Diocesan Synod met on Saturday to discuss and agree to a range of items including the LDBF budget, the Clergy Covenant, and a Code of Conduct for PCCs.
Following the Presidential Address from the Bishop of Warrington, members heard a report on the Lambeth conference which took members beyond the headlines to understand the depth and strength of the conversations that were held.
The first substantive motion for synod was regarding the clergy covenant for care and well-being. The covenant asks all to “work together to seek to coordinate and improve our approach to clergy care and wellbeing that ordained ministers flourish in their service of the mission of God within and beyond the Church”. The debate looked at the areas of support that exist for clergy in our diocese, recognised the pressure the laity are under, and committed to continue working to support clergy. The motion to accept the covenant and report back in a year was carried.
The second motion called for the diocese to adopt a draft code of conduct with PCCs being encouraged to discuss it at their first substantive meeting after each APCM. The code sets out the standards of behaviour PCC members should expect of themselves and one another in carrying out their role. It has simple measures for PCCs to follow for the benefit of all.
PCCs were encouraged to consider training and courses by CPAS and www.ai-cm.co.uk may help. As a diocese, we will explore what training we can offer.
The final sessions of synod concerned the accounts for 2021 and budget for 2023. Maggie Swinson explained how although in revenue terms the DBF essentially broke even in 2021 for more technical reasons the DBF accounts for 2021 show a surplus. Mike Eastwood reported that 2023 will be the second year of the current budget cycle (2022-24) and is set amidst an ever more challenging economic context. The most significant challenges are clergy stipends and Parish Share. With high inflation reducing the value of clergy stipends this creates real pressures on clergy living standards, financial well-being, and morale. Therefore, we are supporting a recommendation of a 5% uplift in clergy stipends from April 2023.
Meanwhile after two years of major additional support from the Church Commissioners through Parish Share Credit, and the DBF provision of Parish Share rebate, the net level of Parish Share request – a 1% increase – is significantly lower than that required to fund current Missional Leadership costs. Parish Share has, in effect, increased by just 1% in the 3 years of 2021 – 2023. But Parish Share collection rates remain a significant immediate challenge and longer-term concern based on current trends
The final challenge is the Brought forward 2022 deficit. Our fiscal rules require breakeven over each three-year cycle, but the current year predicted deficit of over £500k presents a serious challenge to this. There is no capacity to recover a deficit of this level over the period 2023-24, which indicates a likely breach of fiscal rules as things stand.
In 2023 we will only have a realistic chance of meeting the budget if Parish Share payments recover to pre-pandemic levels by the start of the year. If payment rates remain at the current level into next year, we would forecast a 2023 deficit of £940,000 and a cumulative loss over 2022-23 of £1,450,000.
This position would not be sustainable and we would not then be able to budget for 2024 on anything like the same set of assumptions that we have relied on previously. We have therefore begun conversations with the national church to see if we can obtain a different financial settlement. As a result of these ongoing uncertainties, the Finance Committee has determined that our current budget assumptions may no longer be viable and that 2023 may be the final year upon which we can rely on some key underpinning assumptions. As a result, we do not present an indicative budget for 2024 or a conclusion to the current three-year cycle.
The motion that this Synod (i) takes note of the update on the progress of the 2021 Report & Accounts: (ii) authorises the Finance Committee to approve the detail of the 2021 Report & Accounts on behalf of Synod; (iii) notes the financial performance for 2022 (iv) approves the 2023 budget was approved