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Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
No parish is required to make payments to the national Church institutions. The parish share, or common fund, is a financial contribution that a parish makes to the diocese to help fund clergy stipends, pensions and housing, including mutual support for ministries in less affluent areas.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out the importance of churches in providing community support and care, which are essential in many local areas. On the specific case in his parish, I would be happy to put him in touch with the diocese of Lichfield so that he can discuss his concerns more broadly. On a wider note, the Church Commissioners are supporting parishes in the lowest-income communities with over £133 million of investment, representing a 46% increase on the previous funding window.
The Church remains deeply concerned about the ongoing worldwide persecution on the grounds of faith and belief, including recent cases in Sudan, Afghanistan, Palestine, India and many others, and all these countries have featured high on the most recent Open Doors world watch list. Alongside the UN Secretary-General, the Church believes that whenever one minority group is persecuted, no one is safe.
As my hon. Friend mentions, in parts of Nigeria Christian communities continue to face considerable persecution, particularly from Fulani militia and Boko Haram. This has been happening for many decades. Senior members of the Church have frequently visited and written to the Nigerian Government ahead of elections, urging them not to exploit ethnic or religious divisions, finance violence or pursue electoral success at the nation’s expense. The wider Anglican communion and its agencies continue to offer support, financial aid and education in that space. The bishops in the other place raise cases and the experience of Nigerian Christians with the UK Government, and I invite my hon. Friend to raise such cases with the Government as well.
Across the country, churches provide holiday clubs, activities and safe spaces for children and families, often in partnership with organisations such as Lighthouse. These groups help young people to develop skills and the confidence to become responsible, active participants in their local communities.
I have to say that sounds like a wonderful visit—despite the hon. Member being gunged—and I join him in thanking Lighthouse in Princes Risborough, and in Great Missenden and Haddenham, for its incredible work in his constituency, and huge thanks go to Eleyna Kibble and the team of volunteers. We know that without volunteers none of these schemes can be delivered. Since 2019, the diocese of Oxford has given over 300 financial grants, totalling £5.9 million, to its parishes to host youth groups and Lighthouse holiday clubs. The Church is committed to and will continue to support community projects such as these in their areas across the country.
Family hubs are a crucial one-stop shop for families to access vital support in one place, and the Church of England supports this with other denominations through the ChurchWorks Commission, which has produced helpful guidance and resources for churches and local authorities. That includes a toolkit that sets out how churches can be involved through signposting referrals, the use of buildings and by running specific services.
May I say how delighted I was to see the hon. Member’s name on the Order Paper? He did not have to bob this time. I join him in congratulating churches on the valuable role their play in supporting young people, and I thank him for raising the excellent work of churches in Newtownards. Following my exchange with the right hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard), I wrote to the Local Government Minister and the Children’s Minister to discuss how faith-based organisations can work more closely with local authorities to expand youth provision. Supporting young people is part of the Church of England’s Growing Younger priority, backed by a £1 billion investment over the next nine years. I would be happy to put the hon. Member in touch with the team and officials at Church House for further information. I also want to encourage all local authorities to see the great work that partnering with churches can deliver in supporting and providing opportunities for young people.
I congratulate my hon. Friend on being a steadfast voice for her constituents and for St John’s church, which is clearly providing great support services for children and young people, as well as for adults. Churches are the cornerstones of our communities. I would be happy to write to my hon. Friend with more details about funding opportunities and ways that the church can seek to raise funds locally to help, potentially, to save the church. Is that okay?
Wonderful!
The unacceptable use of Christianity to exclude or intimidate others is deeply offensive and frankly deeply concerning. The Church has established a working group to support parishes with theological, practical and pastoral resources, along with best practice advice. Recent work includes guidance on flying flags and webinars on the theology of patriotism.
My hon. Friend is spot on. He raises a really important issue, and I completely share his concerns about the misuse of Christian ideology. Church representatives are discussing and sharing their experiences of Christian nationalism with partners and churches across the nations of the United Kingdom, including the Church of Scotland. We all know that, throughout the Bible, we are called to learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. When we think about and reflect on the Bible, we see that the greatest commandment of all is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, but also to love our neighbour as ourselves. The people mentioned by my hon. Friend are neither patriots nor Christians, and they display little or no understanding of the faith that they profess to support.
The Church has a long history of working across faiths to ensure community cohesion. Most dioceses have an interfaith adviser who advises—[Interruption.]
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.
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.
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.
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.
I have several constituents who are retired civil servants and are still waiting to receive their pension statements and their pensions. This is causing a lot of worry, distress and, in some cases, financial hardship. What is deeply concerning is that when this is raised with Capita, it is pretty laid-back about it; frankly, it shows little empathy and no urgency in trying to resolve the matter. Can I press the Leader of the House for a Government statement setting out what concrete steps the Government will take to address this—in my view, Capita should be relieved of these responsibilities—and, importantly, to ensure that my constituents can begin to receive their pensions? Many have given tens of years of service to this country; they deserve to be paid and treated with respect.
