FIVE out of eight members of staff at Bangor Cathedral are prone to being made redundant or discontinued owing to “financial pressures”.
The posts in danger are two of the three lay clerks, the family minister, and sacrist. It is proposed that the fixed-term contract of the operations officer won’t be renewed and that the director of music’s hours can even be reduced.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Bangor Cathedral said: “Due to financial pressures, the Chapter of Bangor Cathedral has begun a consultation process with employees regarding potential redundancies. The Cathedral Chapter was fully aware of and involved in the method. All relevant policies and procedures are being followed.”
The consultation follows a Visitation this yr that uncovered concerns about “weak financial controls, unclear reporting lines, and spending decisions that were insufficiently scrutinised” (News, 3 May).
Among the problems raised in an earlier serious-incident report was the expenditure of £418,000 on latest furniture for the cathedral, the majority of the price of which was borne by the Bangor Diocesan Board of Finance with “inadequate consultation and data”. In addition, the Dean and Chapter agreed to pay back to the DBF a sum which had been spent on trips abroad and may have been at their very own expense.
In 2022, expenditure on the cathedral greater than doubled, from £260,000 to almost £700,000. Total funds in 2023 stood at £1.1 million.
It is known that the choir walked out of eucharist this Sunday morning after the anthem as an act of protest against the redundancies.
The latest Dean, the Revd Dr Manon Ceridwen James, is as a consequence of be installed on 11 October (News, 18 July).
