THE General Synod approved the Archbishops’ Council’s budget and apportionment proposals for 2026.
Introducing the controversy on the Monday afternoon, Carl Hughes (Southwark), who chairs the Council’s Finance Committee, said that your complete budget was being brought before the Synod. This stood at £308 million: almost 25 per cent higher than forecast for this yr, and one third up on the last triennium. The budget included £31.7 million for “national church services and other core costs”; a 30-per-cent rise in Lowest Income Communities Funding (LInC) to £42.8 million; and £100 million of time-limited additional support for dioceses.
Funding for clergy retirement housing was set to extend, and work was under strategy to increase vocation numbers. The 2026 budget represented a “substantial resetting of the Church’s funds”.
Dr Rachel Jepson (Birmingham), a member of Archbishops’ Council, said that there was a “vital need for robust governance by each diocesan synod whose diocese is applying for funding” to the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB). Before a bid was submitted, the strategy and exact allocation of resources ought to be debated and agreed by the diocesan synod, and successful applicants should make a commitment to reporting back to their diocesan synod no less than annually. “This smart and good practice will not be currently widespread.”
Nigel Bacon (Lincoln) said that his former colleague Sue Slater, who had died this yr, had made pleas “yr after yr” for central funding for lay-ministry training and development. In many areas, the Church was increasingly reliant on authorised and licensed lay ministers. This was to be celebrated, but its budget had been halved to £500,000. He asked for a breakdown of the budget to be shared in additional detail to “function a thorn in our collective side until we give lay ministry the extent of support it deserves and demands”.
Canon Mark Miller (Durham), who said that he served in essentially the most deprived parish in his diocese, welcomed the rise in LInC funding and the diocese’s way of beginning to apportion it. How would the Council take care of dioceses that didn’t do that, he asked.
Dr Neill Burgess (York), a member of the Finance Committee and the steering group for the review of diocesan funds, said that this had involved “extensive consultation”. The budget was the work of “many hours’ detailed work and cross-checking by experienced and highly competent people”.
Dr Ian Johnston (Portsmouth) suggested that, since 1998, “the centre of our Church has prospered, but our dioceses are actually suffering hugely.” This was a results of the National Institutions Measure of 1998, he said. Next yr, 32 out of 42 dioceses can be budgeting a deficit. “Who on earth may be happy with that?” he asked. The motion on the redistribution of funds into the diocesan stipend funds had been lost narrowly. “We have to pay attention to that.”
Mr Hughes disputed the deficit figures: given the spending plans carried out, he can be “very disenchanted” if this was the case.
Lucy Docherty (Portsmouth) sought clarity on expenditure on ecumenical work.
Mr Hughes said that this had been raised by three per cent in 2025 and would remain at this level.
Penny Allen (Lichfield), who’s on the diocesan board of finance, said that it had received complaints that many clergy had been advised to sell their homes after they were ordained. Could a shared-equity scheme as a part of CHARM be a part of the answer, she asked. Some clergy faced “extortionate” rents.
The Revd Dr Ian Paul (Southwell & Nottingham) was nearing the top of his ten years on the Archbishops’ Council. He spoke of a “real danger” of an “us-and-them” narrative on the Synod, including an “imagined difference between the Archbishops’ Council and General Synod”. All members of the previous brought local experience, he said. The idea of “those people on the centre and people poor people within the parishes” was “a myth, a parody, and an unhelpful one, and it’s one without justification.” It was “right to ask hard questions. But also trust that the work has been done.”
The Revd Trudi Oliver (Rochester) spoke of the financial hardship that her family had experienced during her residential training within the early 2000s, when her husband had lost his job. She was very grateful for the giving that had enabled this training, “but we have to be honest about realities.” She spoke of a month for which ordinands at the top of their training were left without support.
Mr Hughes gave assurance that the brand new spending plans would address this, and highlighted the supply of the First Appointment Grant for ordinands.
William Woolley (Southwell & Nottingham) was because of start ordination training in September, but still didn’t know what his funding situation would seem like. The shift to a recent National Ministry Training Fund would create a “one-stop shop where there shall be people in a position to address the questions you’ve gotten on a consistent basis for the entire country”, he said.
The apportionment for the Training for Ministry Fund and the pooling adjustment for 2026 in respect of additional maintenance grants for ordinands were agreed.
Read more reports from the General Synod digest here
, who chairs the...){kind=link}