I echo the comments made by the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. At risk of inviting criticism from the left and the right, I plead for some nuance in this debate. These are two materially different prospects, and of course one of them is able to feed directly into our domestic market. I urge Ministers to make sure that the decision is made based on evidence rather than just ideology.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) for securing this important debate. Over the last 15 years, childhood vaccination rates have fallen across Britain. The uptake of vaccinations for those aged under five is well below the World Health Organisation’s 95% target. The paradox of vaccination is that it has become a victim of its own success. It has protected us so effectively for so long that we can forget what it has saved us from. My grandma’s friend died from diphtheria at the age of 12. When I worked in public health, I met a lady whose mum had rubella during pregnancy, as a result of which that lady had serious impairments. Online misinformation is often put forward as the root driver of our falling vaccination rates. It is certainly true that false claims are dangerously contagious, but any explanation that focuses only on anti-vaxxers and the often-monetised pedlars of misinformation and disinformation risks mistaking the loudest part of the problem for the largest part of the problem. Most parents who miss vaccinations are simply exhausted, overstretched or unable to get an appointment that fits around their lives. Anyone who has experienced the first few months of a baby’s life knows exactly what it is like, but at any time of life, when clinics require long journeys on public transport or time off work, missed vaccination is more often due to practical barriers than to any ideological opposition. Although vaccination in this country might be free, accessing it is not always without cost. How do we fix it? First, we need to rebuild health visiting and early years services, as well as rebuilding the links between families and GPs, because vaccination rates are highest when people have access to trusted professionals who they see regularly. I certainly know that health visiting is in a much worse place than when I had my first child. The investment that this Labour Government are putting into our health services should address that, but I was interested to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip talk about the fragmented and confusing pathways, which I think are still there, and about his concrete suggested actions. I would like to hear the Minister’s response. Finally, I do not want us to forget how poverty and deprivation affect vaccination uptake rates. When someone is worried about making the rent, topping up the electric meter or putting food on the table, routine health admin can fall down the list. All the action we are taking through the child poverty strategy, lifting the two-child benefit limit and free breakfast clubs will have a good impact. I will use my final seconds to pay tribute to an absolute vaccine legend. Dolly Parton gave $1 million to the development of the Moderna vaccine. Not only that, she did so much to encourage the uptake of the covid vaccine. I think we will all miss her.
As a member of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, I have taken evidence on the complexity of the North sea oil and gas discussion and the long-term decline of that mature basin. As the Member of Parliament for two nuclear power stations, I will not take lectures on energy jobs and their importance, particularly given the lack of progress on nuclear under the Conservatives. I think the complexity of the discussion is lost on the Opposition, and some of their assertions, particularly on the prices of new drilling, is simply not based on any evidence. Although this is a complex discussion, does the Minister agree that what is clear and simple is that climate change is an existential threat, and that a clean and fair energy transition is vital to tackling climate change?
11. What discussions the Church of England has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the second round of applications for the places of worship renewal fund.
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?
Here we are back from recess, when I had a great time meeting people and businesses across Blaydon and Consett—from Thomas Swan & Co in Consett, which celebrated its centenary, to independent local breweries such as the Thirsty Moose in Ryton and volunteers at the Just Love project in Leadgate. Will the Leader of the House join me in celebrating their hard work, and can we have a debate in Government time on supporting regional manufacturing, high streets and community champions?
Can I associate myself with your kind words, Mr Speaker, about the legend that is Sir Billy Boston? It was also a real pleasure to hear you say the word “Wigan” in the context of rugby league without choking. This Government are committed to implementing the regulation of short-term lets. We believe in our communities and in their right to shape their own areas. This regulation is about putting power back into people’s hands so that they can shape the right balance between the benefits that tourism brings and the needs of people locally for decent housing.
I assure my hon. Friend that we certainly will. The problem that he points to is a problem across the country. I recognise it in my own constituency of Wigan, where the council has taken decisive action to clamp down on houses in multiple occupation. What we have seen instead is short-term lets springing up to get around the ban, which is causing havoc in local communities. I can reassure my hon. Friend that in his first week in the job the Prime Minister asked me to accelerate this work, and that work is now continuing apace. In any case, the register will be up and running in full by March.
That is precisely why we are bringing forward the measure to introduce a register of short-term lets. We believe that local leaders need to be able to understand what is happening in their local areas and to shape that in order to have the benefits of tourism. Some areas may want to have more short-term lets available to support the tourism industry, but there are other areas, including in the hon. Lady’s constituency, where there is a real need for local housing for local people, and local leaders should have the power to provide that.
