Vacancy-in-see regulation becomes Act of Synod

THE General Synod approved the Vacancy in See Committees Regulation 2024 on Friday afternoon. Moving the motion, the Revd Paul Benfield (Blackburn) said that this had been amended six times since 2003, and was therefore “difficult and unwieldy” — redrafting would make it easier to use and more comprehensible. The regulation covers provisions including membership — in particular, it clarifies ambiguities over the position of laity from Salisbury and the Channel Islands — nominations, casual vacancies, officers, remote meeting, and general procedures. Fr Benfield said that this had been an exercise in “tidying-up the rules and expressing them in a more user-friendly style”. Clive Scowen (London) described it as a “beautifully re-presented representation”, but reminded the Synod that the policies of the CNC were constantly under review. The Archbishop of York proclaimed it as an Act of Synod.

Bell-ringing, Synod-style, is debated

OLD wounds were evident during a debate on amendments to Standing Orders (SO). The background to the amendments proposed by Clive Billenness (Europe) were situations — during debates in the July and November 2023 sessions — in which votes that required a special majority and 75 per cent of members to be in the chamber had been taken without a bell (rung at the discretion of the chair) to warn of a counted vote. This had allowed a move to next business in the first case, and some to miss a vote in the second. Canon Joyce Jones (Leeds) said that the Standing Orders Committee was sympathetic, but “hard cases make bad law. If applied every time, it would remove the discretion of the chair, and add considerable time and delay business.” Geoffrey Tattersall KC (Manchester) described himself as a “serial offender” for not ringing the bell. There had been 26 amendments to vote on during the February debate: if the bell had to be rung for each, it would have added an hour to an already long debate, he said. “Do you really want that?” Prudence Dailey (Oxford) thought it unlikely that Synod members would call for the bell to be rung for every single vote. The July vote had involved a particular set of circumstances, involving “a lot of people and a lot of noise”. It was a benign amendment, she suggested: “Just run with it.” The Synod did so.

Archbishops’ Council members reappointed

THE Synod voted to reappoint two members of the Archbishops’ Council for a second five-year term. The Archbishop of Canterbury warmly acknowledged Charlotte Cook and Joseph Delacka as being “younger than average — substantially, overwhelmingly younger than average.” They brought another perspective and front-line experience. “We will benefit even more from their wisdom in their second term.”

Church funds charity-regulated in Draft Measure

A DRAFT Measure on church-funds investment, brought to the Synod on Tuesday, provides for the transfer of now unregulated CBF Church of England funds to a regulated charity authorised investment fund (CAIF). Carl Hughes (Archbishops’ Council) explained that the six funds currently in operation had total assets of £3 billion, managed on behalf of 11,500 church investors, including PCCs, cathedral chapters, and diocesan charities. These would have greater protection and reassurance, he said, and there would be a modest cost-benefit for charity investors, because VAT was not charged on investment managers’ fees. Julie Dziegiel (Oxford) said: “We owe it to all users of these funds, large and small, however confident they are as investors, to keep them safe.” The Measure now goes to a revision committee.