§ 38. Mr. FlynnTo ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment he has made of the numbers of clergymen who will be required to conduct Anglican services in 2020. [101994]
§ Mr. Stuart BellThe Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council is responsible for monitoring clergy numbers. No assessment of the likely numbers of full-time stipendiary clergy has been made for 2020 but work is currently being undertaken on long-term projections. Stipendiary clergy men and women are not the only resource for ministry available to the Church. At the end of 1998 there were, in addition to the 9,636 stipendiary clergy men and women, 1,206 non-stipendiary ministers and nearly 10,000 Readers. There are also 1,304 chaplains ministering in hospitals, schools, prisons and to the armed forces.