§ 26. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners, how much the Church Commissioners will be contributing in cash and in kind towards the Lambeth conference; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonThe Church Commissioners will be providing around £160,000, including the cost of seconded staff.
§ Mr. GreenwayIs my right hon. Friend aware of how much this House wishes success to the Lambeth conference? Is he further aware that I welcome the appointment of the Archdeacon of York and hope that more people like him are appointed as bishops? Can my right hon. Friend assure me that the Church Commissioners will pay neither in cash nor in kind any 15 contribution to the Methodist conference, which appears to have become merely a political politburo rather than an ecclesiastical gathering?
§ Mr. AlisonI, too, applaud the appointment of Canon Austin as the Archdeacon of York. I am not answerable for the findings of the Methodist conference, although as a Conservative I am bound to say that the sweeping criticisms of the Government that derived from that source filled me with some dismay. I look forward to studying carefully the factual basis of those criticisms.