comes before the House tomorrow. What consultation and impact assessment of this measure has there been with hospices that have a faith foundation? I am hearing that some hospices need an exemption, or they might close.
Marsha De Cordova
I do not believe there has been consultation with any faith-connected organisations, and I do not believe that an impact assessment has been carried out. However, Hospice UK, the body to which most Church-associated hospices are affiliated, has surveyed providers, staff and practitioners, who have expressed concerns about the Bill’s implementation. They are concerned about the following: who will qualify; the impact on those working in hospices, palliative care and end of life care; the ability of providers and staff to opt out; the practical operation of a conscience clause; the financial impact on the future funding of hospices; and the lack of public awareness of end of life care and the available choices.
Paulette Hamilton
Can my hon. Friend confirm whether Church-owned hospices will work with independent hospices and other organisations to mitigate the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and to issue a statement from across the sector?
Marsha De Cordova
I thank my hon. Friend for her question on this incredibly important issue. I refer her to my previous answers, but it is also worth highlighting that, in recent years, the General Synod of the Church of England has twice voted by large majorities against changing the law on assisted suicide. The Association for Palliative Medicine and Hospice UK, to which most chaplains and Church-owned hospices are affiliated, remain opposed to any change in the law. The sector is particularly concerned about the funding challenges such a change would bring, as was highlighted in a Select Committee report. The report showed that funding for palliative care services fell by almost 5% in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, where legalised assisted dying is in place, compared with a 25% increase in countries where it has not been legalised.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
Does the Church Commissioner agree that hospices are about comforting the dying and surrounding them with care? Is that not the very antithesis of the state involving itself in sanctioning and assisting suicide?
Marsha De Cordova
If we think back to the founder of hospice care, it was founded on the principles of faith and Jesus Christ. It is only right that those principles of care and compassion ring true in ensuring that hospice care is there for those who need it.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
The very ethos of Church-owned hospices is the sanctity of life, on which the Bible is very clear. Church-owned hospices will reflect that in what they do. Does the Church Commissioner share my concern about the potential conflict that could arise between Church-owned hospices and this House following the outcome of tomorrow’s debate on the assisted dying Bill? Does she share my concern about the sanctity of life and agree with me about the importance of making sure that we keep people alive?
Marsha De Cordova
Hospices and palliative care play an important role in end of life care. I believe that we need to fund those services properly before we consider moving towards legislating for assisted dying.
Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)
Rosie Wrighting (Kettering) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
The national Church institutions have invested £11 million in the Buildings for Mission fund, which provides money for repairs, specialist advice and grants to parishes of up to £12,000 for small-scale urgent work. Buildings for Mission can also be used to pay for essential improvements to church missions and ministries, such disability access, toilets or even a community kitchen.
Bradley Thomas
My constituency is home to many historic churches that continue to be much loved by their communities. They include St John’s church in Bromsgrove, which dates from 12th century but was predominantly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church has had to raise many hundreds of thousands of pounds for the upkeep and maintenance of its spire. Key to that is the listed places of worship grant scheme. What conversations have taken place between the Government and the Church regarding the preservation of that scheme?
Marsha De Cordova
St John’s church in Bromsgrove is a perfect example because, having raised the funds, it is preparing to undertake urgent work to its spire, with an anticipated project cost of roughly £452,000, but it could reclaim around £90,000 through the listed places of worship grant. As the hon. Gentleman probably knows, the scheme has paid out £317 million since it was introduced in 2001 by the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and has assisted over 13,000 places. The scheme currently receives around 7,000 applications per annum and has a budget of £42 million. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has assessed the scheme on numerous occasions. It delivers the fairest possible system of making grants.
Rosie Wrighting
St Andrew’s parish church and Holy Trinity church in my constituency are both listed buildings that provide vital community services. The former is saving for a heat pump and the latter for a new roof. They were hoping to use the listed places of worship grant scheme to undertake the work, but because the scheme is due to expire next year, their future is uncertain. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking the many churches across the UK and Kettering for the work that they do to serve our communities? What plans are there for the future of the scheme?
