Office Address Church House, Woodlands Court, Truro Business Park, Threemilestone Truro, TR4 9NH. Telephone 01872 360034 Email [email protected]Website www.trurodiocese.org.uk The Truro Diocesan Board of Finance Limited is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No 49825. The Board is a Charity (No 248330) Diocese of Truro APCM Information Pack I hope that you will find this information pack helpful. If there are other changes we can make, please do let me know as your feedback is important to us. CREATED: January 2020 AUTHOR: Esther Pollard
Transcript
Office Address Church House, Woodlands Court, Truro Business Park, Threemilestone
The Truro Diocesan Board of Finance Limited is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No 49825.
The Board is a Charity (No 248330)
Diocese of Truro
APCM Information Pack
I hope that you will find this information pack helpful. If there are other changes we can make, please do let me know as your feedback is important to us. CREATED: January 2020 AUTHOR: Esther Pollard
Resources & Useful Forms .............................................................................................................. 9
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APCM - Frequently Asked Questions Guide We have included the Frequently Asked Questions Guide on the conduct of Annual Parish and Annual Parochial Church Meetings. It largely covers the processes which will help you to prepare for your Annual Parochial Church Meeting in 2020. This can be found in the APCM section of the website at https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/pccs/apcm-parish-resources/ The Church Representation Rules set out that the APCM should be held before 31 May 2020. Please also make sure that you or your parish priest has a copy of the Church Representation Rules to hand. The latest version (2020), which replaces the 2017 version, is available to order from Church House Publishing or you could place an order through your local bookshop or via Amazon. You may also be aware that the Church Representation Rules are also available on line on the Church of England website. Simply type in Church Representation Rules in your search engine on the internet and it will guide you to it.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2020 On receipt of this letter, please contact your parish priest immediately to arrange a date for the meeting. Where you have no parish priest at present, please contact your PCC Vice-Chairman. Part 9 of Church Representation Rules covers Annual Parochial Church Meetings. The Churchwardens Measure 2001 stipulates that an individual’s maximum continuous period of service of the same parish is six terms of office (in effect six years) after which the churchwarden must take at least a two year break before reappointment. If either or both of your Churchwardens have been in office continuously for the last six years, then he, she or they must now stand down and new churchwarden(s) be elected, unless this rule has been previously waived. Details can be found in the Supplementary Material at the back of Church Representation Rules. The forms to help you with the meeting are enclosed as follows:
Notice of Meeting to elect Churchwardens
Notice of Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Churchwarden Nomination Forms
Specimen application for a postal vote
Return form to be sent to the Deanery Synod Secretary after the Meeting
Notice of Revision of Church Electoral Roll
Application for enrolment on the Church Electoral Roll Please photocopy additional copies as required
Please ensure that the names and addresses of Deanery Synod Members are completed fully and accurately. It is particularly helpful if the appropriate postcodes are included, and e-mail addresses where appropriate. The enclosed checklist for forms that are returned annually to Church House may be helpful. (Please note that the checklist itself does not need to be returned to this office.)
You can obtain a copy of the above forms from our website, www.trurodiocese.org.uk, simply go to https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/pccs/apcm-parish-resources/ All the information should be readily available.
Election of Deanery Synod Representatives Deanery Synod Representatives will be elected in 2020 to serve for the period 2020 – 2023. Please ensure that you let us know of the details of your Deanery Synod Representatives when you inform us of the details of your parish officers. This is particularly important as elections to General Synod are due to take place this year and the Deanery Synod Representatives are the electorate for these elections. A leaflet indicating the number of lay representatives that can be elected by each parish in the Diocese, which has been approved by Diocesan Synod can be found in the APCM section of the website at this link: https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/pccs/apcm-parish-resources/ Please note that these elected representatives are in addition to members of General Synod or Diocesan Synod.
Electoral Roll A new Electoral Roll is not required until 2025. However, the roll will need to be revised to cater for updated information.
Notice of Revision of Electoral Roll Please note that the Notice of Revision, which must be displayed at every church at least 14 days before the start of the revision, has been revised in accordance with CRR 2020.
Application Form for Enrolment on the Church Electoral Roll The Application Form for Enrolment on the Church Electoral Roll has also been revised in accordance with CRR 2020 and with General Data Protection Regulations. In addition to the statutory requirements, this form includes a statement describing what it means to be on the Electoral Roll. You may photocopy this form, in which case please do not forget to enter your parish name on page 1 and the details of your Electoral Roll Officer, and the date by which the form must be returned, on page four. Both forms are available on our website https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/pccs/apcm-parish-resources/
Electoral Roll – changes to the Church Representation Rules Admission Where a lay person wishes to have their name added to a parish electoral roll, then they must now make one of three declarations. These declarations are:
they are a member of the Church of England or a Church in communion with it and resident in the parish; or
they are a member of the Church of England or a Church in communion with it, but they are not resident in the parish, although they have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months; or
is a member in good standing of a Church which is not in communion with the Church of England but subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, is also a member of the Church of England and has habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.
