THE C of E section of Unite the Union has called on the Archbishops’ Council to extend the national minimum stipend (NMS) and the national stipend benchmark (NSB) by eight per cent from next April. These increases would bring the NMS to £30,385, and the NSB to £32,472.
The submission, written by the Revd Sam Maginnis, who chairs Church of England Employee and Clergy Advocates (CEECA), within the Faithworkers branch of Unite, warns of “a growing sense amongst frontline clergy that institutional expectations are adding to the pressures of ministry without proper reciprocal care and support”. He calls on the Archbishops’ Council to “take a lead in addressing these concerns by acting decisively to revive the worth of the stipend after the recent period of high inflation”.
In April, a seven-per-cent increase within the NMS, from £26,134 to £28,670 (News, 9 February), got here into effect. CEECA, calling for a rise of 9.5 per cent, had warned of “chronic financial anxiety and hardship amongst clergy and their families” (News, 9 June 2023).
Both the NMS and the NSB are set by the Archbishops’ Council because the Church’s Central Stipends Authority. Recommendations are made the Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee.
The NMS applies to anyone in full-time stipendiary ministry. The NSB is a really helpful figure set by the Archbishops’ Council annually, after consultation with diocesan boards of finance (DBFs) and the Church Commissioners. It provides a reference point for dioceses after they set their diocesan basic stipend for incumbents and priests-in-charge.
In its latest submission to the committee, CEECA says that, even factoring in the most recent above-inflation increases, the NMS and NSB have each fallen behind CPIH (the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs) by about 5.8 per cent since April 2021. While acknowledging that inflation levels are falling, it observes that “high expenditure relative to income and outstanding debt particularly around energy bills remain a significant source of economic hardship and stress in clergy households”.
In December 2021, after the committee’s review of clergy remuneration, the Archbishops’ Council adopted a policy that the NMS would increase, on average, by CPIH inflation, subject to 3 yearly reviews and being alert to sustained high levels of inflation. But, in the following two years, increases were below inflation.
In January, the committee’s secretary, Kevin Norris, reported that the Archbishops’ Council was aware that, to “fully meet up with inflation”, the 2023 NMS would wish to rise by 11.3 per cent, “which it recognised could be unaffordable for dioceses”. the remuneration committee and the Council were, he said, “concerned concerning the impact on clergy well-being and morale of stipends having fallen behind inflation”.
The CEECA submission argues that an eight-per-cent increase next yr would “finally close the gap between stipends and inflation and be sure that most clergy can maintain an appropriate way of life on their stipend. . .
“We recognise that any increase to the NMS and NSB should be made on the premise that such increases are reasonably priced and sustainable in the long run; and while we anticipate that the dioceses will seek a lower increase to each figures, we imagine it’s critical that the NMS rises by eight per cent next yr even when the NSB increases at a lower rate. This will help restore future pension advantages to an adequate level following the recent inflationary period and won’t unduly affect diocesan funds as dioceses set their basic stipend by reference to the NSB, not the NMS.”
The submission draws attention to the predicament of retiring clergy, noting that the initial pension received on entering retirement is calculated close to the NMS within the previous tax yr: “The high rates of inflation over the past three years, and the lack of the NMS to maintain up, have placed lots of of clergy at a severe financial drawback as they approach retirement, compounding the reduction in clergy pension advantages brought in from 2011 and adding to the anxiety around future quality of life at this significant transitional moment.”
It warns: “There is a growing sense amongst frontline clergy that institutional expectations are adding to the pressures of ministry without proper reciprocal care and support, fuelling a broader perception that their work and calling is not any longer understood or valued by the institutional Church.
“If this perception and its root causes are left unchecked, then distrust and disillusionment amongst stipendiary clergy will only increase alongside stress and burnout, curtailing many fruitful ministries and the broader mission of the Church of England.”
The submission concludes by reiterating CEECA’s proposal of a dedicated fund “created from money provided by the Church Commissioners to complement diocesan stipends bills where that is essential to make sure all clergy in every diocese receive an adequate stipend”. An annual cost of £10 million to £15 million is estimated: “lower than 0.15 per cent of the Commissioners’ total investment fund.”
In the General Synod in February, the Revd Dr Ian Paul introduced a personal members’ motion calling for restoration of the clergy pension to its pre-2011 profit level (News, 1 March). Introducing it, he noted that the NMS had fallen by ten per cent between 2009 and 2019 against the Retail Price Index, while the Commissioners’ assets had grown “significantly” to £10 billion.
The motion as carried incorporated an amendment from the chair of the Archbishops’ Council’s Finance Committee, Carl Hughes, which asked the Council, the Pensions Board, and the Commissioners to “work along with dioceses to explore ways during which the extent of clergy pensions and stipends may be improved in a sustainable manner”.
