§ 38. Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will make a statement on his exercise of ecclesiastical patronage in the Duchy.
§ Mr. LeverThe Queen is Patron of certain benefices in the Church of England in her right of the Duchy of Lancaster. When the Chancellor of the Duchy is a Roman Catholic or a Jew, the Clerk of the Council of the Duchy, who is a full-time Duchy official, acts in his place in advising the Queen on these matters.
§ Mr. RentonIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that I fully understand leis reasons, despite the added time that is now on his hands, for not exercising the right of patronage? May I ask him whether, as economic adviser to the Prime Minister—indeed, I congratulate him on his continuing appointment in that respect—he will be seeing and endorsing the terms of the next letter to the IMF applying for the next—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Is this ecclesiastical patronage?