LANCASTER ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESAN TRUST

Registered charity 234331 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as DIOCESE OF LANCASTER, LANCASTER ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESAN TRUSTEES REGISTERED

The principal aim of the charity is the furtherance of the Roman Catholic religion within the geographical boundaries of the Diocese of Lancaster. This includes but not limited to pastoral support for clergy and parishioners, educational support, relief of poverty and maintenance of the property of the charity.

Objects

(1) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF CHURCHES PUBLIC CHAPELS AND PRESBYTERIES BELONGING TO OR CONNECTED WITH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE(2) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND CARRYING ON OF THE RELIGIOUS SERVICES OF THE SAID CHURCH IN SUCH CHURCHES AND PUBLIC CHAPELS OR OTHERS OF A LIKE CHARACTER(3) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF HOUSES OF STUDY HALLS AND COLLEGES FOR THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF PRIESTS AND PERSONS DESIROUS OF BECOMING PRIESTS OF THE SAID CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE OR ELSEWHERE(4) THE MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF AND THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL AND SURGICAL AID FOR INFIRM AND AGED PRIESTS AND CLERICS OF THE SAID CHURCH AND THE BURIAL OF DECEASED PRIESTS AND CLERICS OF THE SAID CHURCH(5) THE PROVISION OF NECESSARY HOLIDAYS AND REST FOR PRIESTS AND CLERICS OF THE SAID CHURCH ENGAGED IN ACTIVE WORK IN THE DIOCESE FOR THE PURPOSES THEREOF BUT SO THAT CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE TRUSTEES UNDER THIS AND THE PRECEDING SUB-CLAUSE SHALL BE MADE ONLY TO OR IN RESPECT OF PERSONS WHOSE OWN MEANS (IF ANY) ARE IN THE OPINION OF THE TRUSTEES INADEQUATE FOR SUCH PURPOSES(6) THE RELIEF OF POOR PERSONS PROFESSING THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION IN THE DIOCESE OR NEARLY RELATED TO PRIESTS OR CLERICS OF THE SAID CHURCH(7) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES FOR THE GENERAL EDUCATION BOTH RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR OR RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS MEMBERS OF THE SAID CHURCH(8) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF HOUSES OF RESIDENCE FOR TEACHERS AND FOR STUDENTS IN ANY SUCH HOUSES OF STUDY HALLS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES AS AFORESAID(9) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF HOMES FOR INFIRM AND AGED PRIESTS AND CLERICS OF THE SAID CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE BEING IN THE OPINION OF THE TRUSTEES WITHOUT ADEQUATE MEANS OF SUPPORT AND OF ALMSHOUSES FOR INFIRM AND AGED POOR PERSONS BEING MEMBERS OF THE SAID CHURCH(10) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF CEMETERIES OR BURYING PLACES FOR THE INTERMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE SAID CHURCH(11) THE PROVISION MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF PARISH ROOMS AND HALLS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH CHURCHES OR CHAPELS AS AFORESAID TO BE USED FOR THE CONSERVATION AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION IN THE DIOCESE OR OTHERWISE FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT EDUCATION AND RELIGIOUS AND MORAL BENEFIT OF MEMBERS OF THE SAID CHURCH IN THE DIOCESE(12) THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF HOSPITALS AND SANATORIA FOR POOR MEMBERS OF THE SAID CHURCH(13) THE ACQUISITION OF SITES FOR AND OF GROUND TO BE HELD WITH BUILDINGS FOR ANY OF THE PURPOSES AFORESAID AND THE ERECTION RESTORING ALTERING ENLARGING MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING OF ANY BUILDINGS FOR ANY SUCH PURPOSES AND THE LAYING OUT MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF GROUNDS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH BUILDINGS(14) GENERALLY FOR ANY SUCH CHARITABLE PURPOSE OR PURPOSES AS IN THE OPINION OF THE BISHOP MAY BE CONDUCIVE TO THE ADVANCEMENT OR MAINTENANCE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION IN THE DIOCESE(15) SUCH CHARITABLE PURPOSES AS SHALL ADVANCE THE RELIGIOUS AND OTHER CHARITABLE WORK OF THE DIOCESE AS THE TRUSTEES WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE BISHOP SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME THINK FIT AND IF AT ANY TIME THE DIOCESE SHALL CEASE TO EXIST OR THERE SHALL CEASE TO BE ANY RELIGIOUS OR OTHER CHARITABLE WORK CARRIED ON BY THE DIOCESE THEN FOR SUCH OTHER LAWFUL CHARITABLE PURPOSES CONNECTED WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL DETERMINE

Area of benefit: ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF LANCASTER

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Overseas Aid/famine Relief · Accommodation/housing · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Lancaster, North West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a deficit on activities of £74k for the year, with total incoming resources of £10.15m and resources expended of £10.2m. The trustees confirm that resources are adequate to meet future liabilities, noting sufficient incoming resources and assets despite a decrease in the market value of investments.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by MHA. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

• Employees paid over £60,000: 2 (FY2024) → 1 (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Trading subsidiary: ST.KENTIGERN'S PARISH CENTRE LIMITED Companies House 03414088

Leadership, per the charity’s website

• Paul Swarbrick — Bishop of Lancaster (source)
• Paul Embery — Vicar General and Chancellor (source)
• Hugh Pollock — Vicar General (source)
• Philip Conner — Episcopal Vicar for Clergy (source)
• Michael Docherty — Episcopal Vicar for Education and Formation (source)
• Andrew Dawson — Financial Administrator and Chair of Finance Subcommittee (source)
• Nikki Wisdom — Trustee / Safeguarding Sub-Committee Chair (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 05/04/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~5.1 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 5.9% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.7%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (01/10/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (28/03/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (27/01/2014) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Rev Paul Swarbrickchair · trustee of 2 other charities
• Alan Woowat
• David MacKay
• Martin Callagher
• Nikki Wisdom
• Rev Andrew Mark Preston Dawson
• Rev Michael Docherty
• Rev Paul Embery · trustee of 1 other charity
• Susan Louise Greenwood

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Cumbria · Lancashire

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with LEEDS DIOCESAN TRUST.

• LEEDS DIOCESAN TRUST income £13.3m
• THE LINCOLN DIOCESAN TRUST AND BOARD OF FINANCE LTD income £11.1m
• CHARITY FOR ROMAN CATHOLIC PURPOSES ADMINISTERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONGREGATION OF THE FRANCISCAN MISSIONARY SISTERS (LITTLEHAMPTON) income £2.4m
• LATYMER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP TRUST income £104k
• PLYMOUTH DIOCESAN TRUST income £7.6m
• WREXHAM DIOCESAN TRUST income £3.3m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.