A report prepared for the Church of England says dioceses need to cut spending, and recommends cuts in clergy and lay staffing. The recession is in part to blame.
The Times:
A report on finances has found that a quarter of all 44 dioceses are running deficits and plundering reserves to pay stipends and pensions. A similar proportion has liquid reserves to last them one month or less.
High staffing levels of clegy and laity are highlighted. The Church of England spends £1 billion a year in salaries and pensions for clergy as well as the upkeep of its buildings, an amount roughly matched by donations from parishes. But rising pension costs mean that every year churchgoers are asked to increase donations. The report, commissioned to help churches to improve “efficiency and effectiveness”, suggests that finances are so finely balanced in some areas that parishoners will have to dig even deeper or face cuts in provision. “Cuts are not inevitable, but are an option that needs to be thought through,” said Paul Gibson, of the accountant Mazars, and the report’s author.
The study of 42 dioceses found that although the Church has assets valued at £3.5 billion, its cashflow is parlous. Between them the dioceses had an income of £388 million in 2008 and spent £384 million. While some are extremely wealthy, 14 dioceses are running deficits.
Read it here.
The diocese of Bath and Wells is one example:
The diocese hopes that the firesale of some of its historic assets will enable it to eliminate its deficits by 2016. However, it faces a more intractable problem: its unusually high number of clergy.
It has brought down clergy numbers through natural wastage from 211 in 2007 to 194, but it needs to lose a further 18 to meet its target of 176. “It is a bit of a problem,” said Prebendary John Andrews, the diocesan spokesman.
…in typical British understatement?