A bill briefing on the Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill 2024-25. This makes provision for Catholics to be eligible to hold the office of Lord High Commissioner, which is the King's representative at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill 2024-25 (271 KB , PDF)
The Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill 2024-25 was introduced in the House of Commons on 13 February 2025. All its Commons stages are due to take place on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
The text of the bill and its explanatory notes are provided at the bill pages on the UK Parliamentary website.
The bill makes provision for Roman Catholics to be eligible to hold the office of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which meets annually in Edinburgh each May.
The Lord High Commissioner is the King’s representative at the General Assembly. They attend as an observer and hosts social functions during what is known as “Assembly Week”.
The Monarch is not the head of the Church of Scotland (as they are Supreme Governor of the Church of England); instead, they are an ordinary member with a standing invitation to attend the General Assembly. The King does not usually attend, but instead sends the Lord High Commissioner to represent him.
The Lord High Commissioner is appointed under the royal prerogative by His Majesty on the advice of the Prime Minister, following consultation with the First Minister of Scotland.
Legislation is necessary because, at present, section 12 of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 prohibits the office of Lord High Commissioner from being held by a Roman Catholic.
It was announced in December 2024 that Lady Elish Angiolini, who is a Catholic, was to be appointed as His Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2025.
Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill 2024-25 (271 KB , PDF)
E-petition 707189 relating to the rules for political donations will be debated in Westminster Hall on Monday 31 March, 4:30pm. The subject for this debate was determined by the Petitions Committee, and the debate will be opened by Irene Campbell MP.
The House of Commons changed many of its working practices in response to the covid-19 pandemic. Some of these changes were retained, but most were not.
The covid-19 pandemic changed the way that the UK Government worked with the devolved administrations, but also created intergovernmental tensions.
