In 2020, the Church of England began a journey to simplify and transform the governance structures at the heart of the National Church into ones that can better serve, support, encourage and enable the work and mission of the Church. The National Church Governance Programme Board (NCGPB) has now reached a point in this work when legislation to enable the changes of governance can be brough to the General Synod. This short video sets out the key changes proposed.
In July 2023, General Synod welcomed the report GS 2307 and approved the implementation of recommendations to simplify and transform the governance of the National Church, subject to a couple of amendments to improve the engagement between Synod and the National Church Institutions. Since then the NCGPB has been working to draft legislation to implement the proposals and to gain the support of the existing trustee bodies to what was being proposed. At the centre of the work has been a commitment to help rebuild trust by ensuring that the proposed reforms deliver greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness at a National Church level.
In July 2024, the General Synod agreed that the draft National Church Governance Measure should proceed. Members of the General Synod have until Friday 6 September to submit any proposals for amendment of the legislation. The draft measure will then be debated clause by clause through the detailed work of a Revision Committee who will carefully consider and seek to improve the proposals drawn up.
The documents which came to the July 2024 Synod are available here. They are:
- GS 2360 - The Draft National Church Governance Measure
- GS 2360X - The Explanatory Note which sets out brief legal explanations of the clauses in the draft Measure
- GS 2360P - The Supporting Policy document prepared by the NCGPB: This document is rather more extensive than usual and sets out both the background policy and the approach the Board have taken in working closely to deliver the recommendations agreed by Synod in July 2023.
A briefing for General Synod Members was held before the July 2024 group of sessions. The recording of the webinar presentation is available here. A handout of the slides from the webinar can be downloaded here.
A note, prepared by the Governance Programme Team, of some of the questions being raised about the draft legislation by members of the General Synod, together with brief responses, are available here.
Further background material
The proposals welcomed at the General Synod in July 2023. The report and recommendations are available here: GS 2307 National Church Governance Report and Recommendations.
Previous reports and other supporting and background information can be found on this page: National Church Governance Project - Supporting Documents.
The Membership of the Programme Board under the Chair of Sir David Lidington, has been refreshed to ensure oversight of the implementation of the proposal.
Please send any comments or questions to [email protected].