I point the hon. Gentleman to the recent report from the AI Safety Institute in December, which showed that AI’s role in social interaction, online harms, cyber-security and the workplace is increasing. We are taking the risks of AI as seriously as we take the opportunities, working closely with colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and the Cabinet Office. We are clear as a Government that companies cannot be allowed to mark their own homework.
The hon. Gentleman is right to point to the fact that as frontier AI develops, it poses new challenges and new risks, not just in the area of hacking but by creating confusion about legal liability, safeguards and who is responsible. There is a clear role for Government, and we are working hard to make sure that we meet those expectations.
My hon. Friend is right to point to the UK’s need for sovereign capability in AI. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), whose work I have inherited in this area. I also thank my hon. Friend for the contribution of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee over a long period of time. We are taking the need to deal with the exposure of the UK very seriously, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss that further.
I would be delighted to offer the hon. Lady that meeting. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Tulisa, whom I have admired for many years for the way in which she has taken such a dreadful experience and used it to help others. Mr Speaker, can I also take this moment to acknowledge the absolutely tragic death of Professor Jason Arday, which happened since the House last met? There is an ongoing inquest and an ongoing investigation by the University of Cambridge. While the Government would not wish to undermine in any sense those ongoing inquiries, I want to reassure the House, and the many families who have been affected by the sort of practices that the hon. Lady references over many years, that we are not neutral when it comes to protecting our citizens.
I will get up, Mr Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend for his long-standing work on this—[Laughter.] Let me start again! I thank my hon. Friend for his intense work on this issue. The Minister for sport will be delighted to meet him. However, my hon. Friend will know that lidos are a personal passion for me, and reversing the neglect of these much-loved community assets is something that this Government intend to make a priority. We will be in a position to say more about that shortly, but in the meantime I pay tribute to him and to my hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) and for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale) for their campaign to ensure that lidos have their proper place in British public life.
My hon. Friend makes a very compelling case. While I do not wish to pre-empt any imminent announcement, I will just say that the Government really recognise the need to support communities with the funding pressures that lidos face, including energy costs, and we will have more to say about that shortly.
The hon. Gentleman will have heard the Minister for sport talk about the £400 million that we are putting into grassroots sports facilities, and he will also have heard my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) about a forthcoming announcement that we are planning to make specifically around lidos. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman’s community on defending, supporting and championing not just leisure facilities but lidos in particular. Most of the lidos in this country exist because of people like his constituents, who care for them and have supported them to stay open for many years. I would be very happy to visit and meet them at some point—but only on the condition that there is a woman dressed as a lobster as part of the event.
Let me start by recognising the extraordinary British sportsmen and women who lit up the world this summer. I also put on record what an honour it is to return to this place with a newly created Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) for the extraordinary work she did in a very short period, opening up opportunities for young people to benefit from the technological developments of the future, and taking decisive action on social media. I also thank the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston) for the constructive way he has both challenged and supported us as a Front-Bench team since the general election, always acting in the interests of the sectors that we both care passionately about. I welcome the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) to her place, and I am very much looking forward to working with her. Finally, I wish to pay tribute to the rugby league legend Sir Billy Boston, and to his incredible wife, Lady Joan, who sadly passed away a few weeks before Sir Billy. Billy was a sporting giant. His talent, determination and legacy will inspire generations for years to come. It was a privilege to work with you, Mr Speaker, following your campaign over many years to right a historic wrong and to ensure that he became the first ever knight of rugby league. Rest in peace, Sir Billy Boston.
The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray) has just reminded me that he and I are so old that we started out loading cassette tapes when we played video games as kids. I am aware that people feel very strongly about this issue. My hon. Friend will know that decisions around media formats are ultimately for companies, but we as a Government believe that companies should always be clear with customers about what they are paying for. That is why we have commissioned the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to develop guidance that will clarify people’s ownership rights when they purchase digital games, music and films.
The hon. Lady is absolutely right, first of all, to pay tribute to those incredible police officers who lost their lives. May I associate myself with her remarks and put on record my sadness, love and sympathy to their families and loved ones? I agree with her that there is more that must be done to tackle what is becoming an epidemic in young people in particular using social media to encourage dangerous behaviour. I have a meeting set up with TikTok in the coming days. We have obviously been in close discussion with it and other social media companies since that tragic, appalling incident, but there is more that we as a Government intend to do and I would be very happy to meet her to discuss that further.
The hon. Member will know from previous discussions we have had in this place that there is a balance to be struck between making sure we get the right level of investment in sport and making sure those sports are opened up to the widest possible audience. That is a conversation that we continue to have. There is another element to this, which is the cost of tickets, and this Government are taking action on secondary ticket touts, which I know the hon. Member’s party strongly supports. Later today, we will have the pleasure of introducing the Sporting Events Bill to this place. Through that Bill, we are taking action to make sure ticket prices remain affordable and that those practices are stamped out when it comes to sporting events.