Marsha De Cordova
My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for the churches in her constituency. I am pleased to hear her mention that St Andrew’s church is upgrading its heating system; hopefully, it will benefit from some funding from the listed places of worship grant scheme. As I am sure will be said again in this question session, the scheme makes a huge difference to churches. Many have to do a lot of fundraising in their communities, but being able to rely on the scheme helps to cover some of the costs.
Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)
Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)
Marsha De Cordova
The listed places of worship grant scheme, which is clearly dominating questions today, enables VAT to be refunded for repairs to our oldest and most precious churches and religious buildings. Without access to the scheme, parishes will find it harder to fund essential repairs, and they will have to spend more time on fundraising and less time on the needs of their local communities. I understand that the Bishop of Bristol and the National Churches Trust have written to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to ask for a meeting. I hope that my right hon. Friend will meet them in the near future, as time is of the essence.
Katie Lam
In rural areas like the Weald of Kent, our churches are vital public buildings, providing somewhere not just for the spiritual life of our villages and towns, but for their civic life. Given the impending withdrawal of the listed places of worship grant scheme, what is being done to support churches like St Mildred’s in Tenterden? It plays a vital role in the town, especially now that the town hall is closed for refurbishment, and it relies on the scheme to make essential repairs. The hon. Lady has spoken about the importance of the scheme, but will it be extended?
Marsha De Cordova
As the hon. Lady will agree, I am not the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, so I cannot give her a decision on that. However, she rightly highlights the vital role that churches play as a cornerstone of all our communities, up and down the country, alongside their role of providing community and spiritual leadership. Like her, I hope that the scheme will continue. I congratulate her and her colleagues on writing to the Secretary of State, and I hope they will get a response in the near future.
Blake Stephenson
On Bedfordshire Day, I want to put on record my appreciation for everyone who works so hard in our county to make it such a wonderful place. That includes constituents who are passionate about preserving St Botolph’s church in Aspley Guise. They are working hard to raise tens of thousands of pounds for their tower restoration project and expect work to start early next year. However, they are concerned that without the listed places of worship grant scheme, works will become much more expensive and may not be able to proceed. Will the Church Commissioner meet me to discuss how we can continue to support historic churches such as St Botolph’s?
Marsha De Cordova
I join the hon. Gentleman in congratulating all those who work in our communities and churches. I will be delighted to meet him to see what assistance can be provided for the parish. I understand that St Botolph’s has a target of £175,000 for extensive repairs to the tower. It has already secured £141,000 in donations from the local community and is awaiting decisions on a number of grants. I congratulate the whole congregation and the community on their fundraising efforts to reach that huge figure. The hon. Gentleman makes a good point and shares a good example of why the scheme is so important.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
I welcome the timely questions from my hon. Friends as we are in the middle of Disability History Month. The Church has started a project to support local parishes to adapt their buildings to make our churches more accessible. It includes standardising signage to make accessibility obvious, training for church leaders and staff, and a grant scheme for adaptations. The Church also continues to develop worship and educational resources, which are available nationally to people who are housebound and their carers.
Anna Dixon
In the report of the archbishops’ commission on reimagining care, which I chaired, we recognise the important role of churches and faith communities in supporting older and disabled people. The report asked the Church of England to consider developing resources and capacity in local churches
“to adopt an asset-based approach to engaging with disabled people and older people in their communities.”
Can my hon. Friend update the House on what action the Church is taking to fulfil that recommendation?
Marsha De Cordova
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for chairing the archbishops’ commission. Along with the pastoral visits made by clergy, resources are made available nationally for disabled people or those who are housebound. They include Sunday services broadcast online on YouTube, each week from a different parish, which have thousands of unique viewers each week and for which British Sign Language interpretation is available. There is the DailyHope telephone line and the Everyday Faith app, with readings and reflections, which is used by 3 million individuals and has been downloaded over 14 million times. There is also the Daily Prayer app, with morning and evening prayer, which has reached over 2.75 million unique listeners since 2021.
