Assistance with parish money matters is offered by Chris Parker, our Stewardship Adviser, whose role involves assisting parishes with virtually any matter relating to finance, the preparation of annual accounts, gift aid and the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, grants, fundraising and general help to parish treasurers, gift aid officers, regular giving officers and stewardship promoters.

Bank account

If you are looking to make a payment to Portsmouth Diocesan Board of Finance, either as a parish or a private individual, and you need details of our bank account, please email us via this link and we'll send you the details.

Parochial fees

The Parochial Fees are prescribed under various pieces of legislation which include the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986, as amended by the Ecclesiastical Fees (Amendment) Measure 2011, the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2014 and the Parochial Fees and Scheduled Matters Amending Order 2014 which are generally referred to, for ease, as the 1986 Measure as amended.

Under the legislation the fee becomes due whenever a matter prescribed in the Schedule of fees is performed, and the fee is the property of the DBF and the PCC in portions laid down by the Archbishop’s Council annually. The fee is legally payable to the DBF regardless of which minister undertook the Occasional Office and whether they are in receipt of a stipend or not.

The DBF may agree to share a portion of its fees in certain circumstances (for example, with retired clergy who conduct a service) but that portion of the fee belongs primarily to the DBF.

There are provisions for fees to be waived, either in entirety or the DBF or PCC portion, in exceptional circumstances, but if the fees are duly collected then they must be allocated in accordance with the legislation.

• Table of parochial fees for 2024
  • Retired Ministers Funeral Fee – from 1st January, £99.50.
    (This is 80% of the funeral fee rounded up to the nearest 50p)
    Fee for casual duty £40 or a further service on the same day £20.
• Administration of Parochial Fees and Payments to Officiating Ministers (updated May 2024)
• Table of parochial fees for 2023, (updated for use from March 2023 onwards)
  • Retired Ministers Funeral Fee – between 1st January and 1st March, £99.50; from 1st March, £94.50.
    (This is 80% of the funeral fee rounded up to the nearest 50p)
  • Table of parochial fees for January and February 2023
• Table of parochial fees for 2022
• Summary of parochial fees for 2022
• Summary of parochial fees for 2021
• Form to record fees
• Form to record fees for parishes in vacancy
• Parochial fees and guidance (*CofE website)

Parish Buying

Hunting down the best value deals for your church isn’t always easy and takes time. That’s why the National Church and the dioceses set up the Parish Buying service, which makes use of the bulk buying power of the Church. There are also a range of buying guides available offering helpful tips and advice, all of which help parishes to not only save time and money, but also be better stewards in their spending.

• Website: parishbuying.org.uk
• Contact: support@parishbuying.org.uk or 0800 368 0887