BUDGET 2015
Resourcing Ministry for Mission
1.
Ministry for Mission
Budgeting is about allocating our resources, particularly financial, in the best way to
assist the flourishing of the Church within the Diocese.
Within that context it is worth reminding ourselves about the Diocese’s Ministry for
Mission:
We offer ourselves in partnership in God's mission to the local communities in southeast Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
We will structure the life of the Church:
•
to enable everyone to hear and experience the transforming power of the
gospel, which leads to spiritual and numerical growth.
•
to recognise that all baptised Christians have gifts and a vocation. We are
all ministers and we can all offer ministry.
•
to affirm that all ministry is collaborative, and we should work together,
clergy and lay people, across parish boundaries and with ecumenical
partners.
And the four key areas for strategic development are:
•
Called for Growth (vocation):
programmes of spiritual development for individuals and congregations, and
support for the discerning of vocations aim to help us perceive God’s calling in
others.
•
Trained for Growth (training and development):
a single continuum of training for all those involved in Christian ministry will be
delivered at local level. There will be emphasis on training and equipping of
leaders.
•
Structured for Growth (deployment):
our models of the Church will promote collaborative ministry, in groups, clusters
and teams, to help us understand our discipleship as a 24/7 reality. We will aim
for our diocesan structures to become more flexible to encourage growth.
•
Supported in Growth (mission support):
a ‘vitality audit’ of parishes or churches will focus on potential for development
and growth, alongside faithfulness. These will ask challenging questions, but also
help find the resources to secure appropriate ministry in that area.
2.
Feedback from Consultations
The feedback from the budget consultations held so far has been a strong steer to
set out a route to no overall increase in total Parish Share. The Bishop’s Council
have responded by directing that this consultation budget should be restricted and
commitments reduced to enable this to happen. This paper therefore summarises
how the Diocese’s budget is currently allocated and sets out proposals to maintain
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the overall level of Parish Share at the 2014 level. This is not a straightforward task
since the initial budget had an overall increase of 3.9%.
The proposals are to some extent short-term fixes which need to be replaced by a
longer-term planning. There are a number of important initiatives being taken
forward that will be important long-term financial sustainability. These include:
•
•
•
•
3.
Clergy Deployment
Mission support to Clergy and Parishes
Property
Stewardship development
Church Membership Trends
Overall, counts of weekly attendance indicate that church membership in the Diocese
of Portsmouth has been declining at about twice the national rate: National Church
statistics show from 2003 to 2012 average weekly attendance in the Diocese
reduced by 12% compared to the national reduction of 6.7%. Demographic patterns
(old congregations) means that this is unlikely to change in the medium-term
whatever we do: mortality will outpace new growth. The following graph is one for
the Church of England as a whole which extrapolates overall attendance levels over
the next fifty years based on three scenarios: the continuation of current recent
trends, no losses other than through death and with 3% growth.
Financially that means that costs are borne by fewer members. Up to now, reducing
membership numbers have been met by increasing giving. There is still much scope
for that, and separate work is in hand by the Stewardship Officer to look at the
potential there. However, at least for the moment, it is difficult to avoid the
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conclusions that we should continue to plan within the medium term context of
reducing financial resources leading to the need to develop different forms of ministry
allocation and resourcing.
4.
Clergy Resourcing
Ministry for Mission makes clear the importance of effective clergy deployment. They
are our most costly and scarcest resource. Work is ongoing in many Deaneries to
look at how clergy are most effectively deployed.
Longer-term, we probably need to plan within a context of reducing clergy numbers
for two reasons. One is potential reducing financial resources but the other is
reducing clergy numbers themselves. The 2012 Ministry Statistics report projects a
continuing decline in stipendiary clergy numbers with the net change over the period
2012 to 2016 estimated to be a fall of 4%. If the number of posts nationally is
maintained unchanged, the system can only balance itself by increasing vacancy
times. In practice this is what seems to be happening nationally and within our own
Diocese, although to a lesser extent. Although vacancies are perhaps being filled
faster now than they were say 3 years ago because the Archdeacons are mobilising
parishes to the task more effectively, overall vacancy rates are continuing to be
higher than we budget.
It remains important that we are an attractive Diocese for clergy to come and work.
Within that context, for the 2015 budget, we have provided for the full national
recommendation of a 2% rise in stipends in accordance with the standing Bishop’s
Council policy. It is though worth noting that some Dioceses are going further.
