Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Family Relationships, Parenting and Marriage

Thursday 9 December 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Church of England values marriage and supports families and parents.
  • Rev. Michael Brown's support for local community members is recognized.
  • The importance of marriage enrichment to prevent relationship difficulties is highlighted.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Sheryll Murray Con
Religion & Faith
Context

The MP seeks to understand the Church of England's initiatives for family support, particularly focusing on marriage and parenting.

Question

What steps is the Church of England taking to support family relationships, parenting, and marriage?

Answer from Andrew Selous

The Church of England places a high value on the covenant of marriage and does all it can to support families and parents. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York want to strengthen family life further and have set up a commission to examine what more the Church can do to achieve that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions or initiatives are not detailed, only a broad statement about support for families is provided.

How: Broad Statement

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Q2 Sheryll Murray Con
Religion & Faith
Context

The MP thanks her local vicar for his support and asks how politicians can better recognize parish priests who contribute to their communities.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I also thank my local vicar, Michael Brown, who came to Westminster to play an active role in my own wedding, for all he does in the parish. What more can we do, as politicians, to recognise these often unsung heroes of our communities?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I am sure we would all like to congratulate my hon. Friend on her wedding. I am delighted to learn about the support that Rev. Michael Brown gave to her for her wedding and about all the good work that he does in his parish. It gives me, and probably all of us, enormous pleasure to pay tribute to Rev. Brown and indeed to all our parish priests who work tirelessly to show the love of Christ to their parishioners.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No specific actions are mentioned for recognizing unsung heroes in communities.

How: General Praise, No Concrete Action

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Q3 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Religion & Faith
Context

The MP, with experience of a long-lasting marriage, asks about initiatives to help troubled marriages work with organizations like Relate.

Question

Having been married for 34 years, I understand the importance of marriage and relationships that last. With that in mind, can I ask the hon. Gentleman what has been done to ensure that, where there are difficulties in marriages—and that happens—and difficulties perhaps in looking after children, the Churches can work with Relate and other organisations to ensure that marriages can last beyond for the years to come?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I think we can do something even before that, because I am very keen on marriage enrichment as well, and I think that the Church can do more to prevent marriages from coming into difficulty in the first place. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, it is a very important role for the Church to play when marriages do run into trouble, and that is what the Archbishop's joint family and household commission is also looking at.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific initiatives or collaborations with Relate are not mentioned.

How: Broad Statement, No Concrete Action

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