Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 27th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

My hon. Friend is right to say that the parish church is invariably at the heart of English village life. It is difficult distinguishing between urban and rural dioceses, as many dioceses are very mixed. Her diocese of York receives between £2.5 million and £3 million each year. The dioceses with the greatest deprivation, Durham and Manchester, receive more than £3 million. We are trying to ensure that adequate financial support is provided by the Church Commissioners and the Church as a whole both to parishes in inner-city areas and to rural parishes serving important villages in her constituency, because the Church of England is a national Church which must reach every part of England.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

6. What steps are being taken to help dioceses and parishes engage and take action with reference to the Church growth research programme.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

The findings from the Church growth research programme have been disseminated widely within the Church, and are informing diocesan strategies and practices at parish level. Further practical online resources are being developed and events are being planned to help dioceses and parishes to engage with the research and take action.

[Andrew Selous]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that many examples of good practice are available, where church congregations have increased significantly, often through using the Alpha course or courses such as Christianity Explored? Does he also agree that church planting could be looked at, too?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

My hon. Friend will know that the most significant growth in the Church of England has been identified in fresh expressions of church, church planting and midweek attendance at cathedrals. I am sure he will be pleased to know that only this week the Archbishop of Canterbury chaired the first meeting of an evangelism task group, because growing the Church of England is, obviously, an extremely important challenge for the Church of England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Every parish in flood-affected areas is, where possible and practical, giving help to those affected by the floods, including making churches available for people who have been evacuated, providing drop-in centres, visiting housebound people and delivering food parcels. On the question of an overall fund, there is a feeling that there are already a number of national funds available to help flood victims and that the Church setting up a further fund may confuse rather than help.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

3. What guidance the Church Commissioners are providing to church congregations on supporting local credit unions.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Substantial material on the Church of England’s website is publicly and readily available to church congregations to download to assist them in supporting local credit unions. The Archbishop of Canterbury has written to all clergy to encourage them and their parish churches to support the new resources, working with their local credit union and continuing to assist those in need.

[Andrew Selous]

The Dunstable deanery wants to set up a credit union, and the Money Matters credit union—I save with it myself—is working with Leighton-Linslade town council to set up a credit union in Leighton Buzzard. Churches can help there too. Do the Church Commissioners agree that we need more saving as well as more affordable lending?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Ever since the Archbishop of Canterbury indicated that the Church hopes over time to help compete payday lenders out of business, there has been considerable interest from parish churches right across the country about helping to support credit unions in their local areas and dioceses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 9th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

As the hon. Lady says, clergy are often on the front line in supporting the most vulnerable in the community and, sadly, that sometimes results in their being attacked. I wonder whether she would mind if I discussed this matter with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to see whether they feel that such a review is necessary in these circumstances.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

7. What recent steps the Church of England has taken in the St Albans diocese to support the homeless and people in poverty.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

The diocese of St Albans has supported a number of projects, particularly those working with homeless people in Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Stevenage, Bedford, Luton and Watford. The annual December sleep-out, which was supported by my hon. Friend, has managed to raise nearly £1 million over the past 20 years to support homeless people in the diocese of St Albans by making funding grants available, encouraging volunteers and helping to raise further money.

[Andrew Selous]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking the staff of the diocese, the volunteer organisers, security guards and the Women’s Institute, which provided hot soup all night for all of us on the sleep-out? The money raised has helped a lot of local homeless charities, not least Linton-Linslade Homeless Service, which does such good work in my area.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

Indeed. Churches throughout the country support a whole number of initiatives that encourage large numbers of volunteers. I know that my hon. Friend is patron of the Linton-Linslade Homeless Service, which offers short-term emergency shelter, supplies and support to people who are homeless or about to become homeless and does invaluable work in the area.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

That was a loss for both the diocese of Southwark and General Synod, because my hon. Friend would have made a great addition. He makes a really important point: the Church of England is an episcopal-led Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of Canterbury-designate and a number of bishops made powerful speeches in General Synod on why it was appropriate and right for there to be women bishops, and I hope that the broader Church will now listen to what the bishops are saying.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

7. What the policy of the Church is when there is a sustained fall in the number of weddings in a parish.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner]

Church of England marriages increased by 4% in 2010. The increase coincided with a national project by the Church to promote and encourage church weddings and communicate new rights to be married in church where people and their families have a qualifying connection.

[Andrew Selous]

I am delighted to hear about the increase in 2010, but I wonder whether my hon. Friend is aware that the number of marriages in 2009 was the lowest since records began in 1900. In fact, the number of weddings has decreased in England and Wales from 426,000 in 1972 to 232,000. Some clergy do terribly well in increasing the number of marriages, only to see it fall back under their successors. Does my hon. Friend think that bishops could take a slightly closer interest in that, to try to encourage the good work done by some clergy?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

We should all take an interest in that. Everyone in the Church of England wants to attract more weddings in church. Weddings are an important part of Church life. We want to build awareness of the Church’s enthusiasm for marriage. Every member of the clergy would want to care for couples and support them once they have been married in church, and hopefully those couples will want to stick with the church afterwards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

7. What consideration the Church Commissioners have given to the use of an inclusive admissions policy for Church of England schools.

