§ 27. Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey)To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey of 26 March 2001, Official Report, column 486W, on Church Commission rents, what further representations the Church Commission has received on behalf of the residents of the Octavia Hill Estates. [158166]
§ Mr. Stuart Bell (Second Church Estates Commissioner, representing the Church Commissioners)A delegation representing residents of the Waterloo and Walworth housing estates met commissioners' staff at Elizabeth house on 9 April and presented a petition setting out their views. The hon. Gentleman was, I believe, present on that occasion and has met subsequently with the commissioners.
§ Mr. HughesDo the Church Commissioners realise that what they do with the rents and lettings policy for the 1,500 homes on those estates in London will be perceived by the residents, as well as a much wider community inside and outside the Church as a real test of the ethical investment policy of the Church of England?
I wish to ask the hon. Gentleman specifically whether he will seek an agreement from his fellow commissioners, and do all he can personally, to ensure that all papers prepared as part of the consultation process, including legal advice given to the commissioners, are made public in good time before the decision is made, and that no 640 decision is made without the agreement of the residents, the clergy of the relevant parishes and the local, democratically elected representatives.
§ Mr. BellI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who made that point when he met the commissioners with the Minister for Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey), and the commissioners said that they would consider it with great care.
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)Will the hon. Gentleman take this opportunity to explain the long-term policy of the Church Commissioners on all the property of which the Church owns the freehold?
§ Mr. BellThe long-term policy of the commissioners is in line with their statutory duties—to maximise investment returns in line with the mission to provide sustainable support for the nationwide ministry of the Church of England.