Information	Contact us
Media Centre	Home

home / about the church / church commissioners / spending

Tell us what you think about our website

Spending Responsibilities

T A priest greeting parishoners he support of the nationwide ministry of the Church of England depends upon partnership between Church members, dioceses and the national Church institutions, including the Archbishops' Council, the Pensions Board and the Church Commissioners.

The Commissioners hold a number of spending responsibilities in balance. Outline details are given below. Further information can be found in the Church Commissioners' Annual Report or from the Church Commissioners' Policy Unit - email: commissioners.enquiry@c-of-e.org.uk.

Support for parish mission and ministry

Through the Archbishops' Council the Church Commissioners contribute more than £30 million annually to support the church's mission and ministry at parish level.

They make selective grants to dioceses, used mainly towards clergy stipends costs and targeted on dioceses with fewest resources. Most of the clergy stipends bill is met by parishioners.

Grants from the mission development fund (formerly the parish mission fund), launched from 2002, are available to all dioceses. The aim is to help dioceses to develop new church ministry through investment in parish mission initiatives.

Again through the Council, the Commissioners make grants towards the Church Urban Fund and the youth evangelism fund. Both have a focus on the church's mission and engagement at parish level.

The Church Commissioners also run the national clergy payroll.

Clergy pensions

The Church Commissioners' capital underwrites the retirement housing scheme and until 1998 they met the cost of clergy pensions in full. Pensions are their main expense and will be for some time to come. However, the rest of the Church is now contributing to a new pension fund to meet the cost of pensions on future service.

The pensions and housing schemes are run by the Pensions Board. Further information is available from the Pensions Board direct - email: pensions@c-of-e.org.uk.

Loans

The Church Commissioners help dioceses by offering loan finance to dioceses to provide housing for clergy spouses whose marriages have broken down. They also have a car loan scheme available to all on the national clergy payroll.

Bishops and cathedrals

The Bishop of Portsmouth's house Some of the Church Commissioners' property comes originally from the estates of bishops and cathedrals. The Church Commissioners meet bishops' stipends and working costs (largely staff salaries) and maintain diocesan bishops' houses. Their aim is to do so as cost-effectively as they can.

The Church Commissioners also meet the stipends of the dean or provost and two other senior clergy at each cathedral in England. They also make grants towards the salaries of lay chapter staff, targeting these grants towards those cathedrals with least financial resources.

An overview of how the Church of England is funded is available online.

For general enquiries please contact the Church of England switchboard on (020) 7898 1000.

Further details about the work and history of the Commissioners are available from our Policy Unit: e-mail commissioners.enquiry@c-of-e.org.uk.