In March 2022, an Independent Review of Lowest Income Communities Funding and Strategic Development Funding was published. This review was chaired by Sir Robert Chote, who presented the review to the General Synod in July 2022. At that group of sessions, the General Synod passed a motion requesting the commissioning of a follow-up independent review to be completed before the July 2024 group of sessions. This review will be commissioned as requested in the motion.

The original Chote review, with the response, can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/gs-2261-review-of-sdf-and-linc-funding.pdf

The motion passed by General Synod in July 2022 can be found here (Item 70 on page 14): https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/business-done-consolidated.pdf

The Independent Review of Lowest Income Communities Funding and Strategic Development Funding led by Sir Robert Chote was published in March 2022 and can be read here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/irls-final-report-2.pdf

In respect of meeting the objective of assisting clergy and parishes in hardest to reach communities the Review recommended:

• Recommendation 2 - "Refocusing annual returns … towards more strategic reporting".
• Recommendation 3 - asked staff to "identify and promote best practice … perhaps convening a learning symposium".
• Recommendation 5 – asked staff to "communicate more clearly the extent to which LInC funding is sustaining ministry".

The action taken so far by the Archbishops' Council's Vision and Strategy team in response to those recommendations has been to:

• Raise the profile of LInC funding within ongoing strategic conversations between its staff and diocesan teams, as part of dioceses' strategic development processes, with the aim of improving its effectiveness.
• Ask dioceses to give information about the intended outcomes from their planned use of LInC funding, together with how they will be measured, as part of their annual return on LInC funding for 2022.
• Plan a learning event to bring together diocesan representatives to share and develop their approaches on the use of LInC funding, aiming to improve the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of LInC funding.

From the start of 2023, the new Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB), a committee of the Archbishops' Council, has replaced the previous Strategic Investment Board and Strategic Ministry Board. It distributes and monitors funds made available by the Church Commissioners and Archbishops' Council via LInC, SDF, and other similar funds.

More information about the role the SMMIB plays can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/press-releases/new-board-oversee-unprecedented-church-england-investment-mission-and

Thy Kingdom Come is an ecumenical prayer movement started by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2017, which has grown into an annual global movement of prayer. It is supported by His Holiness the Pope and in 2018 over 65 different denominations and traditions held events across 114 countries. Major beacon events took place in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. More information can be found here: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/

Events take the form of large public gatherings, community prayer walks, meals and picnics in churches or parks. They bring together people from different traditions and denominations across all parts of the local community.

In Northern Ireland, both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland Archbishops of Armagh issued a joint statement to support events taking place in St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast, St Macartin’s Cathedral Enniskillen, and St Mark’s Church Armagh. Their message can be read here: https://www.ireland.anglican.org/news/8866/joint-message-from-archbishop-eamon

In County Londonderry, there were three events which saw churches of different denominations gather for prayer. Those that gathered came together and prayed for their local communities, schools, businesses and community projects, and that the Church be a point of unity and light.