David Lidington

The National Church Governance Project Board has held further detailed discussions on how a proposed new body bringing together many of the Church of England’s national administrative structures would operate.

At its October meeting the Board discussed details of a how network of committees could be set up to oversee and support the day-to-day work of the Church of England National Services. 
 
Members also discussed the future role of Lead Bishops – and how they would relate to the new body – as well as its relationship with the Church Commissioners.
 
Chaired by Sir David Lidington, the former Lord Chancellor (pictured), the board was set up earlier this year to take forward the work of the Governance Review Group which called for a shake-up of Church’s complex governance and structures to reduce bureaucracy and increase transparency. 
 
The Group’s report, discussed by General Synod in February, proposed bringing together much of the work currently overseen by a group of separate bodies collectively known as the National Church Institutions into a single organisation to be called the Church of England National Services (CENS).