§ 33. Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what financial contribution in(a) cash and (b) percentage terms the Church Commissioners made to clergy stipends and pensions in the last year. [153857]
§ Mr. Stuart BellThe Church Commissioners fund all clergy pensions earned on service before 1998 in full. In 1999, the last year for which audited figures are available, the cost to the Commissioners was £87 million. They paid a further £17 million as part of their scheme to assist on a time-limited basis with the pension costs from 1998 which are now the responsibility of dioceses.
The Commissioners also met 16 per cent. of the Church of England's total stipend bill in 1999. They paid over £20 million towards the stipends of parish clergy, much of it targeted towards dioceses most in need of financial help, and a further £6.6 million to meet those stipends of bishops and cathedral clergy for which they are responsible.