Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency and (b) Cumbria.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.
The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities.
In Carlisle Diocese, the Lowest Income Communities Fund has provided £560,000 a year to support a range of projects in Barrow, South and West Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven, and Maryport. Additional grants from the Strategic Development Fund totalling £ 1.6 million over five years have been awarded. The project funds five new pioneer enabler roles, which in addition to training and support, will help the Diocese reach those groups who are not typically represented in congregations in Carlisle.
Support is available to all churches in Penrith and The Border and across the Diocese with maintenance and management of church buildings via the Buildings for Mission fund, which will provide small grants for repairs and restoration and a dedicated support officer to advise parishes.
Other grants are available from the Diocese supported by the National Church Institutions to enable parishes to move towards Net Zero and increase capacity building at a parish level with youth work, internships, and vocations, and to support better stewardship of church buildings, to upgrade facilities and technology, and enable easier donation and giving.
To find out more about the work underway across Cumbria, Carlisle and Penrith, please contact the Acting Bishop, The Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh, Bishop of Penrith, whose details are here: https://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/bishops-and-senior-clergy/
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress he has made on ensuring the long-term availability of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government’s priority is to secure a long-term sustainable solution on veterinary medicines. To that end, we wish to pursue such a solution through discussions with the EU, as well as preparing for safeguards in all scenarios. We have set up a Veterinary Medicines Working Group to advise the Government on solutions and are grateful for your expertise as a member of this group. The Working Group has met twice and aims to report in a timely manner by June.
In the meantime, we have put in place a grace period arrangement until the end of 2025 which supports continuity of supply to Northern Ireland.