Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Church Schools

Thursday 23 June 2022 · 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 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Neil Hudson thanked the Minister for their answer and expressed concerns about the impact of poverty and isolation on children's educational attainment in rural areas.
  • The Minister reassured Neil Hudson that the Church of England will continue to support vulnerable families by providing resources such as school uniforms, free breakfast clubs, and funding for school trips.
  • Ben Bradshaw inquired about the Church of England's assessment of the impact of a reduction in priests on rural Church of England schools, raising concerns about the increasing centralization of parish funds in diocesan administration.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Neil Hudson Con Epping Forest
Education Religion & Faith
Context

The MP is concerned about the educational impact of poverty and isolation in rural areas, particularly during the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Unfortunately, the educational attainment of children across the country, including in rural areas, can all too often be impacted by poverty and isolation, including food and energy poverty. Would my hon. Friend join me in thanking the Church of England, including its schools in Cumbria and across the country, for supporting those vulnerable families, particularly in the challenging times of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis? Will the Church commit to continue to provide that vital support?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's thanks, and I can reassure him that the Church of England will continue to support vulnerable families wherever possible—for example, by buying school uniforms, providing breakfast clubs for free and paying for school trips. In the village of Shankhill in his constituency, the Church school supports the whole community by acting as a village hall for gatherings, lunches and intergenerational activities.

Answered
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Q2 Neil Hudson Con Epping Forest
Education Religion & Faith
Context

The MP is concerned about the educational impact of poverty and isolation in rural areas, particularly during the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Unfortunately, the educational attainment of children across the country, including in rural areas, can all too often be impacted by poverty and isolation, including food and energy poverty. Would my hon. Friend join me in thanking the Church of England, including its schools in Cumbria and across the country, for supporting those vulnerable families, particularly in the challenging times of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis? Will the Church commit to continue to provide that vital support?

Answer from Andrew Selous

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's thanks, and I can reassure him that the Church of England will continue to support vulnerable families wherever possible—for example, by buying school uniforms, providing breakfast clubs for free and paying for school trips. In the village of Shankhill in his constituency, the Church school supports the whole community by acting as a village hall for gatherings, lunches and intergenerational activities.

Answered
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Q3 Ben Bradshaw Lab
Religion & Faith
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of a reduced number of priests on rural Church of England schools and the increasing centralization of funds.

Question

What assessment has the Church of England made of the impact, particularly on rural Church of England schools, of the dramatic reduction in the number of priests in some dioceses? Does the hon. Member share my concern that money generated by parishes is being increasingly sucked into diocesan administration and projects, meaning that an impossibly small number of priests serve huge numbers of parishes? That threatens the very future of English parish life, including the role of rural Church schools.

Answer from Andrew Selous

I totally understand the point the right hon. Gentleman is making. He will know that the Church of England absolutely holds to its vision to have a Church of England presence in every community. Of course, he is right that if there are not so many incumbents, it can be difficult for them to go in and do assemblies in Church schools and so on, but the Church is really focused on the frontline and putting the parish first.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific concerns about centralization of funds and impact on rural parishes were not directly addressed.

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