REPRESENTATION OF THE LAITY MEASURE, 1956 (Hansard, 28 June 1956)

THE LORD BISHOP OF HEREFORD
My Lords, on behalf of my right reverend friend the Lord Bishop of Southwark, in whose name this Motion stands, I beg to move to resolve, That in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act, 1919, this House do direct that the Representation of the Laity Measure, 1956, be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. Forty years ago, when the constitution of the Church Assembly was being drawn up, one of the problems which had to be solved was the method by which the laity in the parishes could be represented in the House of Laity of the new Church Assembly. Out of the discussion which then took place the present system of electoral rolls, parochial church councils, ruri-decanal and diocesan conferences and the House of Laity arose. The electors are those who, having the necessary qualifications, voluntarily put their names upon the electoral roll of the parish. The electors meet annually to elect the parochial church council and the representatives of the parish on the ruri-decanal conference and in most, but not all, dioceses, the diocesan conference. The representatives of the dioceses in the Church Assembly are elected by the lay members of the diocesan conference. This system was embodied in the Rules for the Representation of the Laity which were attached as a schedule to the constitution of the Church Assembly, drawn up by the Convocations in 1919 and presented by them to His Majesty King George V.
In 1929 new rules were prepared and substituted for the original rules by the Representation of the Laity Measure, 1929. The new rules did not change the method of representation but merely filled certain gaps and provided for the filling of vacancies and for improvements in the 141 machinery. The Rules for the Representation of the Laity created the parochial church councils, and one of the Church Assembly's first tasks was to prepare and pass a Measure—The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure, 1921 —to determine the powers and duties of parochial church councils. Much of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure deals with mere machinery which might more appropriately have been contained in the rules.
By 1949, experience had shown that there were a number of points which required clarification and further consideration. As a result, a committee was appointed by the Assembly to prepare two Measures which would consolidate and rearrange the existing law in such a way that it would be easier for those who have to work it to understand and to find it. The two Measures with which I have to deal to-day are the results of the work of this committee. Neither substantially alters the present system, but the opportunity has been taken considerably to clarify the language in order to remove what were in the past points of doubt or dispute and to make certain amendments.
The provisions of the Representation of the Laity Measure—the first of these two Measures—are fully dealt with in the appendix to the report of the Ecclesiastical Committee, and it will, I hope, suffice if I do no more than draw attention very briefly to the principal changes which have been made in the existing law. The Measure incorporates a substantial part of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure, 1921, and also replaces the Representation of the Laity Measure, 1929, and the House of Laity (Co-opted Members) Measure, 1937, all of which are repealed.
The minimum age for entry on the electoral roll has been lowered from eighteen to seventeen. This was considered to be desirable on general grounds, and in particular it allows young men to be enrolled before they go to do their military service. Again, a person may be on the rolls of any two parishes provided the parochial church councils of both consent. At present persons cannot be on the rolls of two parishes in the same diocese, but otherwise there are no restrictions. This amendment is designed principally to assist the churches 142 in the centres of large towns where there is little resident population.
After very careful consideration the Assembly decided to omit from the Measure the present rather unsatisfactory disqualifications on moral grounds for holding lay offices and has instead left this matter to the good sense of the elect3rs. All licensed assistant curates are to be ex officio members of the parochial church council instead of one only in each parish as at present. There is a tendency to-day in large parishes with several churches to put each under a curate with considerable independence who ought to be on the parochial church council. If I may strike a personal note. I recall that I once had a parish in the North of England where there were four curates, and I was allowed to have only one of them on the parochial church council. All four were really needed there.
The method of voting at annual meetings has been altered to permit a person to have as many votes as there are places to be filled, but to give only one vote to any one candidate instead of three if he as under the present law. The purpose of the present method of voting was apparently to facilitate the representation of minorities, but it does not appear to be of any particular value to that respect and it is generally disliked as an unusual and confusing method of voting. The unsatisfactory and inadequate provisions relating to the composition of ruri-decanal conferences have been replaced by a rule empowering diocesan conferences to set them up and provide them with a constitution. Clause 3 provides the necessary transitional provisions.
My Lords, this Measure passed through the Church Assembly without a Division and has been favourably reported upon by the Ecclesiastical Committee. I hope that your Lordships will feel no hesitation in allowing it to go forward. I beg to move.

VISCOUNT ALEXAN DER OF HILLS-BOROUGH
My Lords, I am sure that every member of your Lordships' House 143 would desire to welcome very much the maiden speech of the right reverend Prelate who has just addressed the House. It sometimes happens that a Minister accuses a member of the Opposition, or a member of the Opposition accuses a spokesman of the Government, of not having submitted their particular case with clarity. No-one could deny that the right reverend Prelate has dealt with his subject to-day with the highest form of clarity. The general procedure under these arrangements for Church government has certainly relieved Parliament of a great deal of the burden of that kind of business. The only question I have in mind, after listening to the very clear exposition of the right reverend Prelate, is: when Measures of this kind are under general consideration, what chance have the church congregations of expressing their views of the alterations, which sometimes are fundamental, in regard to the representation of the laity? Has this set of proposals, which seem admirable to me, been referred to, say, the parochial councils? At a time when the Church is giving so much consideration to the question of amending the Canon Law, I am interested in the general procedure, and I should like to know exactly the steps which are taken to ascertain the majority view of the members of church congregations.

THE LORD BISHOP OF HEREFORD
My Lords, it is a little difficult to answer the noble Viscount's question. I feel inclined to say that one democracy works very much in the same way as another. We can do it only through the principle of representation. There is a succession of representation, either upwards or downwards. The electors of a parish elect the parochial church councillors, with whom they are supposed to keep in touch with regard to various matters. The councillors go a step further to the diocesan conference, and then there is a step further to the House of Laity at the Church Assembly. As one who has been for a long time a member of the Church Assembly. I think I can say that every possible consideration is given to the views of members of the House of Laity, who themselves are representatives of the laity in the various parishes throughout the country.