Mrs Lewell-Buck
Churches Together South Tyneside does amazing work through its Happy at Home hub, providing a range of services to the lonely and the isolated. Will my hon. Friend expand a little more on the Church’s wider pastoral duties towards those in the greatest need?
Marsha De Cordova
Again, I congratulate my hon. Friend on all the wonderful work taking place in her constituency. Churches together groups do a fantastic job in tackling the scourge of isolation and loneliness. There are other projects that started recently to support parishes with the physical accessibility of their buildings, including church halls and other facilities. Without the LPW grant scheme, the adaptation of some of our most historic churches would be harder to deliver at pace.
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
The historic churches of Northumberland are among the oldest and most architecturally significant in our country. Any church can apply for support from the £11 million Buildings for Mission fund. The diocese of Newcastle is very grateful for the support of the Northumbria Historic Churches Trust and other local grant-making bodies. My hon. Friend may also want to encourage his parishes to approach some of these excellent charities.
Ian Lavery
St Mary’s Church in Woodhorn in my constituency has not been in operation for worship since 1973. It is one of the oldest, most historic churches in Northumberland, if not the country. It is under the care of Northumberland county council now, but it is in a dilapidated state. Can my hon. Friend give me some advice on who I can contact within the Church to see whether it can support the church to ensure that it is part not just of the history of our wonderful county, but of its future?
Marsha De Cordova
My hon. Friend rightly highlights that St Mary’s church in his constituency is one of the oldest, and it is a charming example of wonderful architecture. I understand some of the challenges that he mentions, as the church has been closed for a long period of time. It would be wonderful to see churches such as that reopen—we would all like to see churches open as opposed to closed, as many of them are. As a grade I listed building on the National Heritage List for England, it is eligible for grants for repairs and renovations. I am happy to write to my hon. Friend with a list of grant-making bodies. I will ask Church House for further advice on who he can speak to, as well as working together to see whether we can get his church reopened.
Marsha De Cordova
I agree with you, Mr Speaker, but I congratulate the hon. Member on trying so diligently on that question. What I will say is that I will happily write to him with a response to that, if that is okay.
James Asser (West Ham and Beckton) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for turning our attention to Gaza. Only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospital are still in operation, offering mainly basic care. The Anglican-run Al-Ahli hospital has remained operational despite facing huge difficulties, thanks to the dedication of its hard-working staff and the leadership of its director, Suhaila Tarazi. Last week, it was announced that the hospital is to receive £3.4 million of support from the UN Development Programme as well as the Palestinian American Medical Association, but this vital work cannot begin without an immediate ceasefire and a pathway to peace.
James Asser
I thank my hon. Friend for her answer. Hon. Members will have noted the progress that has been made on a ceasefire in Lebanon, but, as she has just mentioned, without a ceasefire in Gaza the £3.4 million that has been allocated to the Al-Ahli hospital by the UN Development Programme will not be spent. Given the scale of the humanitarian crisis, the desperate need for medical aid and the onset of winter, that is likely to lead to further suffering and a greater number of deaths.
Marsha De Cordova
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We all welcome the ceasefire arrangements between Israel and Lebanon, but we need a ceasefire in Gaza. The community in northern Gaza is reliant on the Anglican Al-Ahli hospital for much of its healthcare. The hospital is seeing more than 1,000 emergency patients a day, and has to use the library and historic church as wards, given that the rest of the hospital has been largely destroyed by the Israeli forces. A ceasefire is essential, but we also need humanitarian aid to get in, as well as vital medical supplies, fuel and other resources, so that the rebuilding of infrastructure can begin. We know that there are huge challenges in relation to access being given at checkpoints in Gaza.
Oral Answers to Questions
Marsha De Cordova Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)
With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, as this is my first time responding to questions, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor as Second Church Estates Commissioner, the former Member for South West Bedfordshire, Andrew Selous, for his work in the role. I certainly hope to do my best in it for parliamentarians and commissioners.
