Source: Hansard
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
What steps the Church of England is taking to work with other faith groups to promote community cohesion.
The hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked:
The Church has a long history of working across faiths to ensure community cohesion. Most dioceses have an interfaith adviser who advises:[Interruption.]
Order. I think I am being instructed on who sits where. Mr Perkins, when you came through the door, you walked directly into my line of sight to Perran Moon. It blocks my vision when you walk in front of another Member. I do not like being challenged on something when I am absolutely correct.
I will start from the top. The Church has a long history of working across faiths to ensure community cohesion. Most dioceses have an interfaith adviser who advises clergy and congregations about their interfaith engagement, promoting community cohesion. That work is supported through the national presence and engagement programme.
One of the Church’s greatest strengths is its ability to bring communities together. At a time of heightened community tensions, opportunities to bring all faith leaders together are ever more important. Over the summer, I worked closely with local faith leaders in my constituency to build resilience and manage the situation, an attack on one is an attack on all. Will my hon. Friend set out how the Church can strengthen dialogue, support cohesion and help communities resist division?
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that she is doing in her constituency on bringing our communities together. She rightly points out that the Church has a key role to play in drawing our communities together, both to protect them, and for peace and social justice. The Church supports the work of the Church Urban Fund and Near Neighbours, whose central aim is to promote interfaith understanding and stronger community cohesion. As I mentioned in my previous answer, the Church has established a working group with the bishops to promote community cohesion in response to some of the deepening political polarisation. I hope to provide an update on that work in due course.
Yes, the Church Commissioners intend to proceed with Project Spire, as we continue to regard the historic links to African chattel enslavement with profound regret.
Around the country, particularly in Mid Bedfordshire, parish churches are struggling to find the funds to save their historic buildings. Do the Church Commissioners not believe that the time, money and energy spent examining and absolving the Church’s historic transgressions could have been better spent bringing hope and belonging to future generations and saving our historic churches?
I want to take this opportunity to make it clear that Project Spire is being funded out of the commissioners’ own income. None of the money given in parish collections goes towards funding the project. It is also worth pointing out that, over the next three years, the commissioners are distributing £1.6 billion to provide record levels of support for Church ministry and mission across England. It is my sincere hope that Project Spire delivers exactly what the hon. Member points to: a sense of belonging in the Church for future generations. I also highlight the words shared by the Archbishop of Canterbury in her historic visit to the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, which I too have visited. She said: “I pray not only in lament for the Church’s involvement in the slave trade, but also for hope, hope that the God of healing can bring justice and reconciliation to all who are still impacted by its legacy.”
Church officials are in regular contact with Historic England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regarding the places of worship renewal fund and are closely monitoring parish experiences of using the scheme. Following feedback, Historic England has also published a funding directory to help identify alternative sources of support.
In communities like Blaydon and Consett, historic parish churches, such as St Ives’ church in Leadgate, known locally as the miners’ cathedral, are irreplaceable heritage assets, but carry huge repair burdens. What discussions has my hon. Friend had with the Department to ensure that round 2 funding is targeted towards former industrial communities with larger conservation needs?
My hon. Friend is right to point to the importance of historic buildings, such as St Ives’, the miners’ cathedral, to local communities, and the pressure that they all face. Historic England is managing applications and has indicated that it is measuring need and using an at risk register as well as a local deprivation index to identify the best places to prioritise. It will be easier to assess the effectiveness of the new scheme once it has had a little more time to bed in. I will ensure that my hon. Friend receives details of the funding directory, which I hope will help parishes in her constituency to identify suitable sources of funding that they may be eligible for.