Memorandum 34

 

Submission from the The Rt Revd Graham James, Lord Bishop of Norwich and Chairman of the Ministry Division of the Archbishops Council.

 

 

Subject Submission of written evidence to the inquiry into "Funding for the equivalent or lower qualifications."

The Ministry Division of the Archbishops Council is responsible to the House of Bishops and the General Synod of the Church of England for the theological education and training of ordinands for the Church of England. Currently there are approximately 1500 students in training in its associated training institutions pursuing academic study validated by Higher Education Institutions. The cost of this training is approximately £14.5m per annum raised entirely from the voluntary donations of parishioners.

Executive Summary

· The House of Bishops has expressed its concern about the adverse impact these proposals will have upon lifelong learning, professional development, and the acquisition of new skills by many people in our fast changing society.

· The House of Bishops is especially concerned about the effect that the change will have upon the education and training of ordinands and the relationships built up with the Higher Education Institutions over recent decades.

· Clergy and other ministers of religion contribute massively to civil society and community life and we believe those in training for such ministry should be included among those given exemption.

· The Church of England therefore asks that an exemption from the proposed changes should include those studying for ordained ministry in the Church of England and other recognised denominations and faiths.

Submission

1. The Church of England supports a network of 16000 parishes across the country led by an ordained minister specifically trained for community ministry. In some parishes (especially in the inner city or outer housing estates) these ministers are often the only professional person working in the community also resident within it. They provide an important social and religious focus through pastoral care and community leadership.

2. The Government has increasingly sought partnerships and cooperation from faith communities and their leaders to share in the challenges of community development and community cohesion. Government sees faith communities as increasingly crucial to welfare provision, able to reach individuals and groups not reached by other agencies, especially in inner city and rural areas. Lord Griffiths of Burry Port made the point in debate in the House of Lords that the clergy are often 'the cheapest and most effective social workers and contributors to social cohesion in the country.'

3. Those training for ordination in the Church of England generally follow either a two or three year residential full-time route in a theological college or three years on a part time course. The great majority of these routes are either university degree courses or validated by a partner higher education institution.

4. The great achievement of recent decades has been the development of a much stronger partnership between the training provision of the Church of England and the Higher Education Institutions. This is now under threat. The partnership between the Church and the HEIs has helped to provide quality assurance to our training. More than that, the engagement of those in training for ordination with others of all faiths and none is significant for the character of their future work. Our clergy have frequently taken a lead in inter-faith work locally and regionally. Isolating our clergy in training from wider learning communities would do no service to social inclusion.

5. The ability of those studying for theological degrees to learn within the Higher Education Institutions benefits both themselves and other students by exposing both to a range of opinion and learning that they might not otherwise encounter. This enriches the experience of both communities of learning.

6. The Government has recognised the value of theological and faith based studies through the exemption given to Islamic Studies. The Church of England supports this and hopes to see the Christian, Jewish, Hindu and major faith studies also included within the list of exemptions. We need equally trained and educated leaders in a multi-faith society if a constructive exchange of ideas is to take place.

7. The Church of England currently pays £14.5m per annum to train its ordinands. For the year ended 31st December 2007 £435,000 was paid directly to the Universities for tuition and validation fees. Substantial additional amounts are given through shared teaching and other support.

8. The Church of England is particularly concerned that universities would seek to charge significantly higher fees for our students. It is therefore concerned that the proposed changes by HEFCE will have a detrimental effect on the provision that it makes to train its future ministers. The present £14.5 million per annum for training comes entirely from the voluntary donations of parishioners.

9. If Universities seek to charge the equivalent of the overseas student rate for UK students as reflecting the full cost of university study for our ordinands. the increased cost would be prohibitive. Some HEI suffering from a reduction in income may well also look to charge higher fees for validation work and the use of University facilities as a way of recouping lost revenue. The overall impact of this change could alter the whole provision of theological education.

10. If all universities were to seek to charge the full cost for Church of England ordinands we estimate that the Church would need to find around a further £1.5m from its parishioners. This may not be easy to achieve whilst maintaining the provision of clergy in inner city and rural areas.

11. Many students for the ordained ministry enter into training as mature students having already pursued other careers. Approximately 75% of those in training hold equivalent or higher degrees already. The proposals put forward by HEFCE to restrict the funding of equivalent or lower degrees would have an adverse effect upon our ablest students, but also more generally.

12. The withdrawal into faith based seminary type education could result. This would weaken the long tradition of university-educated clergy, and narrow their experience at a formative time.

13. The Church of England asks that the exemptions from the proposed changes should include those studying for ordained ministry in the Church of England and other recognised denominations and faiths.

 

The author

The Rt Revd Graham James is Lord Bishop of Norwich. After ordination in 1975 he served in parish ministry until 1983 when he was appointed Senior Selection Secretary for the Advisory Council for Church's Ministry. He served as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1987 to 1993 when he was consecrated Bishop of St Germans becoming Bishop of Norwich in 1999. In 2006 he was elected to the Archbishops' Council and became Chairman of the Ministry Division.

 

 

January 2008