HL Deb 15 January 1976 vol 367 cc339-42

6.26 p.m.

The Lord Bishop of COVENTRY rose to move, That this House do direct that in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Ecclesiastical Judges and Legal Officers Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. The right reverend Prelate said: The main purpose of this Measure is to give effect to some of the recommendations made in the report of a Working Party, which was chaired by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London on the Church's legal officers, their duties and remuneration. The report was favourably received by the General Synod in November 1973. Clause 1 of this Measure provides for a retirement age of 75 for chancellors and judges of provincial courts; that is, of course, the retiring age of High Court judges. The provision does not apply to those holding office at the commencement date.

Clause 2 enables the House of Bishops to make regulations governing the number of chancellorships that may be held by any one person. No person at the moment holds more than three such offices, but the power to make a regulation was considered desirable in order that younger members of the Bar should be encouraged to take an interest in the subject and so that the knowledge of ecclesiastical law should be more widespread. A regulation made under Clause 2 would require the approval of the General Synod and be subject to the Negative Resolution procedure in Parliament.

Clause 3 provides for the creation of a reconstituted office of provincial registrar, the holder of which is to perform the functions now exercised by the registrar and the Archbishop's legal secretary. The appointment will be made by the appropriate Archbishop, after consulting the Standing Committee of the General Synod. Clause 4 contains similar provisions with respect to the office of the diocesan registrar.

In Clause 5 the House of Bishops is empowered to make regulations with respect to the maximum number of registrarships which any one registrar can hold. In subsection (2) the retirement age for registrars is put at 70. Subsection (3) makes special provision for the four dioceses where the offices of registrar and legal secretary are held by different persons. Clause 7 provides that no further appointment should be made to the offices of archdeacons, official principal and registrar, and that on a vacancy the registrar's duty should pass to the diocesan registrar. At the present time only in 20 out of 106 archdeaconries is there a registrar who is not the diocesan registrar. There are official principals in eight arch-deaconries only, and the office is virtually a sinecure.

When the Measure came to the General Synod for final approval 162 members voted in favour and one against. Apart from that vote, at no stage was there a division. Furthermore, the Ecclesiastical Committee is of the opinion that the Measure is expedient, and so I beg to move that this House do direct that in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Ecclesiastical Judges and Legal Officers Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.

Moved, That this House do direct that in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Ecclesiastical Judges and Legal Officers Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.—(The Lord Bishop of Coventry.)

6.29 p.m.

Viscount LONG

My Lords, may I say how grateful we are to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry for standing in for his right reverend friend the Bishop of London? Myonly worry is whether we are experiencing a reduction in the powers of the archdeacon. I know how important the archdeacon is, and it appears that the Synod is now asking for the archdeacon to do less and for a commission or some other body to take his place. I have always understood the archdeacon to be the most experienced person to take committees and so on, and my only concern at this stage is whether or not I have misread the Measure. Otherwise, as I said, we are most grateful to the right reverend Prelate.

The Lord Bishop of COVENTRY

My Lords, I do not think there is any desire to lessen or modify the power of the archdeacon. All we are trying to do is to cut down the number of officers. Already, in very few dioceses is there a separate diocesanregistrar and an archdeacon's registrar, and what we are really doing is putting the work into the hands of one man who will represent both the Bishop and the archdeacon very firmly.

Viscount LONG

My Lords, I am most grateful.

On Question, Motion agreed to.