Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether she has made an assessment of the compatibility of (a) ‘Project Spire’ and (b) the ‘Fund for Healing, Repair, and Justice’ with the trustee obligations of the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners.

Yes, the Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners has made an assessment of its legal obligations so far as they relate to its response to its predecessor’s links with African chattel enslavement (known internally by the programme/project name ‘Spire’). In taking that assessment, the Board has taken into account all relevant factors, including the Charity Commission’s guidance on decision-making for trustees (CC27). The Board recognises that the discharge of its proposals will require the registration of a new charity (the proposed ‘Fund for Healing, Repair, and Justice’), along with appropriate regulatory authorisations. The Board has authorised the first such step.