CLERGY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) MEASURE, 1927. (Hansard, 17 November 1927)

§ Mr. SMITHERS
I beg to move, That, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act, 1919, this House do direct that the Clergy Pensions (Amendment) Measure, 1927, be presented to His Majesty for Royal Assent. This is an Amendment of the 1926 Act and is brought forward to rectify an oversight in that Measure. It was believed that a compulsory contributor to the Pensions Act who, say, went away to the mission field or elsewhere, and was paying for a time as a voluntary contributor, and on returning to duties in England again became a compulsory contributor, was allowed to count the time of voluntary absence as qualifying for pensionable service. The Church of England Pension Board has now been advised that that is not the case, and in order to remedy this slight, unavoidable error, this Measure has ben brought forward, and I ask the House to allow this uncontroversial and necessary amendment to be made to-night.

§ Viscount WOLMER
I beg to second the Motion.

§ Mr. J. HUDSON
Is this not an extra-ordinary way of dealing with subjects 1288 which arise out of considerations in connection with pensions? Is it not astonishing that at this time of night we should be listening to a proposal in the form of a resolution without the opportunity of going through First, Second and Third Readings, which is the customary method adopted, especially where a question of pensions arises? I find it extremely objectionable. I know that it is a part of the general constitution of the Church that it should be possible to make alterations in Church procedure and Church law in this form, but when we get to a question of pensions and begin to allow a special privilege, as it seems to me, to the clergy to obtain an alteration in their status and in their arrangements which we do not accord to other members of the community, it seems to be an extremely objectionable procedure. I do not want to be responsible just now for resisting what may be a just procedure for these clergy, but I think a word of warning ought to be said and a protest ought to be made against the growth of this sort of method in dealing with questions where the clergy are concerned.

§ Lord HUGH CECIL
Perhaps the hon. Member is under a small misapprehension. No State contribution at all is made to this scheme. It is purely a self-organised system of pensions, and there happens to be this small oversight whereby people who, obviously, ought to have been within the scheme, have accidentally been left out.