Diocesan Synod meeting 2 November 2013 Paper 1

2014 Budget

1.Consultation process

Following an initial consultation with deaneries on the broad principles that might underpin the budget for 2014, the Bishop’s Council received and considered the comments for their July meeting and then directed the officers to draw up a detailed draft budget for formal consultation over the summer.

A consultation meeting was chaired in their areas by each of the Archdeacons with local presentations giving examples of the real difference our money makes. This was followed by a financial presentation and a time for questions/comments. The new video on what parish share pays for was also premiered before being put on the diocesan website.

Parishes were invited to return a response form to the Diocesan Secretary by 10 October. 40% of parishes did so (against 60% in 2012 for the 2013 consultation). A paper summarising the consultation responses was then prepared for the Diocesan Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday 16 October.

The Bishop’s Council met on 22 October, considered the responses from each parish and from whole deaneries where these had been submitted, including responses received late for the DFC but before the Council meeting. They also had regard to the recommendations of the Diocesan Finance Committee (Annex 1).

3. Final draft budget directive

The Bishop’s Council debated the final budget provision at length. They had sight of every comment and preference expressed.

Key points considered from the consultation were:

  1. A very clear majority of parishes (70% of responses) had indicated by expressing a preference for options 1, 2, or 4 the acceptance of at least 1.7% increase in parish share in 2014.
  1. Just under half of parishes (48% of responses) indicated a willingness to support an increase in parochial clergy (options 2 and 4).
  1. Just over half of parishes (56% of responses) expressed a wish for central reserves to be used to underpin the 2014 budget (options 3 and 4).
  1. A significant number (44% as at the date of this paper) of parishes did not respond to the consultation.

During the Bishop’s Council deliberations the following points were also noted:

  • The call for use of some centrally held reserves was heard, as was the indication from a significant number of parishes that their local reserves were depleting.A forward look indicated that an increase in clergy pension contributions in 2015, coupled with a known decrease in grant funding from the national church, meant further likely increases over and above inflation in 2015 and beyond. The Council therefore decided not to plan for use of central reserves in 2014 but hold use of reserves as an option for 2015 and beyond.
  • The Council acknowledged the pain in parishes regarding affordability and have asked for further work to be done on this. The appointment of a Stewardship Adviser alongside the work of the Mission Development Officer it was hoped would assist parishes to turn difficult funding situations around.
  • The Council celebrated the commitment of parishes to funding additional parochial clergy even in these straitened times. Bishop Christopher indicated that he would not consider deployment of additional clergy at this time and that there were no firm plans on how any additional clergy would be deployed other than that new housing areas should be a priority. The Bishop warmly welcomed the expressed support for additional parochial clergy which could inform future Mission planning.
  • The Council recognised the need constantly to work at good communication and committed itself to review the current consultation arrangements before embarking on consultations about the 2015 budget.

The Council, in the light of their considerations above,voted by an overwhelming majority (none against and with 3 abstentions) to submit the budget as drafted in July 2013 (paper 2) to the Diocesan Synod for their consideration of approval and authorisation of collection of the related parish share.

Paper 1,Annex 1

Diocesan Finance Committee reflections

The Diocesan Finance Committee noted that of the parishes that responded to the consultation, 80% had indicated that a rise of 1.7% in parish share was supportable. The DFC recognised that this was at variance with their own call (by a majority vote at their last meeting) to the Bishop’s Council for no increase in share for 2014.

The DFC further noted that no response from a parish was most likely to be an indication of broad acceptance of the main draft budget proposed by the Council. They also noted the enthusiasm expressed by half the responding parishes for additional parochial clergy and the apparent acceptance of the financial consequences this would bring to the budget.

The DFC considered the use of reserves and did not reach an agreed recommendation for Council. However they did agree that the need for the use of reserves was likely to be more acute in 2015 and beyond than it was for 2014.

The committee reflected at length on the medium to long term potential sustainability of parishes and their finances and recorded their advice that the Council should have regard to the number of parishes reducing their own reserves and consider how future policy and budgeting might respond to this challenge. Some members considered that there was a need to budget for reducing demands, while others championed the need to take a more positive view that Ministry for Mission would bear fruit in due season.

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