Synod to discuss boosting income

The issue of woman bishops has divided the Church

The Church of England's governing body is due to meet in York to discuss ways of boosting its income.

The general synod will look at how to persuade parishioners to increase the amount they put in the collection plate from 3% to at least 5% of their wage.

Another proposal is to save money by reducing the number of bishops.

The recession has reduced income from the Church's investments while it faces increasing demands on its pension funds from increasingly long-lived clergy.

Backers of the proposal to reduce the number of bishops and other senior staff say the Church hierarchy has become too top-heavy.

They also point out that while the number of senior staff has hardly changed in the last 50 years, the number of ordinary clergy has almost halved.

They suggest teams of parish clergy could share some of the work currently carried out by bishops.

The general synod, which is effectively the Church's parliament, will be held at the University of York.

Each synod is elected for five years and there are 482 members divided into three houses: bishops, clergy, laity.

The last synod in February focused on the recession and controversial new rules on women bishops.