Incumbents (Vacation of Benefices) Measure 1977

[F1 Schedule 1 E Constitution of Provincial Tribunals

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 1 substituted (1.9.1994) for Sch. by 1993 Measure No. 1, s. 12, Sch.1 (with s. 15); Instrument dated 25.7.1994 made by Archbishops of Canterbury and York

1 (1) A provincial tribunal shall consist of five persons appointed by the Vicar-General of the province in which the parish in question is situated. E

(2) Of the five persons to be so appointed—

(a) one, who shall be the chairman, shall be either the chancellor of a diocese in the province for which the tribunal is to be appointed, other than the diocese in which the parish in question is situated, or a Queen’s Counsel who is a communicant member of the Church of England;

(b) two shall be clerks in Holy Orders from the panel appointed from the members of the Lower House of the Convocation of the province concerned under paragraph 15(1)(b) of Schedule 4 to the Pastoral Measure 1983 (Appeal Tribunal for compensation of clergy); and

(c) two shall be lay persons from the panel appointed from the members of the House of Laity of the General Synod under paragraph 15(1)(c) of the said Schedule 4:

Provided that no person who is ordinarily resident in the diocese in which the parish in question is or whose name is entered on the electoral roll of any parish in that diocese or who is a clerk in Holy Orders authorised to exercise his ministry in any such parish, shall be appointed.

2 (1) Where the secretary of the diocesan synod is required to institute an enquiry under this Measure, the said secretary shall request the Vicar-General of the province to constitute a provincial tribunal in accordance with paragraph 1 above and to send him a list of the names and addresses of the proposed members. E

(2) Any person appointed to serve as a member of the tribunal from a panel mentioned in sub-paragraph 1(2)(b) or (c) above may refuse to accept the appointment if in his opinion it would not be right for him to serve as a member of the tribunal.

(3) On receiving such list the said secretary shall send a copy of it to the incumbent concerned and shall inform him of his right of objection under paragraph 3 below and of the period within which the right must be exercised.

3 (1) The incumbent concerned may, within three weeks after a list of the proposed members is sent to him, object to any one or more of them by sending to the said secretary a written notice specifying the member or members to whom he objects and stating, in relation to that member or each of those members, as the case may be, the grounds of his objection. E

(2) If notice of objection is duly given under sub-paragraph (1) above, the said secretary shall refer the matter to the Vicar-General of the province, other than the province for which the tribunal is to be appointed, for him to determine whether the objection is reasonable and should accordingly be allowed, and his decision shall be final.

(3) For the purpose of enabling him to decide whether the objection is reasonable, the Vicar-General may require the incumbent to supply him with such information as he may specify.

(4) Where, in the case of any member objected to by the incumbent, the Vicar-General decides that the objection should be allowed, the said secretary shall request the Vicar-General mentioned in paragraph 1(1) above to appoint another person having the appropriate qualifications to serve in place of that member and to inform him of the name and address of the person appointed, and on receiving that information the said secretary shall inform the incumbent of the name and address of that person.

(5) Subject to sub-paragraph (6) below, the incumbent may within three weeks after he is informed of the name of the proposed member appointed under sub-paragraph (4) above object to that member by sending to the said secretary a written notice stating the grounds of his objection, and sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) above shall have effect where a notice of objection is duly given under this sub-paragraph as they have effect where such a notice is so given under sub-paragraph (1) above.

(6) The incumbent shall not be entitled to object to a person appointed under sub-paragraph (4) above from a panel mentioned in paragraph 1(2)(b) or (c) above if, were the objection to be allowed, the result would be that the tribunal could not be constituted, there being no other person on the appropriate panel available for appointment as a member of the tribunal.

4 E As soon as the provincial tribunal which is to conduct an enquiry has been constituted the said secretary shall send a list of the members to the incumbent concerned, the archdeacon concerned, the designated representative (if any), the secretary of the parochial church council of the parish to which the enquiry relates and the person who is to act as secretary of the tribunal.

5 E The Synodical Secretary of the Convocation of Canterbury or some other person nominated by him shall act as secretary of any tribunal constituted under this Schedule to conduct an enquiry in relation to a parish in the province of Canterbury, and the Synodal Secretary of the Convocation of York or some other person nominated by him shall act as secretary of any tribunal so constituted to conduct an enquiry in relation to a parish in the province of York.]

[F2 Schedule 2 E Compensation Under Section 13

Textual Amendments

F2 Sch. 2 inserted (1.9.1994) by 1993 Measure No. 1 , s. 13 , Sch.2 (with s. 15 ); Instrument dated 25.7.1994 made by Archbishops of Canterbury and York .

1 (1) If agreement as to the form, amount and conditions of provision of compensation is reached between the person concerned and the diocesan board of finance, it shall be provided in accordance with the terms of the agreement. E

(2) If no agreement is reached as aforesaid, the compensation shall consist of—

(a) in respect of loss of stipend, a basic award in accordance with paragraph 2 below; and

(b) in respect of loss of housing and removal expenses, a housing allowance and a resettlement allowance in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 below.

