The report of this group Readers And Sub-Deacons - Report And Resolutions Of The Joint Committee Of The Convocation Of Canterbury Appointed To Consider The Question Of Restoring An Order Of Readers Or Sub-Deacons In The Church which emerged in 1908 became the major foundational reference document for Reader ministry in the Church of England because it provided the start point for the transformation of a fragmented movement which operated on the decisions of individual dioceses to a national body with its own central Organisation which was called the Central Readers' Board. This did not however lead to national uniformity because the diocesan structure of the Church of England meant the a large degree of autonomy remained with individual bishops which was reflected in the diocesan Readers' associations, the educational requirements for candidates, the training syllabus, the method of training and the range of functions that were included in the licence.

The diocesan autonomy was symbolically acknowledged by the CRB in 1925 when it decided that the distinctive mark of a Reader should be a badge which was individually designed for each diocese and reflected different features of Reader ministry. Two examples are Leicester diocese which focused on the diocesan association and Birmingham which used a broader symbolism which combined the diocese, the title 'Lay Reader' and the centrality of the scriptures.