Turning to my hon. Friend’s question, the Church of England operates 16,000 parish churches, over half of which are in rural areas, along with Church schools. It provides the largest network of buildings in England that serve communities—buildings that are used for worship and education, as well as warm spaces and hubs for activities such as food banks, post offices, credit unions and other social and community initiatives.
Ms Minns
The parish of Bewcastle in the north-east corner of my constituency is perhaps best known as the home of the Bewcastle cross, probably the finest example of pre-Norman carving in England. Geographically, it is a very isolated community, but every single month, parishioners organise a vibrant community hub, which is critical in overcoming social isolation and loneliness. Next month will mark 1,350 years since the carving of the cross, so will my hon. Friend ask the Church Commissioners to consider additional funding for the parish to improve the village hall?
Marsha De Cordova
I congratulate all the volunteers in the parish of Bewcastle on their work to tackle social isolation and loneliness. I will look into the specific case that my hon. Friend mentions and see what advice can be given to support her. I also commend the work of the Good Shepherd multi-academy trust, which is in her constituency and supports children, families and communities to flourish.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I welcome the Second Church Estates Commissioner to her place, and thank her for her answer to the previous question. As everyone knows, the purpose of any church is to tell the greatest story ever told—the story of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ—but alongside that they have practical purposes, which the hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) referred to. Those purposes include looking after the elderly, as well as children, through childcare and nurseries; and there is also the social media and the events that churches host. Those are the practical outpourings of the gospel in the lives of those whom we reach. What will the Church Commissioners do to ensure that those things happen, alongside the telling of the gospel?
Marsha De Cordova
As the hon. Member highlights, there is so much that the Church does by way of outreach in our communities. It also ensures that there is good infrastructure to protect all our communities, including children and young people.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
Marsha De Cordova
When a church is closed, a formal legal process under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 is followed. There are currently 127 cases in which a new use is being found for closed church buildings; only two are cleared sites, and they are waiting for disposal.
Josh Babarinde
I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. Eastbourne declared a housing emergency last year, and the key thing we need to do to address that emergency is build our way out of it. The commissioners preside over a perfect brownfield site for housing: the site of the former St Elisabeth’s church on Victoria Drive, just down the road from where I went to school. It has been derelict for 20 years, and since the church on the site was demolished four years ago, there has been no sign of development whatsoever. I urge the commissioners to develop that site into affordable housing, and I appeal to the hon. Lady for an urgent update on the situation.
Marsha De Cordova
Since 2022, the Church Commissioners have been working with the diocese of Chichester to market the site and find a developer. I am pleased to say that a developer is in the process of agreeing to a conditional contract for a mixed-use development that will include convenience retail and housing, some of which will be much-needed affordable housing, which the hon. Member mentioned. That development will need planning permission, and that is being explored with the local authority now.
Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)
Marsha De Cordova
Local authorities are not currently required to consider the building of new places of worship, but under the national planning policy framework they are permitted to include places of worship among a range of community buildings in a development. Where local authorities include places of worship among community buildings, the Church Commissioners seek to promote these facilities.
Blake Stephenson
Development should be about building places and communities where people can live fulfilling lives, not just building houses, and places of worship play an important role in that. Will the hon. Member work with Ministers to ensure that the Government’s new towns commission incorporates the creation of places of worship in new towns?
Marsha De Cordova
The Church Commissioners are very much invested in place-making; it is at the core of their approach to bringing forward new homes for communities across the country. They have sought a meeting with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss the Church’s strategic land, and the potential to build up to 70,000 new homes. The diocese of St Albans has several good examples of how the Church is contributing to community-building in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, and I will write to the hon. Gentleman with further details.
Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
The General Synod of the Church of England considered the Wilkinson review at its meeting in July 2024. The synod has commissioned a detailed analysis of four options for the organisational structure of safeguarding independence. The intention is for them to be presented to the synod at the next meeting in February 2025, which I hope to attend.