2 (1) The basic award shall be in the form of periodical payments which shall be paid monthly to the person concerned during a period commencing on the date when he ceases to be the incumbent of the benefice concerned (“the material date”) and expiring at the end of— E

(a) such number of months immediately following the material date as results from adding together—

(i) one month for each year or part of a year during which the person concerned has served in whole-time stipendiary ecclesiastical service; and

(ii) one month for each year or part of a year which has passed before the material date since the person concerned attained the age of forty years; or

(b) thirty-six months immediately following the material date,

whichever is the greater:

Provided that where the person concerned has at the material date attained the age of fifty years the payments shall continue, if they would otherwise cease, until he attains an age within five years of the retiring age.

(2) Such payments shall cease to be payable in respect of the person concerned—

(a) when he attains the retiring age; or

(b) if he receives a pension under the pensions regulations before attaining that age, on the date on which the pension is first paid; or

(c) if he re-enters whole-time stipendiary ecclesiastical service (being service which is pensionable service for the purposes of the pensions regulations) within the Province of Canterbury (including the Diocese in Europe) or the Province of York, on the date of re-entry.

(3) Subject to paragraph (5) below, each monthly payment shall be of an amount equal to one-twelfth of the following—

(a) in the first period of twelve months, the national minimum stipend for the year in which the payment falls to be made;

(b) in the second period of twelve months, three-quarters of the national minimum stipend for the year in which the payment falls to be made;

(c) thereafter, two-thirds of the national minimum stipend for the year in which the payment falls to be made.

(4) Where a pension is payable under the pensions regulations to a person who has received periodical payments under this paragraph, the [F3 Church of England Pensions Board] shall augment the pension so as to ensure that it is at the same rate as it would have been had the period during which the periodical payments were made been one of pensionable service for the purpose of the regulations.

Textual Amendments

F3 Words in Sch. 2 para. 2(4) substituted (1.1.2001) by 2000 Measure No. 1, s. 9(a); Instrument dated 14.12.2000 made by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

3 (1) The housing allowance shall be in the form of periodical payments which shall be paid monthly to the person concerned during the period in which the basic award is paid under paragraph 2 above. E

(2) Each monthly payment shall be of such amount as may be determined by the diocesan board of finance, and in determining the amount the diocesan board of finance shall consult the Church of England Pensions Board as to its practice where a person retires on grounds of ill-health, and shall have regard to its advice.

4 E The resettlement allowance shall be a single payment of an amount equal to three-tenths of the national minimum stipend for the year in which application for compensation was made or such greater amount as the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England may determine.

5 (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, if a person who is applying for or receiving payments under paragraph 2(1) or 3(1) above accepts any office or employment, the diocesan board of finance may refuse the application or, as the case may be, may suspend the periodical payments or reduce the amount thereof so as to take account of the emoluments of or other benefits which arise from the office or employment. E

(2) The diocesan board of finance shall not exercise its powers under paragraph (1) above in a manner whereby the total annual amount of the emoluments in question and the periodical payments (if any) would be less than the national minimum stipend.

(3) It shall be the duty of every person who applies for or receives periodical payments under paragraph 2(1) or 3(1) above to disclose to the diocesan board of finance any office or employment which has been accepted by him and the terms thereof; and if he fails to do so and it appears to the board that in consequence it has made periodical payments which otherwise it would not have made or periodical payments in excess of those it would otherwise have made, it may, without prejudice to its powers under paragraph (1) above, direct the repayment of the amount of the payments or excess or such part thereof as it thinks just, and that amount shall be recoverable as a debt due to the board.

6 E An application for compensation shall be made to the diocesan board of finance in such manner as that board may determine; and where a person is incapacitated from making such an application himself that board may authorise some other person to make it on his behalf.

7 E The cost of compensation shall be borne by the diocesan board of finance and charged either on the capital or the income account of the diocesan stipends fund, as may be [F4 determined by] the diocesan board of finance.

Textual Amendments

F4 Words in Sch. 2 para. 7 substituted (1.1.2001) by 2000 Measure No. 1, s. 9(b); Instrument dated 14.12.2000 made by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

8 (1) In this Schedule— E

• “compensation” means compensation under section 13 of this Measure;

• “diocesan board of finance” has the same meaning as in the Pastoral Measure 1983;

• “national minimum stipend”, in relation to any year, means the national minimum stipend recommended for the stipends of clergymen of incumbent status for that year in the Annual Report of the F5 . . . Central Stipends Authority;

• “pensions regulations” means regulations for the time being in force under section 6 of the Clergy Pensions (Amendment) Measure 1972.

(2) In this Schedule the following expressions have the same meanings as in the pensions regulations—

• “retiring age”;

• “stipendiary ecclesiastical service”.]

Textual Amendments

F5 Sch. 2 para. 8(1) : words in definition of “national minimum stipend” omitted (1.1.2001) by virtue of 2000 Measure No. 1 , s. 9(c) ; Instrument dated 14.12.2000 made by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

SCHEDULE E CONSTITUTION AND PROCEDURE OF DIOCESAN COMMITTEES AND PROVINCIAL TRIBUNALS

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