CHURCH OF ENGLAND (Hansard, 23 July 1964)

§ Q5. Captain Orr
asked the Prime Minister whether he will advise the appointment of a Royal Commission on the state of the Church of England.

§ The Prime Minister
No, Sir.

§ Captain Orr
Is my right hon. Friend aware that, while I have no desire to embroil him in current religious controversies— [HON. MEMBERS: "Why not? "]—because I think he has enough to do—there has not been a Royal Commission on the Church of England since 1906, and that it is 45 years since the Act was passed setting up the Church Assembly and the relationship between it and Parliament? Would it not be a good thing, in order to delay current religious controversies and the possibility of a clash between this House and the Church Assembly, if some such inquiry were made and provocative legislation by the Church Assembly were held up pending it?

§ The Prime Minister
I really would not think it right to recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission because there are differences of opinion about the Vestures Measure.

§ Mr. Lubbock
Will the Prime Minister think of some means of divesting this House of responsibility for matters such as the Vestures Measure, which many of us think are extremely trivial in comparison with other matters which should occupy our attention?

§ The Prime Minister
That may be so. I am expressing no opinion on it, however. All I say is that I do not think that it is time for a Royal Commission now.

§ Mr. Denzil Freeth
Before my right hon. Friend does consider appointing a Royal Commission—[HON. MEMBERS: "He is not going to."]—before he changes his mind in the coming years as Prime Minister, will he ensure that a Royal Commission is desired by members of the Church of England living in the established provinces of Canterbury and York and not just by people living in the unestablished provinces of Wales, Scotland and Ireland?

§ The Prime Minister
I think that I will leave Scotland out of it, but there must be the widest consultation.