[Sir Tony Baldry]

The ethos and purpose of the original foundation of Church of England schools was to serve the local community. The National Society was founded by the Church of England in 1811 to provide community schools for poor children, and currently provides resources for 4,700 Church of England schools and 172 Church in Wales schools. All those schools have a strong Christian foundation and a commitment to the local Christian community.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) is now fully informed.

[Andrew Selous]

I find that in my constituency most Church schools are hugely popular with parents, but concern is sometimes expressed about admission policies. How can we best expand popular Church schools in an inclusive way?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I believe that the Church schools admissions policy involves a duty to balance the need to admit children from Christian families with the need to admit those from the wider community. The diocese of St Albans, which contains my hon. Friend’s constituency, places considerable emphasis on community involvement and ensuring that children from the wider community enter Church schools. The schools were set up in the first place to educate children of the parish.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

9. What recent discussions the Church Commissioners have had with Ministers on the Government's forthcoming consultation on marriage.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry)]

There have already been discussions between Church representatives and Government Ministers on this subject, and more are in prospect. It will come as no surprise to the House that the Church of England holds firmly to the view that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman.

[Andrew Selous]

What reassurance can my hon. Friend give churches in my constituency, which have contacted me about their fear that they may be prosecuted for discrimination if they persist with traditional marriage?

[Tony Baldry]

The Government have given an assurance that that is not the case. The law states plainly that individual denominations may make perfectly clear that they can continue to ensure that marriage is celebrated between a man and a woman, and the Church of England will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

4. What steps the Church of England has taken to support food banks.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry)]

The Church is heavily engaged in food banks across the country. There is a national network of food banking centres in towns and cities. Food banks give out nutritionally balanced emergency food to people in crisis. Food banks also offer additional support to put people in touch with relevant agencies that can offer further support.

[Andrew Selous]

In South West Bedfordshire, churches in Dunstable and Houghton Regis have just agreed to set up a food bank, and churches in Leighton Buzzard run a homeless service. Churches in those towns also support street pastors. Churches throughout the constituency are taking part in the “Let’s Stick Together” initiative run by Care for the Family. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is an amazing record of achievement in contributing to our local community?

[Tony Baldry]

I hope that churches across the country will seek to engage with and support their local communities whenever they can. The churches that my hon. Friend cites in his constituency are an excellent example. Local churches can support food banking in several ways, including through the direct giving of food donations, and through volunteering and working where necessary to step in to assist those in need. I hope that we can do that right across England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Thursday 12th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

2. What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to increase the number of weddings performed by the Church of England.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry)]

The Church of England’s weddings project is a package of training and resources now being used in two thirds of Church of England dioceses and is designed to encourage and promote the local parish church as a choice for weddings. It follows recent changes introduced by the Church to broaden the choice of church venues available for couples wishing to marry.

[Andrew Selous]

We have strong Government support for marriage and 90% of young people say that they want to get married, yet the number of marriages has halved since 1972 and it is at its lowest since 1895. As this is a serious issue of social justice, will my hon. Friend write to me, placing a copy in the Library, describing examples of where parishes have increased the number of weddings, with good preparation and after care, and will he encourage the archbishops to ensure that there is more of the same?

[Tony Baldry]

I assure my hon. Friend that the archbishops, bishops and indeed all the Church of England believe strongly in marriage and want to encourage couples to consider getting married in church. There is now a website, www.yourchurchwedding.org, which offers information on how prospective couples can get married in a church and provides a ceremony planner for them to design their own service. Every church wants to welcome couples who wish to get married in church, and I am certainly happy to write to him as requested.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tony Baldry and Andrew Selous

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

No one is more grateful for the end of that answer than the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous).

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

10. What steps the Church of England is taking to strengthen and support the marriages of people married in its churches.

[Tony Baldry]

All Church of England clergy seek to give support and personal attention to those getting married, at the time of their wedding. My hon. Friend is to be commended for his work with the South Bedfordshire Community Family Trust, which seeks to provide relationship education and support in partnership with churches—a good example of initiatives taken locally to strengthen and support marriage.

[Andrew Selous]

What action is the Church of England taking to prevent sham marriages?

[Tony Baldry]

This is an issue that we take extremely seriously. The House of Bishops will consider next month what further advice needs to be issued to clergy and to diocesan chancellors to reduce the risk of sham marriages being conducted in our churches. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and I will meet shortly with the Minister for Immigration to ensure that we work closely with the Border and Immigration Agency to see that the Church’s systems for preventing sham marriages are robust.