At a press briefing yesterday in Church House, London, Professor Anthony Mellows, Emeritus Professor of Law at King's College in the University of London, spoke about his second report to the Church of England, Resourcing Archbishops. The Review Group, which was chaired by Professor Mellows, has made over 170 detailed recommendations regarding how their establishments should be funded, their staff organised and their residences managed in support of their ministries. The report was initiated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

Possibly one of the most significant suggestions in the report is that Lambeth Palace - home to the Archbishop of Canterbury, his family, and many of his staff - should be let out commercially for the first time. This would generate enough income for the Palace to be self-supporting in terms of maintenance and development and would allow for a reorganisation of space, giving the Archbishop of Canterbury a greater degree of privacy. It has also been suggested that a similar course of action be taken with Bishopthorpe Palace, home to the Archbishop of York.

Further concerns regarding location were raised in relation to the Anglican Communion Office, which is currently situated on Waterloo Road. Professor Mellows suggests that "in the event of adequate space becoming available, the Anglican Communion Office should be relocated to Lambeth Palace. There would be clear operational advantages in doing so…" There would certainly be an improved degree of integration and progress in co-ordination between both staffs, but there are many other aspects that would need to be explored in great detail before a firm decision was made.

Whilst talking to Professor Mellows in the early stages of discussions concerning the report, both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York were eager for it to be taken seriously. Reports from Church House suggest that they are very satisfied with the degree of energy and care that has been put in.

They commented, "We are immensely grateful to Professor Mellows and his colleagues for their latest report. They have produced, as we expected, a stimulating and challenging piece of work that we shall wish to study with the care and attention it deserves.

"In the life of the Church that is 'episcopally led', the work of archbishops and their brother bishops must be central. Professor Mellows and his colleagues have helped to bring fresh perspectives to our understanding of that reality and for that too we are immensely grateful."

The report is extremely sympathetic to the evolution of the Archbishops' role and the transformation in the workload - even during the last 100 years - and has been welcomed in respect of its fresh insight into the traditionalistic structures that pervade.

The report states, "It is important that the provision of resources provided for the Archbishop is sufficiently flexible to adjust easily to the changing demands of an evolving ministry."

The full extent of the outcome will depend very much upon the outlook of the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Matthew Davies