THE P RTAL
June 2014
UK Pages - page 15
Inside the CofE Anglican
General Synod
News
The Revd Paul Benfield writes from experience!
The story
began in early 2012 when I was approached by the secretary of the General Synod
Appointments Committee to ask if I would chair the Steering Committee for a Miscellaneous Provisions
Measure. I agreed and so at York in July 2012 I introduced the draft measure for first consideration.
As the name implies, these miscellaneous provisions
measures deal with a mixed bag of uncontroversial
matters intended to update the law in areas where
a whole measure would not be efficient in terms of
synodical time. On a hot afternoon (when most Synod
members were more concerned with clause 5 (1) (c)
of the then draft legislation on women bishops) I
tried to summarise the disparate clauses ranging from
permission to officiate for a priest ordained abroad, to
a shortened procedure for making a priest in charge
the incumbent,.and the mundane giving and receiving
of notices for various Church of England bodies by
electronic means.
revision in full synod in July 2013. This was fairly
painless. Final approval was given unanimously in all
three houses in November 2013 and the draft measure
stood committed to the Legislative Committee.
various bodies wanted to add clauses
The Committee is a joint committee of both houses
chaired by a former law lord. Its task is to prepare a
report for Parliament on the nature and legal effect of
the measure and ‘the expediency thereof, especially
with regard to the constitutional rights of all Her
Majesty’s subjects’.
The Synod dutifully passed a motion that the measure
should be considered for revision in Committee. This
is where the fun started because various bodies wanted
to add clauses about other matters.
Christ Church Cathedral Oxford wanted to add a
clause to allow the Lady Margaret Professorship of
Divinity to be uncoupled from a residentiary canonry
to which it had been annexed since 1842. This would
allow a lay person to hold the professorship (as is
already permitted with the Regius Professorship of
Ecclesiastical History which was uncoupled from a
canonry in 1995).
The Legislative Committee prepares a report for
parliament on all measures and provides witnesses to
appear before the Ecclesiastical Committee. So it was
that on the 26th February this year I found myself in a
committee room in the Palace of Westminster leading
the Secretary of the Church Commissioners, the
Secretary General and various lawyers form Church
House as we appeared to answer questions.
Apart from some searching questions about the use
of derivatives by the Church, we were given a fairly easy
ride and the Committee found the measure expedient.
the longest ever
Miscellaneous Provisions Measure
A delegated Committee of the House of Commons
debated and approved the measure on 19th May,
The Bishop of London wanted to add a clause to the Lords on approved it on the 20th May and the
allow the Kensal Green Cemetery Company to vest Measure received the Royal Assent on 21st May before
the cemetery chapel in charitable trustees who could parliament was prorogued at the end of the session.
maintain it.
It now has the force of an Act of Parliament and will
The Pensions Board and Church Commissioners come into force on various dates. If I have achieved
wanted an express power to deal in derivatives. nothing else on Synod, I have played a part in the
Cathedral Chapters wanted a power to invest passing of the longest ever Miscellaneous Provisions
endowments on a total return basis (something Measure, running to 30 pages!
which other charities have power to do under secular
legislation).
The Steering Committee and Revision Committees
pored over all the changes until we were ready for
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