235th Report of the Ecclesiastical Committee
1. The Ecclesiastical Committee has met and considered
the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure and the Diocesan
Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure.
Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure
2. The Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure
was submitted to the Ecclesiastical Committee by the Legislative
Committee of the General Synod, along with a Comments and Explanations
document. The text of the Measure, and the Comments and Explanations,
are published online on the Committee's web pages.
3. The Legislative Committee state that the overall
aims of the Measure are to strengthen the Church's safeguarding
framework and to enhance the Church's ability to deal effectively
with allegations of misconduct by ordained ministers. They go
on to explain that the key provisions of the Measure:
· Empower
a bishop, on the basis of information supplied by the police or
a local authority, to suspend a priest or deacon who presents
a significant risk of harm to children or vulnerable adults (see
section 1 of the Measure).
· Extend
on safeguarding grounds provisions that disqualify certain persons
from holding office as churchwarden (section 2), and introduce
on safeguarding grounds provisions to disqualify certain persons
from being members, treasurers or secretaries of Parochial Church
Councils (section 3).
· Enable
a bishop to suspend on certain safeguarding grounds churchwardens
(section 2), and members, treasurers and secretaries of Parochial
Church Councils (section 3).
· Create
a duty on all relevant persons within the Church of England (as
defined in section 5(2)) to have due regard to the Church's
safeguarding policies (section 5).
· Remove
the normal one year limitation period for disciplinary proceedings
against clergy for alleged misconduct of a sexual nature towards
a child or vulnerable adult, so that permission to make a complaint
out of time will not be required (section 7).
· Make
a number of more technical amendments to the Clergy Discipline
Measure 2003.
4. The Committee discussed the Measure with representatives
of the General Synod, including the Right Reverend Paul Butler,
Lord Bishop of Durham and Lead Bishop for Safeguarding.
5. The Bishop introduced the Measure by explaining
that "the safeguarding Measure is before you because the
church believes it needs to improve its arrangements: first, to
prevent the abuse of children and vulnerable adults within the
church community; and, secondly, to deal effectively with those
in authority within the church who harm children and vulnerable
adults" (Q 1).
6. The Bishop went on to explain the background to
the Measure:
"The catalyst for the Measure was a visitation
of the diocese of Chichester by commissaries appointed by the
former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The commissaries
reported in August 2012 and April 2013, making a number of safeguarding
recommendations, which were relevant not just to the diocese of
Chichester but also to the church nationally. The Archbishops'
Council responded to those recommendations by undertaking a wide
consultation within the church. The outcome of that consultation
was to confirm that two separate pieces of legislation were required:
this Measure and an amending canon, which does not need parliamentary
approval. The proposals in the legislation take into account not
just the recommendations of the commissaries but also other submissions
made in the course of the Archbishops' Council's consultation."
7. In the course of the Committee's meeting with
the representatives of the Synod, the representatives explained
further the key aims of the Measure (e.g. Q 1), and discussed
in detail how it was envisaged that the revised framework would
work in practice, including in relation to cathedrals (Q 2); the
way in which the powers of suspension would operate (e.g. Q 3-4,
Q 6, Q 12); Royal Peculiars (Q 5); the role of diocesan advisers
(Q 7); how victims would be kept informed (Q 9); and the importance
of training (e.g. Q 10, Q 15). A full transcript of the Committee's
proceedings is published online on the Committee's web pages.
VIEW OF THE COMMITTEE
8. The Committee is of the opinion that the Safeguarding
and Clergy Discipline Measure is expedient.
Diocesan Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure
9. The Diocesan Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure
was submitted to the Ecclesiastical Committee by the Legislative
Committee of the General Synod, along with a Comments and Explanations
document. The text of the Measure, and the Comments and Explanations,
are published online on the Committee's web pages.
10. The Legislative Committee explain that the aim
of this short Measure is to give the trustees of a diocesan stipends
fund the power already enjoyed by trustees of other charities
to invest the capital account of the fund on a total return basis.
This means that the trustees would be entitled to determine what
proportion of the total return (the sum of the capital gains and
income) should be expended for the purposes of the fund, and what
proportion should be reinvested in the capital account.
11. The Committee discussed the Measure with representatives
of the General Synod. The transcript of the Committee's proceedings
is published online on the Committee's web pages (Q 17-18).
VIEW OF THE COMMITTEE
12. The Committee is of the opinion that the Diocesan
Stipends Funds (Amendment) Measure is expedient.
| 
