Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Poverty

Thursday 3 July 2025 · 2 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Emma Lewell asked the Minister about scrapping the two-child benefit cap to reduce child poverty.
  • Neil O'Brien inquired about the Church Commissioners spending 5 million on Project Spire, which is outside their charitable objectives.
  • The Minister responded that decisions by the Church Commissioners will follow proper processes when made.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Children & Families Religion & Faith
Context

The MP is concerned about the reliance on charities and faith groups to address child poverty, particularly due to the two-child benefit cap.

Question

For too long, charities, faith groups and churches such as my own, St Bede’s, have been supporting people struggling to get by. Does my hon. Friend agree that our child poverty taskforce needs to seriously consider scrapping the awful two-child benefit cap, because relying on charity to lift children out of poverty is simply unsustainable?

Answer from Marsha De Cordova

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Everyone has a responsibility to tackle child poverty, and we should all commend and thank the Church for the role it has played in this space. I know that the Bishop of Derby hosted Baroness Sherlock, the child poverty unit and colleagues for a roundtable, where many issues were discussed.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request to consider scrapping the two-child benefit cap was not directly addressed.

How: Roundtable Discussion, Commending Church'S Role

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Q2 Neil O'Brien Con Harborough, Oadby and Wigston
Religion & Faith
Context

The MP is concerned about the Church Commissioners spending £5 million on a project outside their charitable objectives without approval from the Charity Commission.

Question

Churches across the country are doing amazing work tackling poverty, but they could be doing more. Many of my constituents will be surprised that the Church Commissioners have already spent £5 million on Project Spire when it is not within their charitable objectives, and that they plan to spend £100 million when the Charity Commission has not signed that off. Why are the Church Commissioners doing something that is not within their charitable objectives?

Answer from Marsha De Cordova

No decision has been taken on that. When the board of governors and the Church of Commissioners make that decision, they will follow the right processes to do so.

Not addressed: The specific spending outside charitable objectives was not addressed.

How: No Decision Made, Follow The Right Processes

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