Publication In the case of publication of either a new or a revised roll, only the names should now be published (no other personal data should be included)
Qualifications of Lay Representatives for election to a PCC and Deanery Synod A member of the laity must have been entered on the Electoral Roll of a parish for at least six
months before qualifying to be elected to the PCC or Deanery Synod (with the exception of a person who is under 18 years of age at the time of the election).
Number of Lay Representatives on the PCC The number of lay representatives on the PCC in addition to ex-officio members, is graduated on the basis of the number on the Electoral Roll: 6 representatives for not more than 50 names on the Electoral Roll, 9 representatives for not more than 100 names, and subsequently, a further 3 representatives for every 100 (or part thereof) names on the Electoral Roll, up to a maximum of 15 members.
Term of Office of Elected Lay Members of the PCC The normal arrangements are that elected lay members of the PCC serve for three years, with one third retiring and being elected each year. The APCM may decide that representatives will hold office for one year only; but any such decision must be reviewed by the APCM at least once every six years.
Annual Report & Accounts 2019 You will be familiar with the business to be discussed at the APCM laid down by the Church Representation Rules and shown on the Notice. Your Treasurer will soon be dealing with the preparation of your annual financial reports for the year to 31st December 2019 and these must be prepared in accordance with a variety of legislation, which includes the Church Accounting Regulations 2006. The latest edition of PCC Accountability - The Charities Act 2011 and the PCC 5th Edition, which can be found at http://www.parishresources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/PCC-Accountability-5th-Edition.pdf should provide a complete resource to enable your Treasurer and the PCC to meet the requirements of the law. The form and content of the annual financial reports are determined by the size of the church’s income. If your annual income is under £250,000 per annum, the accounts may be prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis and your annual financial reports must comprise the Annual Report, an Independent Examiner’s Report, a Receipts & Payments Account and a Statement of Assets and Liabilities. If your annual income is over £250,000 per annum, the accounts must be prepared on the Accruals basis and your annual financial reports must comprise the Annual Report, an Independent Examiner’s (or Auditor’s) Report, a Statement of Financial Activities and a Balance Sheet. An Annual Report on the proceedings of the PCC and the main activities of the Parish needs to be produced, and attached to the Annual Accounts. This Report and the Accounts form one document which the Independent Examiner or Auditor should see as part of the independent examination/audit. This Report also needs to be presented to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Your Independent Examiner (or Auditor) must be fully aware of the requirements of any regulations. The Charity Commission updated it’s guidance on the independent examination of charity accounts in 2017 and the document can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-examination-of-charity-accounts-examiners-cc32 The Charities Act 2011 and the PCC Accountability - 5th Edition book also provides advice on the selection of a suitable Independent Examiner and the duties he/she is expected to perform.
Your PCC is collectively responsible for its annual financial reports. The Annual Report and the Accounts should be formally presented and approved at a PCC meeting and signed by the chairman of the meeting. They are then ready for a wider audience. The Church Representation Rules require that the financial statements must be displayed at each of your places of worship for at least 7 days (of which one must be a day when the church is used for worship) prior to the APCM. There is a wealth of information on the Parish Resources website which can be found at www.parishresources.org.uk/ and includes links to the Charity Commission. There is guidance around Managing Risk with more details on putting together a Risk Assessment form. The larger parishes have a legal obligation to include in their Annual Report a statement confirming that the major risks to which the charity is exposed, as identified by the Trustees, have been reviewed and that systems & procedures are in place to manage those risks. All PCCs are charities and PCC members are charity trustees under charity law. This gives the PCC a number of benefits and opportunities, but it also lays a number of duties before them; the need to produce an Annual Report and Accounts that satisfy the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 and submit them to the Diocese is one of them, if the PCC is to maintain its exception from individual registration with the Charity Commission. If your Treasurer has any specific queries with respect to the Annual Report and Accounts, they are welcome to contact our finance department at [email protected]
Parochial Fees With effect from January 2013 there were changes to the way Parochial fees are calculated. All of this information can be found on our website by following the next links. Simply go to https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/finance/parochial-fees/ All of the information should be readily available.
Church of England Parochial Fees 2020 Please note the changes in fees. We have enclosed/made available on our website a copy of the new Church of England Parochial Fees table for 2020. You can also download this from the Church of England website by following the link below https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/2020_parochial_fees_table_a4.pdf
A very good resource is the Parish Resources Website which can be found at www.parishresources.org.uk/ I would encourage you to have a good browse as it contains a whole range of resources to help PCC Treasurers. This includes information about their role, key tasks, good practice for handling cash, how to produce accounts which will comply with the Charity Commission's guidance, and details of when a PCC is required to register with the Charity Commission.
