by Tanya O’Rourke T&A Reporter Arrears in the Church of England’s lay pension scheme, the recession, and the impact of the harsh winter have been blamed for the Bradford Diocese’s operating budget falling £108,000 in the red.

The Bradford Diocesan Board of Finance report states it had to pay an additional £100,000 towards the deficit in the lay staff pension scheme.

That loss was further compounded by a fall in donations from parishioners due to the recession or church attendance falling during the heavy snow over Christmas and New Year. Debbie Child, acting secretary of the Diocese, said: “There are so many people with so many problems in this climate, I think charities are suffering first.

“I think the main thing is we have had a deficit in our lay pension scheme. The Government has imposed stricter controls on pension schemes and that has impacted on everyone.”

She said that overall, after property transactions had been considered, the Diocese saw a surplus of £411,380 in 2009. The deficit figure of £108,524 related to the operational budget for that year. In 2008 the deficit was £66,000.

Mrs Child said the Diocese was also doing what it could to reduce the shortfall in share. She said: “We are very aware that we need to operate on a break-even budget. We try to work with parishes so they have an attainable target and we want to bring it to a more manageable target for them.”

She said the snow may have contributed to the reduced figures by cutting numbers at carol services.

“We’re very fortunate that churchgoers are loyal, but everybody is suffering.”

The Diocesan Synod takes place tomorrow at the offices of Bradford & Bingley in Crossflatts at 9.45am.