London is planning on a 2.5% increase (though they are perhaps playing catch up to
their regional stipends benchmark); Guildford already has higher stipends than all
other Dioceses. Pension rates are also increasing from 38.2% to 39.9%.
Property clearly needs to be a priority. Historic under-investment has led to too many
properties being in relatively poor condition. We propose that this should be
corrected with a priority given to properties where we are/will be looking for new
incumbents. A separate property report is going forward to Bishop’s Council in
September which may make significantly more provision, but for the moment in this
budget we have included an additional £200,000 over and above a ‘normal’ property
expenditure to continue addressing historic underinvestment during 2015. Whilst we
can address historic issues separately, it is important that the budget has an
appropriate amount for ongoing repairs and maintenance. More work needs to be
done on this, which will include providing comparisons of average costs per property
with Guildford and Winchester. In 2013 we increased the budget for property
maintenance and repairs from £280,000 to £400,000 which has then had inflation
increases. We may need to increase this further. If so we will either need to find
additional savings elsewhere in the budget or treat it as an exceptional increase to
the budget ceiling.
To resource these whilst heading for a level budget, the current draft budget includes
the following:
•
•
Isle of Wight plans under discussion currently envisage a 0.5 reduction in ministry
numbers in the short term.
It is probably safe to assume that longer vacancies will continue for now. So
even in the absence of any other current plans to reduce headline clergy
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•
numbers, we can include another 0.5 reduction in our financial projections for the
time being.
The £200,000 is planned to be taken from reserves for 2015 as dealing with a
historic non-recurring situation. In terms of longer-term property planning, there
is possibly a disjunction between the 132 properties the Diocese has on its books
and the numbers of clergy. So alongside the clergy planning, an ongoing review
of property allocation would be useful to clarify what is needed for
ministry/mission and what might best be released for re-development, external
rental or sale (bearing in mind the potential lost income from a reduced rental
income stream). Whilst the local market is not as buoyant as London, it is still
probably a good time to seek to re-align the Diocese’s property portfolio perhaps
resulting in fewer properties but of a higher quality.
Clergy Resourcing
Budget
Budget
2014
2015
No.
No.
People (FTE)
Stipends
2014
2015
Variance
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
%
2,458
2,481
23
1.0%
Ministers
87.0
86.5
Council Tax
200
204
4
2.0%
Vacancies
-8.0
-8.5
Employer's National Insurance
197
199
2
1.0%
3.0
3.0
Pension Contributions
822
857
36
4.3%
14.0
14.0
All Housing Repairs and Insurance
684
898
214
31.2%
Archdeacons
Curates
Chaplains
1.0
1.0
97.0
96.0
Deanery Support
3.0
Property
Retired Lay Workers/Clergy Support
8
8
0
Clergy Removal Expenses
68
69
1
3.0
1st Appointment Grants
21
21
0
2.0
2.0
Clergy Posts: Interview expenses
3
3
0
102.0
101.0
71
73
1
132
132
Deanery posts
Pastoral Care Services
Houses
1
1
0
4,533
4,815
282
(200)
(200)
4,615
82
Reserves
4,533
2.0%
1.7%
6.2%
1.8%
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5.
National Church Responsibilities & Training
We have now received the final figures for our 2015 contribution to the National
Church. It is less than we were anticipating. Indeed overall we are seeing a
reduction in costs because of the way ordination costs are pooled. In 2014 the
ordination costs we pay directly increased because of supporting more married
candidates with families. However ordination costs get pooled nationally which acts
to even out variances in individual Dioceses and the credit is coming through in 2015.
National Church Responsibilities & Training
Budget
2014
2015
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
Training for Ministry (Vote 1)
188
158
(30)
Central Church Activities (Vote 2&3)
135
135
0
9
9
0
Clergy retirement housing (Vote 5)
48
50
2
Ordination Training Support
Mission Agencies - pensions (Vote 4)
Variance
%
16%
5%
76
76
-
General Synod: Members' Expenses
8
8
0
2%
Synodical Expenses
3
3
0
2%
2018 Lambeth Conference contribution
1
1
0
3%
468
441
(27)
-6%
Total
5
6.
Diocesan Central Expenditure
6.1
Central Salary Increase & Expenses
At the moment we are assuming we will match the clergy stipend increase of 2%.
The current Bishop’s Council policy is to follow the National Church lead on their
staffing but this has been questioned in recent months. Increasing by less than 2%
would not save much money - a 1% decrease would save about £12,000.
General expenses have been set at 2014 levels.
