Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the total number of people employed in full and part time diocesan roles across the UK was, excluding parish priests and lay readers, in (a) 1959, (b) 1979, (c) 1989, (d) 1999, (e) 2010 and (f) 2020, including Bishops, Suffragen Bishops, Archdeacons, governance managers, human resource management, operations directors, inclusivity and diversity managers, directors of giving, mission enablers, directors of social justice, environment managers, training leaders, youth leaders, conference centre managers and wardens, and all associated support staff.

No information is held centrally about the number of staff employed by each diocese, so the requested information is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

For most of the information requested, figures have not been collected consistently, if collected at all. However, the following information about clergy numbers was provided in response to a similar question asked at the General Synod November 2021 group of sessions:

1. For 1959 to 2000, this includes Suffragan and Assistant Bishops. For 2010 onwards, this includes Suffragan bishops only

2. For 1959, this includes Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops. For 1979, this includes Diocesan Bishops only

All figures are taken from publications available on the Church of England web page: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/research-and-statistics . These publications also contain methodological information and further detail.