
What is Lowest Income Communities (LInC) funding?
Created in 2017, the purpose of LInC funding is to support and develop mission in communities with the most deprived populations.
LInC funding is a critical part of the financial system both of the Church of England and of individual dioceses. It is distributed to dioceses as block funding, allocated based on the size and average income of their population, and modified to reflect the proportion of the population with the lowest incomes. The 28 dioceses who receive this block funding decide how best to support mission in low-income communities and estates.
How much LInC funding has been allocated?
National funding to support strategic mission and ministry, especially with young people and deprived communities, was increased by 30% from 2023. £99m has been allocated to funding lowest-income communities in 2023-25.
What is LInC used for?
The 2022 Independent Review highlighted that LInC funding supported 1,700 parishes, maintaining ‘a significant number of clergy posts in poorer parishes that would otherwise be lost.’
Amongst other recommendations, the review called for the following, which align well with the agreed LInC principles (shown in italics):
LInC funding is for lowest income communities. Communicate the extent to which LInC funding is sustaining mission and ministry in lowest income communities.
Supporting mission for lowest income communities. Align strategic funding and measures to support revitalisation and catalyse mission, to allow more strategic reporting for mission in LInC-funded parishes.
Transparency about the quantum of funds. Effective deployment of and accountability for LInC funding is enhanced when dioceses explain not just to the national church but also their own synods and stakeholders how resources are allocated and used.
Is the £99m the only funding for lowest-income communities?
No. LInC funding represents only a part of the Church’s funding for lowest-income communities. It underpins other national funding through the Diocesan Investment Programme (£340 M), the purpose of which is to enable the Church’s Vision and Strategy become a reality in local churches. This is biased towards low-income communities, and is used alongside dioceses’ and parishes’ own funding for mission and ministry in deprived communities.
Lowest Income Communities
Allocation formula
The allocation method begins by assessing the average income of the residents of each diocese. The funding goes to dioceses whose residents have an income below the national average.
Some dioceses have greater extremes of wealth than others. The allocation method therefore modifies the average income figure by taking income deprivation into account. This is done by counting all the people who are reliant on the government for a basic income. If two dioceses have similar average income figures, the one with more people in income deprivation will receive more funding. The method also ensures that every individual with a low income affects the calculation, no matter how small or large the pocket of deprivation.
The allocation method then takes into account the total number of people in each diocese. This means that individuals are treated equally. It does not matter where they live or how close they are to a church building. Their religion, age and other factors do not matter.
The calculation therefore depends on a diocese's population and its average income, as modified by the number of people in income deprivation. We only give funding to those dioceses with below average incomes, modified by income deprivation. It is focused on the dioceses who most need help to support mission in the communities with the lowest incomes.
This parish map shows census information and deprivation data for Church of England parishes.