6.2
Mission and Discipleship
Mission and Discipleship is the biggest area of Diocesan central expenditure at some
£550,000 and employing 7.4 full time equivalents. The aim of this expenditure is to
empower and support local Church ministry and growth.
•
Mission development
•
Spirituality
•
Healing ministry
•
Youth & children’s ministry
•
Lay discipleship support
•
Reader ministry
•
Ordained ministry – vocation, selection & training
•
Continuing ministerial development
We are currently recruiting a new Director for this renamed section of Mission,
Discipleship, and Ministry with David Isaac retiring. This will probably increase our
costs since they may not come under the central clergy stipends with housing but be
without housing paid in line with existing Diocesan salary scales.
Mission and Discipleship is undoubtedly an area to be reviewed, together with the
deanery financial support, to see whether it is the best allocation of resources to
support local ministry and growth. However at this stage, it would be prudent not to
do anything that is difficult to reverse. Any significant changes need to be the result
of careful review and consultation. However if we do want to deliver a zero% budget
increase then this is the area that has certain programmes which could be reduced
for this year. If funds become available through a more wide-ranging re-structure,
they could then be re-started if considered a priority for expenditure.
In addition, potential additional expenditure has been added in from items that have
already come before Bishop’s Council:
• Training Development £30,000 (2016: £60,000 ?)
• Parish Giving Scheme £6,000 (2016: £12,000)
Funding for these, in the absence of any wider re-organisation and with a budget
ceiling, can only come at the expense of existing programmes.
The largest of these is the Mission Opportunities Fund. Projects to which funding is
already committed are all already provided for. This would entail no new funding for
projects for 2015.
Other programmes would also need reducing. Currently the budget provides for cuts
of a further £20k in this area.
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Mission & Discipleship
Budget
Budget
2014
2015
2014
2015
People (FTE)
No.
No.
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
%
Head of Section
1.0
1.0
Staff Employment Costs
314
345
32
10%
Stewardship
1.0
1.0
Section Expenses
18
18
-
Spirituality
1.0
1.0
Project Expenses
15
15
-
DDO
0.7
0.7
Programme Expenses
Mission Development
1.0
1.0
Mission & development Fund
CME
0.5
0.5
Office Costs
Support
1.2
1.2
Youth & Children
1.0
1.0
7.4
7.4
6.3
Variance
97
108
11
12%
100
4
(96)
-96%
22
22
0
565
512
(53)
-9%
Mission and Education
Education is shared with Winchester Diocese to share costs and expertise but also
because it more closely matches the Hampshire school area. Because of this,
Portsmouth Diocese manages to deliver its educational responsibilities at a very low
cost. It is difficult to see any areas for savings in this budget – it is already very
stretched for its many responsibilities. It covers:
• Support of all church schools
• Support in Voluntary Aided school building development
• Encouraging parishes to engage with local schools
• Development of RE, collective worship and spiritual development in schools
• Further education chaplaincy development
• Working with local authorities in their support of schools
• Supporting church schools as they explore and engage in conversion to
academy status.
Mission & Education
Budget
Budget
2014
2015
2014
2015
People (FTE)
No.
No.
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
%
Head of Section
1.0
1.0
Assistant DDE
1.0
1.0
Staff Employment Costs
390
400
11
3%
Advisers
2.3
2.3
Apportioned Building/services Costs
42
42
0
Buildings
2.0
2.0
Activity Costs
40
40
(0)
Support
1.0
1.0
Income (Fees)
(49)
(49)
-
Recharges
7.3
7.3
-5.5
-5.5
1.8
1.8
Recharges
Variance
423
434
11
3%
(337)
(344)
(7)
2%
86
90
4
5%
7
6.4
Mission and Society
Mission and Society supports the Parishes’ social action. Because it has been quite
entrepreneurial, much of its activities are supported by grants and the Parishes in
effect are supporting less than the cost of a head of section. The Diocese’s
communications team also operate through this department. Overall, it delivers a lot
for little expense to the Parishes:
•
Good Neighbours
•
Rapid parish development
•
Joint venture supporting parishes with long term sustainability projects
•
Leadership & innovation
•
Community Bond
•
University of Portsmouth liaison
•
IDWAL
•
Urban ministry group
•
Disability
•
Ecumenism
•
Rural affairs
•
Workplace chaplaincy
•
Communications
Mission & Society
Budget
Budget
2014
2015
People (FTE)
No.
No.
