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 The mission of the Church Commissioners is to support the
Church of England’s ministry, particularly in areas of need and opportunity.
The Commissioners were formed in 1948 by joining together two
charitable bodies: Queen Anne’s Bounty, established in 1704 to improve clergy
incomes and housing in areas of need, and the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, who were endowed in 1840 to make ‘additional
provision for the cure of souls in parishes
where such assistance is most required’. The National
Institutions Measure 1998 commits the Commissioners to pay particular regard to
the latter purpose in meeting their legal responsibilities.
The main responsibilities of the Commissioners are:
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to manage their investment so as to provide the maximum
sustainable amount of support for parish ministry, particularly in areas of
need and opportunity ; |
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to meet their pension liabilities and other commitments
such as those concerning bishops and cathedrals ; |
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to administer the legal framework for pastoral
reorganization and settling the future of redundant churches |
As part of the Commissioners’ accountability to Parliament
and to General Synod, MPs and Synod members may ask the Commissioners questions
in both the House of Commons and at the Synod, meeting twice a year, once in
York and the other in Westminster.
Stuart Bell MP, as Second Church Estates Commissioner,
answered ninety-one oral and written Parliamentary questions on matters
including the Commissioners’ asset management and their contribution towards
clergy remuneration as well as local issues. Commissioners also answered
twenty-three questions from General Synod members in the July and November 2001
Groups of Sessions.
The Second Commissioner continued during the year 2001 to
press the case for the relief of VAT on repairs to listed Church buildings and
the Commissioners were heartened by the implementation in December of a
government-managed grant scheme, effective from 2001, that will significantly
help with parishes’ repair and maintenance costs, pending the European
Commission’s formal review of reduced VAT rates expected in 2003.
Every month the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Sir
Stuart Bell MP answers questions.
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Stuart
Bell
Alex
Finn
Keith
Miller
Geoffrey
Morgan
Kai Anderson