Luke Myer
I welcome my hon. Friend to her role; she is doing a fantastic job. My constituent has been involved in that process. Can she help to secure a meeting with my constituent to discuss the findings and the work in more detail?
Marsha De Cordova
I will do whatever I can to secure a meeting. It is important to put on record that there has been much engagement with all the survivors, who have been involved throughout the process. I will certainly write to my hon. Friend to see what we can do to ensure that a meeting is secured.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Marsha De Cordova
I certainly am, and so are my thighs.
At a national level, the contribution of local clergy and lay people is usually recognised through the Archbishops’ medals or a Lambeth degree. Most dioceses also have their own awards. Clergy and lay volunteers are eligible for nomination to relevant orders, and for decorations and medals, and there are opportunities in the wider civil honours system where appropriate.
Greg Smith
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that answer. I am full of praise for the hard work and dedication of all our clergy, but sometimes an individual goes above and beyond. That is true of Reverend Canon David Williams, who on Christmas day will lead his last service at St Mary’s, Princes Risborough, after 15 years’ service to that town and the surrounding villages. His work includes having supported thousands of children through Lighthouse Princes Risborough, and his role as a trustee of the Princes Centre and other charities, including those supporting the homeless. Will the hon. Lady join me in thanking David and his wife Jo for their 15 years’ service to Princes Risborough? What more can the Church do to recognise his and others’ hard work?
Marsha De Cordova
I place on record my thanks, congratulations and appreciation of Reverend Canon David Williams and his wife—as we know, these things are always a partnership—for all their good work in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. The Diocese of Oxford is thankful for the dedicated, pioneering and innovative work of the clergy and their great contribution to the Church’s ministry and mission, and to our local communities. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will pass on my thanks, and that he will be present for the reverend’s final service on Christmas morning, to congratulate him in person.
Matt Rodda (Reading Central) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
Some 85% of the global population have a faith that shapes their day-to-day life. The Church has been working at a global, national and local level to improve interfaith understanding and engagement. At home, it engages with national and local networks to support faith and civic leaders, mayors and MPs in building trust and resilience in their local communities, as they did during and after the most recent civil unrest.
Matt Rodda
I welcome my hon. Friend to her post; she is doing a fine job. Will she join me in congratulating the local faith communities across the diverse and tolerant town of Reading on their work to support one another, and to understand one another’s faith? I associate myself with that tremendous work; it is wonderful to see different faith communities working together for the whole community. I also put on record my support for the retiring Bishop of Reading, Bishop Olivia, and pay tribute to her for her outstanding work to tackle knife crime in our community.
Marsha De Cordova
I join my hon. Friend in congratulating all those working across all faiths to ensure that there is good, strong community cohesion, and I congratulate the retiring bishop. That is important across constituencies that, like Reading, have diverse communities with diversity in faith.
Dawn Butler (Brent East) (Lab)
Rosie Duffield (Canterbury) (Ind)
Marsha De Cordova
It is so important that we celebrate women who have been ordinated. Tuesday 12 March 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the first ordinations of women as priests in the Church of England, and about 6,500 women have been ordained since 1994. Women now make up about one third of the clergy in England, and obviously this proportion is growing. Many services of celebration have taken place across the country to recognise the considerable contributions that these women have made and continue to make to the Church. However, as we all know, there is still a long way to go and much more work to be done in this area.
Dawn Butler
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the excellent job she is doing today, and on her appointment. I want to highlight one particular woman, Bishop Rose. In 2007, she was appointed chaplain to Her late Majesty the Queen, the first ever black female to hold that role. In 2010, she was the first ever black female appointed as chaplain—the 79th chaplain—to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Since 2019, the Right Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin has been the Bishop of Dover and the Bishop in Canterbury—Britain’s first ever black female bishop. Will my hon. Friend join me in honouring Bishop Rose?