Head of Section
1.0
1.0
M& S Staff Employment Costs
Project assistant
0.6
0.6
Good Neighbours
2.6
2.6
Communications
1.2
1.2
Gross Costs
5.4
5.4
Income
-3.2
-3.2
Covered by projects
2.2
2.2
2014
2015
Variance
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
%
172
176
4
2%
Apportioned Building Costs
25
25
0
Activity Costs
26
22
(4)
-15%
223
223
(0)
(185)
(188)
(3)
2%
Net Costs
39
35
(3)
-9%
Communications
46
47
1
2%
Total
85
82
(2)
-3%
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6.5
Mission and Resources
A diocese is a large financial organisation with a complex governance structure and
legal responsibilities. Resources are already stretched to maintain all that. This
department has responsibility for:
• Governance, DAC, Mission and Pastoral Committee
• Safeguarding
• Human resources
• Property
• Legal
• Finance
• Parish finance and admin support
• Lay pension support
Mission & Resources
Budget
Budget
2014
2015
2014
2015
People (FTE)
No.
No.
£'000s
£'000s
£'000s
Diocesan Secretary
1.0
1.0
Chief Executive Office
Deputy
1.0
1.0
Archdeacon Support
PA
1.0
1.0
Services Mgr
1.0
HR
Variance
256
261
5
2%
52
53
1
2%
Finance
71
72
1
2%
1.0
Safeguarding
42
42
1
1%
0.2
0.2
Registrar
21
21
(0)
Safeguarding
1.1
1.1
Apportioned Building Costs
47
47
0
Finance
2.0
2.0
Other Activity Costs
16
17
1
Registrar
1.0
1.0
Income
(14)
(14)
-
Archdeacon Support
1.5
1.5
Total
490
499
9
IT
0.5
0.5
Pension liability & Cathedral Grant
61
61
-
10.3
10.3
551
560
9
%
4%
2%
2%
9
7.
Summary
The following table summarises the main movements in the budget in terms of Parish
Share showing the changes that contributed to the 3.9% increase in the draft figures
that went to June’s Bishop’s Council and the proposed changes set out in this paper
to return the budget for Parish Share for 2015 to the level set for 2014.
Budget Movement Reconciliation
£'000s
%
2014 Parish Share
4,742
100.0%
Stipend Increase
Clergy Pension
Training Development
National Church
Property
Reserves
Central Salaries
Other
34
44
30
10
213
(200)
24
28
0.7%
0.9%
0.6%
0.2%
4.5%
-4.2%
0.5%
0.6%
June Bishop's Council
4,925
103.9%
National Church
IOW - 0.5 clergy
Other/vacancies - 0.5 clergy
(30)
(20)
(20)
-0.6%
-0.4%
-0.4%
Other M&D Programmes
Grants
Parish Giving
Mission Opportunities Grant
Other
(15)
(5)
6
(100)
1
-0.3%
-0.1%
0.1%
-2.1%
0.0%
2015 Parish Share
4,742
100.0%
Longer-term, the work going forward in the following areas will be important to rebalance the budget on a more sustainable financial basis:
• Clergy Deployment
• Property
• Mission support to Parishes (Deanery Support & Mission & Discipleship
expenditure)
• Stewardship
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Portsmouth Diocese Summary
Budget
2014
People (FTE)
Clergy & Housing
Budget
2015
No.
No.
102.0
101.0
National church & Training
2014
2015
£'000s
£'000s
Clergy & Housing
Variance
£'000s
%
4,533
4,811
278
6%
National Church & Training
468
441
(27)
-6%
565
512
(53)
-9%
Mission & Discipleship
7.4
7.4
Mission & Discipleship
Mission & Education
1.8
1.8
Mission & Education
86
90
4
5%
Mission & Society
2.2
2.2
Mission & Society
81
82
2
2%
10.3
10.3
551
560
9
2%
123.8
122.8
6,284
6,496
212
3%
132.0
132.0
(1,380)
(1,389)
(9)
1%
(162)
(165)
(3)
2%
(200)
(200)
(4,742)
(4,742)
(0)
0%
(6,284)
(6,496)
(212)
3%
Mission & resources
Mission & Resources
Resourced By:
Houses
Investments & Grants
Other Unrestricted Income
Reserves
Parish Share
EXPENDITURE
RESOURCING
9%
3%
1%
1%
3%
8%
21%
7%
74%
73%
Clergy & Housing
National church & Training
Mission & Discipleship
Mission & Education
Mission & Society
Mission & resources
Parish Share
Investments & Grants
Other Unrestricted Income
Reserves
Malcolm Twigger-Ross
July 2015
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