§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2004,Official Report, column 1633W, on parish priest salaries, how many parish priests were employed in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 2003–04. [162473]
§ Sir Stuart BellIn 1997 there were 9,243 clergy in post in parishes. In 2002 the equivalent figure was 8,503. Figures for 2003 will be available shortly.