York Minster consults on new Constitution and Statutes

The Chapter of York, the governing body of York Minster, today opened a public consultation on its proposed new Constitution and Statutes – the governing documents for the cathedral.

In 2017, following high profile governance issues in a number of cathedrals, the Church of England set up a working party to look at the governance of English cathedrals. The working party’s recommendations formed the basis of new legislation – the Cathedrals Measure – which was approved by the General Synod of the Church of England and came into law in 2021.

The 2021 Measure introduced revised provisions for the governance, management, property and financial affairs of English cathedrals. All cathedrals in England are required to prepare a new set of Constitutions and Statutes and must also apply to the UK Charity Commission for registration as a charity.

Working to a strict template provided and approved by the Church Commissioners, the statutory regulator for cathedrals in England, York Minster is in a pilot group of cathedrals working to revise and update their structures, processes and documents in order to comply with the new Measure. Some of the key changes for York Minster include:

As a result of the Charity Commission registration, members of the Chapter of York will become Charity Trustees and will be subject to the oversight of the Charity Commission, rather than just the Church Commissioners
The size, composition and membership of the Chapter of York will change
The three bodies that currently form the governing corporation of York Minster – Chapter, Cathedral Council and the College of Canons – will change. Chapter will be reconstituted as the primary governing and oversight body for the cathedral
The Cathedral Council will cease to exist and the College of Canons will no longer be part of the “body corporate” nor have any formal governance role.

The new Constitution and Statutes have been drafted with the help of expert ecclesiastical lawyers using the templates provided and approved by the Church Commissioners. The Archbishop of York, the Cathedral Council, Chapter, the Church Commissioners and the Charity Commissioners have all seen and are content with the drafted documents, subject to anything arising from the public consultation.

About the consultation

Everyone who has an interest in York Minster is invited to review and comment on the proposed new Constitution and Statutes. All comments and representations will be considered and responded to, as required under Section 32 of the Cathedrals Measure 2021. The consultation can be accessed in the following ways:

Via the York Minster Website

Go to https://yorkminster.org/about-us/ to view the proposed new Constitution and Statutes.

View a printed copy

Printed copies of the proposed new Constitution and Statutes are also available for inspection Monday – Friday during normal office hours.

Please contact:

Chapter Clerk’s Office

8-9 Minster Yard

York

YO1 7HH.

01904557210

Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposed new Constitutions and Statues either by:

Indicating their approval for the changes, or
Drawing to the attention of the Cathedral Council (the body responsible for putting the provisions of the Measure into effect for York Minster)

any matters that they believe have been overlooked, or
any errors that they believe have occurred, or
any omissions that they believe have occurred

should send their comments by email to chapterclerk@yorkminster.org

All responses must be received by 2.00pm on Friday 16^th September 2022.

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