1. Lucy Deakin & Chris Gould Tuesday 14th February 2017
Parochial Fees 2017
Lucy Deakin & Chris Gould
Tuesday 14th February 2017
Welcome all and thank you for coming
Introductions to Lucy & Chris

2. Parochial Fees Fees legally belong to the DBF
Fee levels increase each year
Fees are based on the costs of ministry; making the church available; routine administration and lighting
PCC / benefice usually handle payments and pass across to the DBF its share at ideally monthly or quarterly intervals
LUCY
These are PRIORITY before Parish Share and a legal requirement

3. The PCC element
PCC fees have been calculated to include a location/building element based on national statistics for the overall costs of repairs and maintenance of church buildings and the number of hours in use.
Also included is an element for administration and cost of lighting.
LUCY

4. Extras that can be charged
Heating
Services of a verger
Services of an organist, choir or bell-ringers
Sheet or recorded music that has to be specially purchased
The provision of recorded or taped music
The taking of films, video or sound recordings
Flowers
Special furnishings
LUCY

5. Bishops’ Guidelines
These work alongside the fees and cover the majority of queries and idiosyncrasies which may arise in determining the fees
A copy has been sent to all treasurers, first church wardens, PCC secretaries/administrators, Incumbents, retired clergy and funeral directors in the Diocese.
LUCY
Most Questions are answered in these guidelines

8. How it works All services recorded on 1 page
Excel spreadsheet automatically totals amount at the end to save carrying forward any subtotals as before.
Ref/Code - This is based on a 'building blocks' idea so hopefully it makes it easier to work out which fee applies to the service. This is aimed specifically at funerals and burials which have the most combinations and can often be confused.
Each service should be recorded on a separate line, so for example Mr White had a funeral service and was buried the same day, therefore: F (Funeral) £98 BCH (Buried in Churchyard) £12
LUCY – MORE examples on animation

9. LUCY

10. Worked examples Date Ref* Name Church Name of Officiant
Retired Clergy Fee £
PCC Fee £
DBF Fee £
01/04/16 M
Smith / Jones
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£231.00
£193.00
06/04/16 F
White
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£84.00
£98.00
06/04/16
BCH
White
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£113.00
£12.00
21/05/16 M
Green / Brown
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£231.00
£193.00
03/06/16
FCRB
Mason
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£28.00
£154.00
09/06/16 VT
White
St. Lucy's
Rev. I M Jollie -
£56.00
£12.00
21/06/16 WC
Black
St. Lucy's
Rev. Cheerful -
£29.00
£12.00
LUCY
Please note the White funeral and burial on the same day are on separate lines and the monument is listed further down
The Funeral Cremation INCLUDING Burial in cemetary
This is very different from a Funeral Church Service (F) £98 followed by a cremation (CR) £26 immediately before or after the service and a burial of ashes in the churchyard ACH £12 (which grand totals £134) or cemetery BCM £26 (which grand totals £150).
£0.00
£772.00
£674.00

11. Retired Ministers with PTO
Funeral Directors have been instructed to make all payments to the PCC/benefice
Retired Ministers will approach the PCC/benefice for their apportionment of fees and travel expenses
Should the Retired Minister refuse a fee, then the whole fee (excluding the PCC element) is payable to the DBF
LUCY – PLEASE NOTE Retired clergy fees - £32.50 this year

12. Worked examples – Retired Ministers
Date
Ref*
Name
Church
Name of Officiant
Retired Clergy Fee £
PCC Fee £
DBF Fee £
28/05/16 M
Baker / Clarke
St. Lucy's
Rev. Cheerful
£129.00
£231.00
£64.00
15/06/16 F
Black
St. Lucy's
Rev. Cheerful
£65.00
£84.00
£33.00
20/06/16
BACHS
Black
St. Lucy's
Rev. Cheerful
£25.00
£113.00
£13.00
21/06/16 WC
Black
St. Lucy's
Rev. Cheerful -
£29.00
£12.00
LUCY
Wedding is pretty straight forward in the split out, as is a standard funeral, however as you will see, Black had a funeral on one day, and Burial of cremated remains in the churchyard on a separate on separate day, so is listed as such. Monuments do not have a clergy fee as such, so you will see that the split out is thus.
£219.00
£457.00
£122.00

13. Waiving Parochial Fees
The Incumbent or Priest in Charge (P-in-C) has the right to waive the DBF fee “in a particular case”*
The DBF will have to find the additional fund for stipends elsewhere
The Incumbent or P-in-C has also the right to waive the PCC fee after consulting with the CWs
PCCs will approach the Rural Dean in the case of a vacancy
* This means that the Incumbent/P-in-C cannot issue a general, blanket waiver of fees in the parish.
LUCY

14. Vacancy Claims
Detailed information will be sent at the beginning of a vacancy
Vacancy Claims for Sunday or Weekday services – max 4 services per week. Forms completed monthly
Fees can not be paid to Stipendiary clergy, House for Duty priests, self supporting ministers (SSMs), Chaplains or Readers
House for Duty Priests are treated the same as stipendiary clergy
CHRIS

15. CHRIS

16. Clergy Sickness Cover
Fees for casual duty and travel expenses are payable by the DBF for a period of eight weeks commencing at the beginning of the fifth week from the time that an Incumbent is ill. These fees are not payable to stipendiary clergy, SSMs, Chaplains or Readers, although they may claim travel expenses. It is the responsibility of the churchwarden arranging the service to ensure that any visiting clergy have PTO. No payment will be made by the DBF to visiting clergy who do not have PTO.
CHRIS

17. Fees – Recording and Accounting
Recording and handling fees
Does not have to be done by the treasurer
…but if not, info should be provided to the treasurer
Not usually done by the incumbent
Accounting for fees
Only the PCC element appears in the PCC’s income / receipts total in the annual accounts
The amounts payable to the DBF and – if applicable – a retired clergyperson do not appear in income / expenditure
CHRIS

18. Best Practice Frequency of returns
Payments – BACS,CHQ reference Parish + Fees
Bishops Guidelines
Mistakes can be rectified and reconciled – contact Lucy (details on final slide)
Ideally a service per line rather than multiples added together as it is easier to see if there has been an over/under payment
LUCY
Frequency - Busy churches monthly, but ideally the majority is quarterly.

19. Fee Audits
Every year a selection of 12 PCCs are selected for an annual fee audit (some randomly and some on a risk basis)
The DBF officers will be comparing PCC records with the PCCs for completeness and accuracy
It is hoped that they will assist the PCCs with good practice and record keeping
Queries are followed up shortly after each audit and any necessary recommendations made
CHRIS

20. FAQs
Two bodies in one plot or an additional body in a pre-existing plot
Other denominations
Readers
Banns & Renewal of vows
CHRIS & LUCY
1. This comes under section 3.5 of the Bishops Guidelines: “If a burial is made in the churchyard in an existing plot, the PCC fee is not payable; the PCC fee is primarily used for the upkeep of the plot and it would have already been paid at the time of the first burial. “
2. Similarly 3.5 of the guidelines states “If there is no CofE Minister officiating the burial, there is no prescribed DBF fee.”
3. Do not receive fees
4. Renewals – no set fee, it depends on the size of service and PCC’s discretion. Banns only have a PCC fee

21. Thank you..
For attending the training, and for all of your hard work in your role.
For any feedback on the evaluation form – please can you fill in before you leave
CHRIS & LUCY

22. Any questions? All fee tables, Bishops’ Guidelines and leaflets are
available on the diocesan website:
parishes/finance/for-treasurers/parochial-fees
Or you can contact the office: /
LUCY & CHRIS
Thank you for coming.
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