Much of the following information has been taken from the National Readers' Website.

"Readers in the Church of England are lay people called by God, trained, and licensed by their Bishop. They lead worship, preach and teach about Jesus and the Christian faith, and encourage effective pastoral care and evangelistic ministry. Over 10,000 Readers - men and women - are a major resource within the Church. "
+ The Rt. Revd Christopher Mayfield, Bishop of Manchester
Chair of the Central Readers Council

The Office of a Reader is a very ancient one. There are now about the same number of active Readers in the Church of England as there are full-time clergy. Readers have a unique place in the life of the church. They, with Church Army Officers, are the only lay-people licensed under Canon to preach and lead worship. The Reader’s licence sets out the areas of ministry which they are permitted to do, in leading worship, preaching, teaching and a wide variety of pastoral work.
Readers come from every walk of life and men and women are represented more or less in equal numbers. Those admitted as Readers have to be baptised and confirmed members of the Church of England, and regular communicants.
The Reader serves within the team of ministry both in the parish and in the deanery, and brings to the ministry the insights of one who is actively involved as a Christian in the life of the world.

Readers and Other Ministries
For over a hundred years Readers and Church Army officers have been the only lay people authorised by Canon Law to lead worship, preach, teach and do pastoral work. Some would have a mainly liturgical role, some would concentrate on teaching, and others might spend most of their time visiting and caring for people in a pastoral role, perhaps only preaching three or four times a year. However in the last quarter of a century other lay ministries have emerged. Many dioceses began to train people specifically for pastoral work in parishes - in some places the training is partly shared with people expecting to become Readers, in others it is quite separate. As the ministry of pastoral assistants, or pastoral auxiliaries, grew, new Readers were mainly people whose ministry was particularly focused on preaching, teaching and leading worship.
In recent years there have been further developments: lay evangelists are being trained and then commissioned by their diocesan bishop; communion assistants are authorised to help with the administration of consecrated elements at or after Holy Communion services. These are in addition to churchwardens, the statutory bishops’ officers in each parish, with an administrative function which includes seeing that worship takes place regularly and in good order - and, if need be, in the absence of a minister, themselves reading Morning or Evening Prayer.
In nearly twenty dioceses local ministry teams are being developed with a group of people identified from within the congregation(s) training together to form an authorised team of lay and ordained ministers. Some members may be trained as Readers, while others will have a specifically pastoral role and existing Readers may be incorporated into such teams
Where there are Non-Stipendiary or Ordained Local Ministers in a parish Readers still have an important part to play as the distinctive lay ministry in the place, working alongside and to complement ordained ministers.