Marsha De Cordova
I take great pleasure in honouring the great Bishop Rose. As we all know, it is Black History Month, so there is double cause to do so. The diocese of London marked the anniversary, and there have been several services marking it across the country, in which 180 women have gathered to share their experience of ministry over the past 30 years. We all know what a difference Bishop Rose made to this place, including to me personally when I first came here seven and a half years ago. I should also pay tribute to Tricia Hillas, the Speaker’s chaplain for a period of time, another great and amazing woman. I am so proud of the role that women are playing in the Church. They are breaking down barriers and smashing those glass ceilings. Long may that continue.
Rosie Duffield
I welcome my dear friend to her position, and I know she will be absolutely brilliant. I was thrilled to attend the 30-year anniversary of the first women ordained at Canterbury cathedral earlier this year. The service was conducted by our dear Bishop Rose, our much-loved former chaplain to the Speaker. Will my friend join me in congratulating those pioneering women, including my partner’s mother, Canon Eileen Routh, who faced a degree of hostility when entering into their new vocations some 30 years ago?
Marsha De Cordova
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I happily join her in congratulating the great Bishop Rose, but also in remembering all those women who faced hostility when starting out, including her future mother-in-law, Canon Eileen Routh; she faced a lot of hostility. As I say, there is still so much work to be done, but it is so important that we celebrate these achievements, because they will spur us forward to do even more.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
Marsha De Cordova
Churches and cathedrals are the treasure houses of our local culture and history. The Church of England manages the largest single group of listed buildings in England—over 12,200 grade I and grade II listed buildings. The value of the work needed to maintain these buildings is estimated at £115 million annually, and the backlog for church building repairs is approximately £1 billion.
Douglas McAllister
There are many places of worship in perilous condition, not just in England, but in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including in my constituency of West Dunbartonshire. The listed places of worship grant scheme, introduced by former Chancellor Gordon Brown in 2004, is UK-wide. What efforts have the Church Commissioners made to ensure that the scheme is extended beyond March 2025?
Marsha De Cordova
My hon. Friend will know that the Church does not receive any regular financial support from the state, and church buildings often rely on fundraising by local volunteers. The Government’s listed places of worship grant scheme is extremely helpful for all our faith communities with listed buildings across the UK, reimbursing the cost of VAT spent on repairs to those listed churches. This year, more than 5,000 Church of England buildings received support through the scheme. That is transformational for local communities, and enables work on the vital fabrics of those spaces. It is important that that funding scheme continues. The Church has written to the Treasury, along with others, and I hope that my hon. Friends in the Treasury will consider extending the scheme in the upcoming Budget later this month.
John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)
I welcome the hon. Lady to her new role, and I associate myself with her tribute to her predecessor. In recent times, the late noble Lord Cormack in the other place convened a meeting of MPs from cathedral cities and their deans, and there are plans to resurrect that meeting. Will the hon. Lady meet me to discuss how we can support her with plans to lobby the Treasury for capital grants for our great English cathedrals, including Salisbury, to maintain their presence in our country?
Marsha De Cordova
Yes, I am very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman.
Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)
My hon. Friend’s constituency is under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Coventry, and there is currently a vacancy for the diocesan bishop. However, all the contact details for the bishop’s office, diocesan staff and cathedral staff are found on the website. Contact details for local clergy are also available on the website A Church Near You.
Jodie Gosling
I thank my hon. Friend for their response and welcome them to their new role, in which they are doing a brilliant job. Constituents in Nuneaton have raised concerns about finding available burial plots. Given the recent consultation from the Law Commission, can my hon. Friend please update the House on proposals to increase burial capacity in England?
Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England contributed to the proposals developed by the Law Commission, and they have developed those proposals sensitively to address the complex questions around burial and cremation law. All sides recognise the growing need and the pressure for burial space, and the challenges facing burial grounds and maintenance. Reusing grave spaces in churchyards in some circumstances is a long-standing and lawful practice in the Church of England, ensuring that existing remains are left undisturbed. However, some churchyards are declared full and are closed by law. They are unable to be reopened for new burials.