Question

To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how many cathedrals and abbeys (a) do and (b) do not appoint a head chorister.

The operation and governance of cathedral choirs is not a matter for the Church Commissioners and no data on this is held centrally.

In Rochester Cathedral which is nearest to the Hon. Member’s constituency the cathedral has appointed Dean’s Choristers (two boys and two girls) to share the responsibility, the rationale for which is to enable a larger number of choristers to gain leadership experience. This is also the case at some but not all other cathedrals.