Important to note: The Church Representation Rules also state that the Annual Report and Accounts must be sent, within twenty-eight days of the APCM, to the Secretary of the Truro Diocesan Board of Finance. This is part of our joint statutory obligations.
On-line submission of Statistics for Mission & Return of Parish Finance (ROPF) forms As you may be aware we now have access to a secure online system which will allow parish representatives to enter the 'Return for Parish Finance' and 'Statistics for Mission' forms for January to December 2019 via the internet. This information should now be entered directly on to the online system for 2019 data by a member of the PCC. For more information, or if you have misplaced your unique log in credentials for your parish, please email [email protected], or contact the front office administration team by calling 01872 274351 who will be delighted to help. We are grateful for those parishes who use the online system to submit their statistics and I hope you will encourage others to do the same. The information you gather is valued and used widely across our Church, both at a local level and nationally, to inform future development.
Parish Safeguarding Policy As outlined in the PCC Secretary Guidance notes PCCs are required to review their parish Safeguarding Policy annually and, if there is work with children, youth and other vulnerable people, receive an annual report from the Parish Safeguarding Officer. As with the current guidance, a copy of the policy should be sent to the safeguarding team.
The National Safeguarding Team have developed a draft Parish Safeguarding Handbook and appendices which outlines in Section 1 what a PCC and Incumbent need to have in place. The handbook and appendices can be found on the Church of England website – follow this link. We are aware that some PCCs undertake the review of their parish Safeguarding Policy at the APCM. If you are, it is suggested that you might wish to use the Church of England recommended template Model Parish Safeguarding Policy. You may also find the Model Parish Safeguarding Checklist a helpful tool when reviewing your policy.
Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks A DBS check is required for everyone who may have contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults through a ‘Regulated Activity’. This is any activity of a specified nature that involves contact with children or vulnerable adults frequently (once a week or more), intensively (for four days or more in a 30-day period) or overnight (anytime between 2am and 6 am). Other roles may meet a criteria for a DBS check even when not involved in Regulated Activity but work with people who may be vulnerable. It is our Diocesan Policy to check all workers, paid or volunteers, that are eligible for a DBS check through an Enhanced DBS Disclosure. Specific guidance on Safer Recruitment and DBS, including which roles/activities are eligible (see National Safer Recruitment Practice Guidance), can be found on the website under Safeguarding. If the PCC, as a charity, sponsors and approves, in its own name, work with children or vulnerable adults, then all PCC members (including the churchwardens, as ex officio members of the PCC), will be eligible for a DBS check.
The decision about who to check on a PCC is left to local determination and our diocesan policy is that all Churchwardens and at least 2 other members of the PCC are checked. The diocese uses on on-line system for DBS checks for everyone, as it provides a more effective and efficient way of processing the checks. The appointed person in your parish responsible for handling the DBS checks ("Leader Recruiter") will be able to use the on line system and the check will be processed by ThirtyOne:Eight. Each applicant will receive their DBS certificate through the post. Eligibility for DBS checks is ‘activity’ specific, therefore it is crucial that you have job descriptions where you require employees/volunteers to work with children and/or vulnerable adults; otherwise it will be unclear who is eligible for a check. If you have a query about which roles require a DBS, or the DBS process your Leader Recruiter will have access to ThirtyOne:Eight’s Recruiter Guidance If you wish to discuss further, please contact ThirtyOne:Eight or contact our DBS administrator at [email protected] Failure to pay due regard to the above could invalidate your insurance cover and could potentially expose vulnerable people to harm which could have been avoided.
Parish Safeguarding Officers Church House need to know the names and contact details of the officer/s linked to your parish so that we are able to communicate with them at various times throughout the year. The name/s of safeguarding coordinator for adults and safeguarding coordinator for children must both be filled and return to Church House in order to keep us up to date on the notification of parish safeguarding officer form. The Parish Safeguarding Officer role description can be found on the Church of England website follow this link. The name of your safeguarding coordinator/s together with information about your safeguarding commitment should be displayed on your church notice board. You may wish to use the Church of England model promoting a Safer Church poster (follow this link)
Safeguarding Training Diocesan Safeguarding training, which is based on the Church of England National Training programme, is delivered across the Diocese throughout the year. Currently we provide several modules in house – C1, C2; C3, C5, S1 & S3 and C0 is available online via the training portal. Details of each module and who should attend can be found on our website: Safeguarding Training Information for Parishes. Details of current training events, and a link to our booking system can also be found on our website: Training courses 2020 From April 2020 we will be delivering the National Safeguarding modules which will be referred to as Awareness Raising, Foundation and Leadership training. The C0, C1 and C2 names will be dropped. C3 and C5 will no longer be available but a refresher at the current level required for the role can be booked via the diocesan website. It is, and will remain a requirement for clergy (including PTO’s), Readers and Safeguarding Coordinators, as well as leaders and workers with vulnerable adults and children to attend safeguarding training .
