Church releases details of motion that led to Archbishop’s retirement

Martin Shipton

The Church in Wales has released the wording of the motion its Representative Body passed that resulted in the resignation of the Archbishop of Wales, Andy John.

The former Archbishop, who remains the Bishop of Bangor until the end of August, resigned last week following months of negative publicity about the running of the diocese of Bangor and its cathedral. Most recently the Charity Commission announced that it was undertaking a preliminary inquiry into concerns about two charities linked to the diocese and the cathedral.

It is understood that the Church in Wales delayed releasing the text of the motion to give Mr John the opportunity to reflect on its contents.

Deep concern

The motion states: “The Trustees of the Representative Body (RB) of the Church in Wales acknowledge with deep concern the serious issues raised in recent reports and correspondence regarding leadership, safeguarding, management, and conduct in the central structures of Bangor Diocese and at Bangor Cathedral.

“As the charitable trustee body responsible for stewarding assets and distributing funding to both the diocese and the cathedral, we take our duty of care and accountability to the Church and wider community with the utmost seriousness.

“The revelations of safeguarding failures, blurred boundaries, inappropriate conduct, weak control environment and lack of transparency in management at Bangor Cathedral are deeply troubling. Trustees are legally bound to ensure that the charities which they oversee uphold the highest standards of governance, safeguarding and record keeping. It is vital that there is public trust in any charity which is part of the Church in Wales family. Stewardship of charitable assets demands that funding is used to further the Church’s mission and benefit the public in a manner consistent with our values and legal obligations. It is incumbent on the RB Trustees to ensure that the financial support they provide is properly and accountably used.

“In the light of these concerns, the Representative Body sets out its clear expectations and directives for the Diocese of Bangor and its Diocesan Board of Finance, the Bangor Diocesan Trust and Bangor Cathedral:

That the Trustees of Bangor Diocesan Board of Finance, the Trustees of the Bangor Diocesan Trust and Cathedral Chapter make formal commitments to fully engage with both the Implementation Group and the Oversight Board to address the issues identified in the thirtyone:eight and visitation reports, to implement in full all of the recommendations in the reports and to comply with guidance directives presented to them by the Oversight Board.

That they will co-operate in full with an RB commissioned independent financial audit relating to the work of the Diocesan Board of Finance, the Bangor Diocesan Trust, and the Cathedral Chapter. Particular attention to be given to the appropriateness of governance, financial systems and oversight and how effectively these separate legal entities function and relate to one another. The audit report to be shared, in full, with the RB’s Finance Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee.
“Future funding to support the Diocese of Bangor and its Cathedral are entirely dependent on the RB satisfying itself that appropriate management structures and financial and administrative procedures are in place to demonstrate effective governance. In particular:

The effectiveness of financial controls and governance structures to ensure responsible stewardship of charitable funds.

The effective implementation of robust safeguarding and HR procedures.

The establishment of transparent channels for reporting concerns, with assurances of protection for whistleblowers.

That the Senior Leaders of the Diocese, the Diocesan Board of Finance, and the Cathedral Chapter participate in an externally led exercise whereby all parties agree to engage, critically discern and reflect upon the incidents that have led the Diocese to this situation. Such an exercise will enquire about the lessons learnt and facilitate a common direction for the future.

That the Cathedral Chapter commission an external investigation into the behaviour, culture and activities of the Cathedral Choir and due attention is given to the issues identified in the reports relating to the choir.

That they will co-operate with a Representative Body established leadership taskforce, accountable to the Trustees of the RB, to work with the officers of the Diocese of Bangor to offer more capacity and drive structural change. Such a taskforce will be given the authority to deliver and implement the system changes required to create a sustainable infrastructure for the future. The taskforce members are to be given full access to information and be allowed to attend board and management meetings.

Safeguarding Audit

It continues: “In addition, the Representative Body will commission a Provincial Safeguarding Audit of all the Cathedrals in Wales to assure itself that appropriate procedures and protocols relating to safeguarding are being followed diligently. It will also commission, in partnership with the Standing Committee of the Governing Body, a cultural audit of the Church in Wales.

“The Representative Body will continue to monitor the situation closely and reserves the right to review and, if necessary, adjust funding arrangements in accordance with our due diligence responsibilities as Trustees. We urge the Diocese and Cathedral to act swiftly and transparently to restore trust and ensure a safe, accountable environment for all.

“We remain committed to supporting the mission and ministry of the Church in Wales in Bangor and across Wales, always guided by our duty to protect the vulnerable and steward our resources for the common good of the Church in Wales. Therefore, we also call for change in leadership, procedures and governance in the Diocese of Bangor.”