THE greater than halving of funding for racial-justice work by the Church Commissioners is “bewildering” and ignores a choice taken by the General Synod only 4 months ago, the lead bishops for racial justice said this week.
The spending plans announced by the Triennium Funding Working Group (TFWG) on Monday include £12 million for “social and racial justice” — down from £26.7 million within the last triennium (News, 13 May 2022). The co-lead bishops for racial justice are the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett, and the Bishop of Kirkstall, the Rt Revd Arun Arora.
“There is a terrific deal to welcome within the Church Commissioners’ package of distributions,” they said on Monday. “However, it is usually remarked that the devil is within the detail . . . we’re deeply concerned and troubled by the substantial reduction within the funding allocated for racial justice work.”
The statement drew attention to the motion passed by the General Synod in February, after consideration of the ultimate report of the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice (ACRJ) (News,28 February).
This included a clause recommending that the National Church “gives full consideration to the ACRJ’s appeal, key findings and proposals; ensuring crucial resources remain available including an efficient governance framework comprising a Racial Justice Board, Panel, and Lead Bishop; that funding for the subsequent triennium and the staffing be made available on the national and diocesan levels.” It was carried, with 311 voting in favour and one against (News, 28 February).
On Monday, the co-lead bishops said that it was “deeply regrettable” that the TFWG had “chosen to disregard that call and cut racial justice funding from previous levels. With this announcement coming a day after the Church celebrates Pentecost, we fear the message given by this decision is that the varied multitude of voices of all of the people of God are yet to be heard equally within the Church of England. In a Church that has set ‘growing younger and more diverse’ as certainly one of its key strategic priorities this cut in funding is bewildering.”
A spokesperson for Church House, Westminster, said on Monday that, within the last triennium, “specific funding was made available to supply a brief term ‘boost’ and make a big change in the world of racial and social justice within the Church. At the time this was envisaged to be for one triennium only, to make sure a key concentrate on this area of labor as the broader funding streams and approach became embedded.”
The TFWG had “recognised the importance of constructing on the work” and thus “allocated one other certain quantity towards racial and social justice within the upcoming triennium”. This amount “represents a rise compared with the illustrative plans presented in 2022”.
In response, Bishop Arora said that the 2021 report from Anti-racism Task Force, From lament to motion, had identified areas that “required long run investment slightly than short-term ‘boosts’” (News, 22 April 2021). The decision to make a “brutal cut” to the funding had been made with none consultation or reference to Synod, CMEAC, the lead bishops, or the racial justice unit, he said, and would “override the desire of Synod”.
It was “a sadly demonstrative act of repeating the mistakes of the past”, he said. The 2021 report had warned that “over many years the Church of England had made commitments on racial justice at General Synod just for those decisions to be subsequently frustrated through lack of follow up or funding”.
The final report of the ACRJ really useful that funding for racial justice “should, on the very least, be maintained at the extent that it has been for the past three years”. In his foreword, the Commission’s chair, Lord Boateng, warned: “Without the Racial Justice Unit being adequately resourced and each diocese funded to support this work, I’m firmly of the view that we are going to not see the progress which we’d like to fulfil the promise of a Church adequately equipped to function our Lord demands of us.”
As of October 2024, £11.5 million had been allocated in racial-justice grants, with greater than half going to dioceses. An extra £4.3 million was allocated by the Archbishops’ Council for work inside the NCIs. The final report noted that only 14 dioceses had appointed a racial-justice officer, and asked the Archbishops Council to be sure that all dioceses were capable of afford a full-time officer in the subsequent triennium.
