On 26 February 2024, the General Synod of the Church of England approved the Draft Parochial Fees Order 2024; subsequently, The Parochial Fees Order 2024 (“the Order”) was made, 21 March 2024; laid before Parliament, 26 March 2024; and will come into force on 1 January 2025.

The Order prescribes parochial fees for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026, which are calculated using the “base figures” (article 3) in Schedule 1. The three columns relate to the occasional offices and provide the basis for payments to: the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF), the Parochial Church Council (PCC); and the total.

Incidental provisions that apply in relation to the parochial fees are contained in Schedule 2 which is subject to section 1(8) of the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986 (as amended), (article 4).

Increases in fees for 2025 and 2026, as determined by Consumer Prices Index (CPI)

The fee payable in the calendar year 1st January to 31st December 2025 is the base figure in Schedule 1 for that matter— (a) increased by the lower of— (i) the percentage by which the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for August 2024 is greater than that for August 2023, and (ii) 5%, and (b) rounded up to the nearest £1. (article 4(2)).

The fee payable in the calendar year 1st January to 31st December 2026 is the fee payable for that matter in the preceding calendar year (“Year A”)— (a) increased by the lower of— (i) the percentage by which the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for August in Year A is greater than that for August in the calendar year preceding Year A, and (ii) 5%, and (b) rounded up to the nearest £1. (article 4(3)).

Where there is no increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the percentage for the purposes of paragraph (2) or (3) is to be treated as zero. (article 4(4)).

Consumer price inflation

The Consumer Prices Index is published by the Office for National Statistics each month, and the most recent data were issued on 14 August 2024; these indicate that the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) had risen by 3.1% in the 12 months to July 2024, up from 2.8% in June 2024.

The release date for the August data which will be used in the parochial fees calculations is 18 September 2024[*]. The Church publishes its revised parochial fees one or two months after to ONS announcement of the rate of inflation. These will be circulated by L&RUK.

Comment

Although the finalized costs for 2025 will not be available until later this year, for those budgeting for weddings, it seems reasonable to assume that the increase over 2024 figures will be in the order of 3.1%. As in previous years, we will summarize the new parochial fees for 2025.

Note also that the Diocesan Synod motion to amend the Parochial Fees so that a fee payable to the parochial church council is prescribed in respect of funeral services that take place at crematoria and cemeteries to reflect the contribution made by parishes in support of such services, was carried, GS 2331A and GS 2331B. However, this is not included in the above calculations.

[*] Update: On 18 September 2024 the Office for National Statistics released the data on which the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for August 2024 are calculated. The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose by 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2024, unchanged from July.

In December 2024, the Parochial Fees for 2025 became available and were summarized in our post Church of England Parochial Fees 2025.