§ 36. Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will report on the contribution made by the Church Commissioners to clergy stipends and pensions. [135373]
§ Mr. Stuart BellIn 1999 the Commissioners contributed £156.1 million in support of the Church's ministry, representing some 20 per cent. of the Church's overall running costs of approximately £760 million.
That sum includes the Commissioners' expenditure of £87 million on clergy pensions and transitional relief of £17 million to help dioceses with the cost of the new funded pension scheme. It also includes £20 million paid towards the stipends of parish clergy, much of which is targeted specifically towards those dioceses most in need of financial help, and stipends paid to other clergy of nearly £7 million.