Church of England to pump £3.6bn into parishes and fund more social action

Money will support projects such as food banks, as church seeks to raise its game in its service to the nation'

The Church of England is to pump 3.6bn into its 12,500 parishes over the next nine years in a bid to halt its decline by increasing mission activity" among young people and disadvantaged communities.

The money - a 30% increase in funding from the church commissioners, who look after the C of E's central assets - will support social action projects such as food banks, and help the church achieve its target to be carbon net zero by 2030.