THE Church of England Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2017 were approved.

The Chair of the Pensions Board, Dr Jonathan Spencer, introduced the motion, and a change in the way some of the trustees of the Board are chosen. Currently six are elected by the House of Laity; the new proposals mean that two are to be elected by the House from among its current members, and the other four are to be appointed by the Archbishops after consultation with the chair of the House.

Dr Spencer said that the board needed to ensure that it had people with a wide range of skills and knowledge in the fields of pensions, charity law, governance, and investments. This also reflected a general move in the sector towards appointing trustees on merit rather than choosing trustees through elections. “The new arrangement will not weaken but strengthen links between the Synod and the Pensions Board,” Dr Spencer said.

The Chair of the House of Laity, Dr Jamie Harrison (Durham), said that, while he had initially been cautious about changes that would remove powers from the House, he now supported the proposals. “I was not going to jump into this arrangement without careful thought, but have been given some assurances,” he said. “There will be some scrutiny over a process which needed to be more professional.”