THE Synod gave final approval to the Draft Church of England
(Pensions) (Amendment) Measure, having completed the revision stage
without debate.
The short two-clause single-purpose Measure extends the Church
Commissioners' temporary power to spend capital in order to honour
their pre-1997 pension obligations. The new Measure extends this
power for a further seven years to December 2025.
Asked by Ian Fletcher (West Yorkshire & the
Dales) why the Measure did not extend the power indefinitely,
April Alexander (Southwark), who chairs the
Measure's steering committee, said that Parliament had "asked that
the Church comes back to them every ten years".
No votes were recorded against the Measure in the final-approval
vote; there was one abstention in the House of Clergy and another
in the House of Laity: Bishops 22-0-0; Clergy 136-0-1; Laity
157-0-1.