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GENERAL SYNOD Report of the Clergy Remuneration Review

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GENERAL SYNOD Report of the Clergy Remuneration Review GS Misc 1298 GENERAL SYNOD Report of the Clergy Remuneration Review 1. The report of the Clergy Remuneration Review is attached and commended to the Church for discussion. 2. Given the need for a slimmed down agenda for the online Synod, the Business Committee has withdrawn this item from the agenda for this session of Synod, as it was considered to be one of the items better suited to a face- to-face meeting. It is hoped that the report will now be discussed early within the life of the new Synod, at a group of sessions to be determined by the Business Committee. 3. We nevertheless considered that it was still right to issue and publish the report now, and that it would be helpful for the Church to read and discuss it in advance of that future Synod debate. The report is therefore being circulated as a consultation document for the Church and we would welcome reactions. 4. It would be particularly helpful to receive comments on the recommendations made and priorities for implementation. In particular: • Does the report provide the necessary information to enable the Church to have a discussion about the direction of clergy remuneration policy over the next decade? • What are the key learning points from the survey of clergy and the diocesan consultation to inform the direction of clergy remuneration policy over the next ten years? • What are the key recommendations to take forward? What would make the most difference? • Given the existing financial constraints and current context, are there other recommendations that you consider should have been included? 5. There will be an opportunity for the current House of Clergy to have a briefing session and discussion on the report when they meet on 1 July. However, comments are invited from all three houses of Synod and more widely. 6. Submissions on the report can be made by email ([email protected]). Please ensure that they are submitted by 1 October 2021. Report of the Review of Clergy Remuneration 2020–21 EVOLVING CLERGY REMUNERATION TO SUPPORT 21ST-CENTURY MINISTRY Contents CHAPTERS Foreword ....................................................................................................... 3 1. Executive summary ..................................................................................4 2. Broad introduction and work done ........................................................ 10 3. Clergy remuneration in context .............................................................. 14 4. What is the clergy remuneration package and how has its value been estimated?.............................................................................................. 20 5. Principles behind clergy remuneration.................................................. 29 6. Listening to clergy perspectives on the package and their financial wellbeing ................................................................................................ 36 7. Diocesan perspectives on the clergy remuneration package ................. 49 8. Assessment of the elements of the package ......................................... 56 9. Recommendations ................................................................................. 78 ANNEXES 1. Changes in stipends and pensions over the last 20 years ..................... 84 2. The approach taken to estimate the value of the package ................... 89 3. Other ideas considered and rejected ..................................................... 91 4. Findings from the clergy survey, focus groups and Living Ministry research .................................................................................................. 96 5. Findings from the diocesan consultation ............................................... 97 6. Other Churches’ remuneration ............................................................. 98 7. Sources of clergy assistance ................................................................. 102 8. Glossary ................................................................................................105 9. Membership of the Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee (RACSC) and acknowledgements ...................................... 107 Foreword The last eighteen months have been a period of substantial challenges both for the Church and for individual clergy. The pandemic has intensified existing challenges — and opened doors to new forms of ministry, such as enabling worship to take place online and sustaining pastoral contact during lockdown. During this period, clergy have been at the forefront of innovation, sustained pastoral care, and served their communities. We have been reminded how flourishing clergy are key to a flourishing church. Sustaining morale in the face of these challenges is vital. It is important to support those clergy who are facing financial hardship and feeling anxious about their financial wellbeing and retirement income, and to reassure them of the Church’s commitment in future to preserving the value of their remuneration. I express thanks The Rt Revd Richard Jackson for the work of all the Church’s ministers during the pandemic — paid and Bishop of Hereford unpaid, ordained and lay. This report represents the outcome of a significant project to review one aspect of how clergy are encouraged and supported, namely their stipend and remuneration package comprising defined benefit (DB) pension and house provided for the better performance of their duties. The last time this was reviewed was nearly twenty years ago in 2001. Sadly, and possibly for good reasons at each stage, some of the aspirations of that report have been revealed in hindsight to have been overambitious. We acknowledge that the value of the package has declined in real terms in that time. We also recognise that an appropriate and affordable package will be more than adequate for some and a struggle for others. The pandemic has brought additional challenges to affordability. Balancing the conflicting demands of affordability and appropriateness has been a challenging task in these straitened times. I pay particular tribute to fellow members of the committee, its previous Chair, +Christopher Foster and most of all Patrick Shorrock and Kevin Norris (members of the Clergy HR Team at the National Church Institutions), who have provided exemplary support to us in our work. We have sought to make recommendations which help to ensure an appropriate and sustainable package for the future, and to develop clergy financial confidence and resilience in the context of significant financial constraints and a period of transition and change. Our targeted proposed recommendations aim to bring improvements to the package and assistance for those clergy who are facing hardship, without increasing the overall cost of the clergy remuneration. We commend this report to the Church. The Rt Revd Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford Chair of the Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee (RACSC) Report of the Review of Clergy Remuneration 2020–21 3 Chapter One Executive summary 1. Executive summary 1.1 RACSC was commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council to carry out a review to assess the adequacy, appropriateness, affordability, and sus- tainability of the clergy remuneration package, following a request by the House of Clergy. 1.2 The review considered the various elements of the package; stipend, pension, housing provided for the better performance of duty and additional benefits (including the payment of Council Tax and water charges) with reference to the following strategic aims: • Underpinning the attraction and retention of a diverse range of clergy, recognising that the strong emphasis on vocation means that secular notions of reward do not apply in the same way, as clergy are not primarily motivated by financial considerations; • Effective clergy deployment; • Affordability — underpinning the financial health and sustainability of the Church; • Identifying financial hardship, its causes and potential solutions; • Supporting clergy in retirement; • Supporting clergy wellbeing and morale (mindful of the Clergy Covenant for Care and Wellbeing). 1.3 The review took place in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are conscious of the financial challenges for the Church as a result of the pandemic and also of the impact of the pandemic on the well- being and morale of clergy. However, we have also sought to take a longer-term view of clergy remuneration, as the pandemic — as well as bringing issues of its own — has intensified existing pressures which the review needs to address. 1.4 It was not within the scope of the review to commission new theo- logical work on clergy remuneration. We took as a starting point the theological work carried out as part of the last major review of clergy remuneration Generosity and Sacrifice,1 whilst updating some of the underlying principles. We suggest that the primary considerations when assessing clergy terms and conditions (including remuneration) should be that: • They enable clergy to flourish in their ministry without undue financial anxiety or hardship; 1 GS 1408A “Generosity and Sacrifice: The report of the Clergy Stipends Review Group”, Church House Publishing (2001). Report of the Review of Clergy Remuneration 2020–21 5 • They support the Church’s mission and strategic aims; • They are appropriate for the requirements of the particular role; • They are affordable and sustainable in the long term. 1.5 We carried out a survey of clergy that was completed by over 3,700 clergy, as well
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