All safeguarding training is required to be renewed every 3 years, and anyone who has attended either a C1, C2 or C3 course is able to attend a shorter (C5) refresher course.
If you have Lay Pastoral Ministers/Visitors, then please contact Sarah Welply at Church House who will advise on their safeguarding training requirements.
Safeguarding Team
For general safeguarding queries contact a member of the safeguarding team on 01872 274351 or [email protected] For urgent safeguarding concerns contact Sarah Acraman on 01872 274351 or [email protected] or Emergency services if it cannot wait and is felt to be an emergency.
DAC and Faculty Jurisdiction Rules Have you got your Faculties? If parishes are contemplating work to the church (interior and exterior) or churchyard a Faculty (permission) may be needed. All applications are entered online and details of how to apply may be obtained from the DAC Secretary. In January 2016 Lists A & B were published which contain works not needing a Faculty. Items on List B, however, do need the permission of the Archdeacon and are entered onto the Online Faculty System so that a record may be kept. These lists have been revised under the Faculty Jurisdiction (Amendment) Rules 2019, which are due to come into force on 1 April 2020. If you would like more details or advice please contact the DAC Secretary Mrs Sue Thorold at Church House on 01872 247216 or email [email protected], or visit the Diocesan Advisory Committee pages on the Diocesan Website at: https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resource-collection/diocesan-advisory-committee/
Local Worship Leaders (LWL) Local Worship Leaders help to prepare and lead a wide variety of services under the authority, scrutiny and guidance of their Incumbent. All LWLs must be approved by their PCC and are required
to attend the initial training course, Sunday Plus, and C2 level safeguarding training, provided by the Church House Safeguarding Team. For more information, training opportunities, change of contact details (particularly email addresses) or LWLs no longer ministering in this way in your parish, please contact The Discipleship Team, Church House, Woodlands Court, Truro Business Park, Threemilestone, Truro, TR4 9NH Tel: 01872 274351 [email protected]
Local Pastoral Ministers (LPM) Local Pastoral Ministers act in a pastoral capacity on behalf of the church whether this is visiting the sick and housebound, supporting the parish clergy (e.g bereavement support, baptism preparation) or through community based initiatives. All LPMs must be approved by their PCC and are required to attend the initial training course provided by the Safeguarding Team from Church House, undertake
an enhanced DBS check for Vulnerable Adults and complete C2 Level Safeguarding Training. To ensure adequate insurance cover from your parish insurance there should be regular updates about the work of the LPM team at your PCC and APCM meetings. For more information please contact Sarah Welply, Project Officer, Church House, Woodlands Court, Truro Business Park, Threemilestone, Truro, TR4 9NH, 01872 247211, [email protected]
It would be extremely helpful if you could let us know of any Local Pastoral Ministers or Local Worship Leaders who are no longer exercising their ministry.
Treasurers’ Mailing We are in the process of obtaining all of the parish apportionment information for the Mission and Ministry Fund (MMF) from the deaneries for 2020. We would encourage you to ensure that this is shared with the PCC when it is received.
PCC Secretary’s Guide The PCC Secretary’s guide has been updated and is available on the APCM page of our website here https://www.trurodiocese.org.uk/resources/parish-resources/pccs/apcm-parish-resources/ Please let me know by email to [email protected] if you would be interested in receiving your individual copy if you are not able to download this from the website. We have made the guide available on-line to keep our cost for printing and distributing to a minimum.
Resources & Useful Forms Please see list on the following page:
Resources Checklist: Important note: the forms & documents numbered 1 - 12 and in bold in the list below have been updated. Items 1 – 11 have been updated in accordance with the revisions made to Church Representation Rules 2020. Please ensure that you use these updated copies and that any previous versions of the forms are destroyed. Item 12 - the template PCC Member Declaration, has also been revised. Under the revised CRRs, Electoral Roll Certificates are no longer required and are therefore not included on this list of enclosures. However, written notification of the number of names on the roll of your parish as at the date of the APCM should be sent to the Diocesan Secretary by 1st July each year.
Subject Information for: Read/Noted/Printed
1 APCM Information Pack PCC Secretary
2 APCM Guidance for the Conduct of Meetings 2020 Frequently Asked Questions on Guidance for the Conduct of Annual Parish and Annual Parochial Church Meetings
