§ 30. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representating the Church Commissioners what plans there are for further publication; by the Church Commissioners.
§ Mr. AlisonThe Church Commissioners' annual report and accounts for 1992 are to be published in June, and the 1993 report of the Church Commissioners as central stipend authority will be published in the autumn. The commissioners produce leaflets on a variety of subjects from time to time.
§ Mr. MarshallMight the Church Commissioners produce a leaflet on the arguments in favour of women priests, as many people in the House and outside it wish to see women become fully ordained priests of the Church of England? Does my right hon. Friend agree that the uncertainty that is created by the current delay is not good for the Church of England or for those who either support or oppose the measure and that the sooner the matter is determined the better it will be for everyone?
§ Mr. AlisonI take careful note of what my hon. Friend says, as, no doubt, will colleagues from all parties here and in the other place who serve on the Ecclesiastical Committee, which is to meet later this afternoon and which is now the only possible source of delay. My hon. Friend can be assured that the Ecclesiastical Committee will present to the House for his benefit a comprehensive summary of the arguments for and against the ordination of women, I believe with an endorsement to the effect that the measure is expedient.