A Diocesan Board of Finance, often abbreviated to DBF, is an institution of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

which owns land and controls a number of financial matters in each of the Church's

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s. Such Boards have existed in every diocese of the Church since 1926, their creation having been required by the Diocesan Boards of Finance Measure 1925, a

Measure Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Mea ...

passed by the National Assembly of the Church of England "to make provision for the Powers, Duties and Constitution of Diocesan Boards of Finance". However, some were established before that, by local initiatives. A Diocesan Board of Finance is constituted by the Diocesan Synod and must be incorporated as a company under the Companies Acts. It must be registered under the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The Act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largely ...

, and also as a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

. For example,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

DBF was incorporated in 1882 and established as a charity in 1923. As laid down by the Diocesan Stipends Funds Measure 1953, one function of a Diocesan Board of Finance is to maintain a capital account and an income account for the diocesan stipends fund. By virtue of the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976, with effect from 1 April 1978 all glebe land of the Church of England, which until then had belonged to the individual incumbents of

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s, became vested "without any conveyance or other assurance" in the Diocesan Board of Finance of the diocese to which the benefice belonged, even if the land was in another diocese. The case of Fraser and another v. Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance 005UKHL 65, decided by the

Appellate Committee of the House of Lords Whilst the House of Lords of the United Kingdom is the upper chamber of Parliament and has government ministers, it for many centuries had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachments, ...

in October 2005, concerned land in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

given for a school site in 1866, under the

Schools Sites Act 1841 The Schools Sites Act of 1841 ( 4 & 5 Vict. c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the long title of which is ''An Act to afford further Facilities for the Conveyance and Endowment of Sites for Schools'') which allowed land ...

. The Diocesan Board of Finance argued that it was entitled to keep the sale proceeds for its own purposes, as any claim for return of the land was statute barred. However,

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead Donald James Nicholls, Baron Nicholls of Birkenhead, (25 January 1933 – 25 September 2019) was a British barrister who became a Law Lord (Lord of Appeal in Ordinary). Biography Nicholls was educated at Birkenhead School, before readin ...

Lord Hoffmann Leonard Hubert "Lennie" Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann (born 8 May 1934) is a retired senior South African–British judge. He served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1995 to 2009. Well known for his lively decisions and willingness to break ...

Lord Hope of Craighead James Arthur David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, (born 27 June 1938) is a retired Scottish judge who served as the first Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2009 until his retirement in 2013, having previously b ...

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe Robert Walker, Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe , (born 17 March 1938) is an English barrister and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He also serves as a Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong), Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong K ...

, and Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood all found against the Diocesan Board of Finance and ordered that it must return the proceeds of the sale to the heirs of the original donors.Fraser and another v. Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance 2005 UKHL 65
publications.parliament.uk, accessed 12 September 2022

Notes

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External links

Diocesan Boards of Finance: Conflicts of Interest
churchofengland.org
Sale of land by Diocesan Boards of Finance and Parochial Church Councils
Guidance of the Legal Office of the National Church Institutions Church of England