PCC Resources

Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) are charities, and their members are Charity Trustees. In this section, we direct you to some resources to help PCCs and their members.

Policies, procedures and risk assessment template for PCCs

Following a presentation by the Archdeacons at Diocesan Synod in March 2025, Incumbents, PCC Secretaries and Churchwardens have been emailed a comprehensive list of Policies, Procedures and Risk Assessment templates for use by the PCC.

These documents are also included below.

PCC Resources and Policies (Archdeacon Pack)

If you have any questions, please do contact your respective Archdeacon.

Alex Hughes: archdeacon.cambridge@elydiocese.org
Richard Harlow: archdeacon.handw@elydiocese.org
Contact your Archdeacon's office

Disclaimer:
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure these template policies reflect current legislation and good practice, they are provided for general guidance only and must be adapted to suit the specific context and needs of each Parochial Church Council (PCC). These templates do not constitute legal advice. It is the responsibility of each PCC to ensure their adopted policies remain accurate, up to date, and fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations. The EDBF and Office for the Archdeacons accept no liability for any loss or issue arising from the use or adaptation of these templates.

Compliance Checklist

Working with the legal and safeguarding teams, The Parish Resources Team have produced a Checklist to help ensure you’re on top the key aspects of good governance and compliance.
Completing this could be done together as a PCC to build awareness of what is required, or led by one of the officers building input from others as necessary.

Data Protection & GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect in the UK from 25 May 2018.
Parishes must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, just like any other charity or organisation needs to.
The Parish Resources Team have produced guidance, templates and a checklist to help parishes implement this.
The Diocese of Ely website also has GDPR materials which can be found here.

Electoral Roll, APCMs and PCC Meetings and Prayer

Electoral Roll: Click here for the forms you need to revise your Electoral Roll and run the parish’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM).
PCC Meetings Template: Click here for a monthly Parish Parochial Church (PCC) meetings notice template. Please note the inclusion of the agenda on this document is optional.
PCC Meetings and Prayer: You would expect most PCC meetings to open with some form of prayer and to close with the Grace or something similar. But for many people the section in between opening and close is seen as merely a business meeting, not a prayer gathering or a worship service. These guidance notes for PCCs take a more carefully considered view and look at what should be happening in a church business meeting and, so, what part prayer might play in PCC proceedings. - Click here to view the draft guidance

Charity Registration

PCCs with annual incomes over £100,000 are required by law to register with the Charity Commission.
Click here for full guidance on the process for registering your PCC if your income is above this threshold.
For registered PCCs, the Parish esources Team also offer guidance on when you should show your registered status. Registered charities will also need to report serious incidents to the Charity Commission.

PCC Codes of Conduct for Members and Meetings

The Diocese of Ely has created a template "Example Code of Conduct for PCC Meetings" that you may find useful to adopt in your PCC. The document can be downloaded from the link below.

Governing Documents

Click here to find out more about the documents which set out governance arrangements for PCCs.

PCC Policies

You will need certain policies to ensure that you have the processes in place to manage potential issues, and that you’ve agreed as a Council how you will do this.
The policies that you will need will depend on your situation, but guidance is available on the Parish Resources website to help you with some of the common ones - click here to view these.

Relating Well Together

Pastoral principles into practice: to ensure the flourishing of all. A suite of template policies for Parishes to consider and adopt.

Good Practice with Reserves & Restricted Funds

The Parish resources team have produced a “Good Practice” guide to developing Reserves Policies. There is also a guide to Restricted Funds, and how parishes can manage these effectively.