Report warns Church of England faces financial collapse over climate and reparations schemes

A recently published report warns that the Church of England is on a trajectory toward financial disaster, attributing the strain to expensive climate-action targets and a £100 million reparations fund called Project Spire. Authors Canon Robin Gill and Professor John Craven highlight that 37 of the 42 dioceses now operate with budget deficits, a figure that has more than doubled since 2019. They criticize the net-zero carbon programme, which pledged £190 million for eco-upgrades, and the reparations fund as “extravagant” and unsustainable, noting that many parishioners feel cold in poorly heated buildings.

The study also documents an 80 % increase in diocesan administrative staff since 2005, while the number of active clergy has fallen sharply, creating an imbalance that the authors deem “suicidal.” Legal opposition to Project Spire has been mounted by Rev Jamie Franklin of Holy Trinity, Winchester, and churchwarden Bijan Omrani of St Michael’s, Shute, Devon. The Church of England has responded by acknowledging the concerns, pointing to existing resource-sharing initiatives and the necessity of safeguarding positions, while the Church Commissioners reaffirm their commitment to both net-zero goals and the reparations fund.