Pastoral Measure 1983 (repealed)

44 Appointment of Redundant Churches Fund. E

(1) There shall be a body corporate, to be called the Redundant Churches Fund, with perpetual succession and a common seal.

(2) The Redundant Churches Fund shall consist of a chairman and not less than four nor more than six other members, and the chairman and other members shall be appointed by Her Majesty, and before any such appointment the advice of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York shall be submitted to Her Majesty through the Prime Minister.

(3) Paragraphs 13 to 15 of Schedule 5 shall apply to the constitution and procedure of the Redundant Church Fund.

(4) The Redundant Churches Fund shall have as its object the preservation, in the interests of the nation and the Church of England, of churches and parts of churches of historic and archaeological interest or architectural quality vested in the Fund by this Part, together with their contents so vested.

(5) The Redundant Churches Fund shall have power—

(a) to hold and manage all churches and parts of churches and other property vested in the Fund by this Part and, in particular, to carry out all necessary works of maintenance and repair in respect of that property;

(b) to permit the occasional use of property, or to grant a licence permitting the temporary use of property, vested in the Fund for purposes considered by the Fund to be suitable and, in any case, either without charge or on payment of a fee;

(c) to charge entrance fees for admission to any such property, to raise money by public subscription and appeals, and to accept gifts and bequests either for the general purposes of the Fund or on specific trusts for purposes falling within the general purposes;

(d) to administer all sums coming into its hands and to invest as hereinafter provided any sums not immediately required for the purposes of the Fund;

(e) to appoint a secretary and such other officers and agents as the Fund considers necessary for the proper discharge of its duties;

(f) to delegate functions to local trustees or bodies.

(6) The powers to invest any such sums as aforesaid shall be those conferred by the general law on trustees of trust funds, and shall also include power to invest in accordance with the scheme scheduled to the M1 Church Funds Investment Measure 1958, as if the sums were funds to which that Measure applied.

(7) The power of the Redundant Churches Fund to permit the occasional use of property vested in the Fund shall include power to permit such occasional worship (including worship by persons belonging to other Christian Churches) in a church or part of a church vested in the Fund as may be authorised by the bishop after consulting the incumbent or priest in charge of the benefice in the area of which the property is situated.

(8) The Redundant Churches Fund may contribute to the cost of the care and maintenance of a church or part of a church vested in a diocesan board of finance under this Part pending the making or coming into operation of arrangements under a redundancy scheme.

(9) All expenditure of the Redundant Churches Fund shall be defrayed out of the sums in its hands, and the Fund shall keep the Advisory Board and the Commissioners informed of its financial position.

(10) The Commissioners may make grants out of their general fund in respect of the expenditure of the Redundant Churches Fund:

Provided that the total amount of the grants made in any five year period (calculated in accordance with section 52(2)) shall not exceed the figure determined in respect of that period in accordance with section 53.

(11) The Redundant Churches Fund shall, as soon as possible after the end of each calendar year, transmit a copy of its accounts for that year and a report on its proceedings during that year to the Commissioners and to the Advisory Board.

(12) The Commissioners shall transmit copies of the said accounts and report to the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary General of the General Synod and the Secretary of State shall lay copies thereof before both Houses of Parliament and the Secretary General of the General Synod shall lay copies thereof before the General Synod.

Marginal Citations

M1 1958 No. 1