Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
Section L: Expenditure, Funding Streams,
Funds and Assets
Revenue expenditure
259 The Committee recommends that
the total costs of the Discipleship
& Ministries Learning Network
should be £6,033k per annum at
2012/2013 prices. The division of
this expenditure is illustrated in table
D. This constitutes a reduction of
£1,273k (17%) per annum compared
to budgeted expenditure during
2012/2013 in these fields.
260 This recommended distribution of
expenditure enables the Network
to support maintenance payments
to student ministers (bursaries,
dependent child payments and
travel expenses) at the same levels
as those currently approved by the
Conference. While the Committee
expects the Network to explore and
enable practice-based formation
pathways for student ministers, the
Committee does not expect such
pathways to lead to a reduction in
maintenance costs.
261 This distribution of expenditure
supports incremental administrative,
domestic, catering, premisesrelated
and other bursarial costs
within Cliff College and the Queen’s
Foundation. The budgeted allocation
draws on analyses of the operational
expenditure of existing institutions,
colleges and centres, as well as on
the ratio of practitioner staff costs to
bursarial costs.
262 This distribution of expenditure also
enables the Network to maintain
regional teams consisting of 50
posts, centre-based staff teams
consisting of 16 posts and a
coordinating team consisting of
8 posts (as outlined in section H
above). The practitioner staff costs
noted here include an allowance for
costs associated with travel and the
use of appropriate gathering spaces
by regional teams (for gathering
spaces, see section I above).
263 This distribution of expenditure
also supports programme-related
expenditure of £204k, to support the
accessible delivery of discipleship
development pathways and ministry
development pathways. This
constitutes a significant reduction
from current expenditure shown under
this budget heading. This reduction is
enabled by incorporating the aims of
existing discrete programmes within
the broader goals of the Network, and
consequently meeting some of the
associated costs through practitioner
staff costs and non-staff costs at the
centres.
264 This distribution of expenditure also
enables £200k to be dedicated
to supporting the development
and delivery of a number of Higher
Education-related academic study
projects, research projects and risktaking
innovative projects across
the Network. This constitutes a
new development: the focused
identification of funds explicitly to
support scholarship, research and
Conference Agenda 2012 753