Politicians told to 'get on' with rectory law change

Parish officials have urged the States of Guernsey to "get on" with work to change the law on who pays for the upkeep of rectories.

Ratepayers currently pay for the accommodation of rectors but an amendment passed by the previous states has removed the obligation.

The amendment means the Church of England will in future pay for the upkeep of rectories in Guernsey.

Deputy Steve Falla, a member of the Policy and Resources Committee, said: "This work is very much on our committee's agenda to deliver."

The amendment to the Parochial Church Property (Guernsey) Law, 2015, was proposed by former deputy Chris Le Tissier.

He said: "If P&R came back and said we can't do it in five years we'll do it in six, seven, then that would be fine."

"But at the moment, if they've just kicked it into the long grass and it's never going to happen then that's not acceptable."

St Saviours, St Peters and St Martin's are the only parishes which still pay for their rectories.

Rob Prow, a parish constable for St Martin's, contacted P&R for an update on work to implement the change.

Prow said his message to Policy and Resources was: "Can we please get on with this?"

"When it comes to budgeting and presenting our accounts in parish meetings, we need some certainty on what we need to provide and what we don't," he added.

Bob Murray, douzenier for St Saviours and a former member of Policy and Rescources, said: "This is an area that has been a festering sore for a very, very long time."

"We've pushed P&R to say what's happening and what we're told is they've been very busy."

"We will keep the pressure on to make sure that the consultation process does go through." he added.

Sue Aldwell, a former deputy and former constable for Torteval, said Guernsey was "quite far behind" England, where the same law change happened in 1868.

She believed last year's election should not affect the timeline for the amendment's implementation.

"Yes, it is going to fall with the new P&R committee, but last year all of the members of the current committee were in the States, so they are very well aware and very much understand the problems which we had," she said.

Deputy Steve Falla has pledged to deliver the amendment despite it being agreed by the previous States.

He said: "We're making progress and will be meeting with the Dean of Guernsey and parishes later this month, with further steps hopefully agreed at that time."

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