Question

To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Church of England will take steps to ensure efforts to tackle theft of lead from church buildings do not lead to reduced accessibility to those buildings.

The Church of England encourages its churches to take all practical steps to prevent the theft of lead and other items from its churches. In the case of theft of lead the majority of churches undertake deterrent schemes involving the use of smart water, roof alarms and other measures. Grant schemes are in place through the National Churches Trust to help parishes cover the costs of these devices. There are very few cases where the theft of lead has given rise to the need to close a church or reduce access to the building. Research by our insurers has also shown that churches that are open on a daily basis do not suffer any greater risk of theft. In fact simply by being open and encouraging people to use the building or churchyard most parishes in England have found theft is deterred.