North Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry has been appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner.

The Second Commissioner represents the Church of England in the House of Commons and his appointment had to be approved by the Queen.

Mr Baldry’s role will be to answer parliamentary questions, be a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament, and to steer Church legislation through parliament.

He said: “This is a fascinating and exciting task.

“My predecessor, Sir Stuart Bell, has been the Second Church Estates Commissioner for 13 years, and has been the longest-ever serving Second Church Commissioner and is going to be an extremely difficult act to follow.

“During his time he steered 21 measures through Parliament and answered some 892 Parliamentary Questions.”

  • MP Tony Baldry has urged businesses to contact him if they have problems accessing funding from banks or with examples of bureaucracy.

He said: “I would always be interested in examples of where people think there is over-regulation, regulation that is disproportionate, and where there are examples of UK Gold Plating of EU regulations, or simply instances where it is felt that regulations should be replaced altogether.

“I am keen to ensure that we in North Oxfordshire always get our fair share of Government investment in initiatives such as apprenticeships.”