Chapter Update September 2025

Chapter Update September 2025

The wellbeing of cathedral staff, finances and safeguarding were high on the agenda at the latest meeting of the Cathedral Chapter, Wakefield Cathedral’s governing / trustee board.

The Chapter, which is the board of trustees of the charity that is the cathedral, met on Wednesday September 10 and was chaired by Canon Philip Hobday in his role as Interim Dean.

At each meeting, Chapter takes a ‘deep dive’ into an aspect of cathedral life, and this time the chosen topic was staff well-being.

“The Chapter is the legal employer of the staff at the cathedral, and we are very aware of our responsibilities towards our staff,” explained Canon Jane Evans, vice-chair of Chapter. “But it goes far beyond our legal obligations: we care deeply about our loyal and hard-working team members and want to keep their welfare front and centre in our thinking.”

Chief Operating Officer Rachel Copley presented the results of the latest staff survey, which revealed a broadly positive picture, with some areas to work on including communications with and amongst the team.

The Chapter took its regular look at the financial picture, which is challenging to say the least. The cathedral is already operating a deficit budget for the current year and Chapter was made aware that our reserves are dangerously low.

“We are not alone in having financial challenges,” explained Canon Alison Dean, chair of the Finance Committee. “Other cathedrals are facing the same scenario, but it is incumbent on Chapter to examine closely what steps we can take to improve the financial picture”. Detailed reforecasting for the rest of 2025 and scenario-planning to review steps that might be taken will both come back to Chapter for further discussion.

During its regular review of safeguarding arrangements, Chapter reviewed the detailed processes that are followed when a safeguarding incident is reported. They expressed satisfaction at the way the cathedral team have handled matters up to date, but recognise that more dedicated resource is needed to ensure safeguarding matters are properly dealt with – including continuing to ensure a safe culture is maintained sand that all staff, volunteers and congregation members know how to report any concerns they may have.

There is currently a vacancy on Chapter for a non-executive member (Trustee). The advertisement for the role can be found here, and anyone interested – or who knows of someone who might meet the requirements of the role – should contact Canon Danny Wilks in the first instance via the Cathedral Office on admin@wakefield-cathedral.org.uk.