Manchester Beth Din is confident of its future under a new administration, its senior rabbi said this week.

A consortium of local rabbis has assumed responsibility for overseeing its work following the resignation of its former president and most of his officers in April.

Yehuda Steiner, the head dayan, said: “We are confident Manchester Beth Din will be a great success with the new team.”

Dayan Steiner, who had been close to setting up an alternative operation earlier in the spring, remains the only dayan with the MBD following the retirement of Dayan Isaac Berger.

But a recruitment process for a new dayan has started.

The MBD supervises the MKA label, which covers a number of well-known brands, including Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.

The previous administration had engaged in talks with the London Beth Din and the Federation of Synagogues, believing collaboration would be the best way of sustaining the MBD in the long-term.

But “the Manchester community decided it would be preferable to have a local Beth Din”, Dayan Steiner said.

A source close to the MBD added: “There was a fear that if you merge, it might end up being more of a takeover. With the best will in the world, people in Manchester by and large want to retain their independence and not be taken over.”