Parliament’s Ecclesiastical Committee examines draft measures (laws) presented to it by the Legislative Committee of the General Synod, which is the Church of England’s representative and legislative body.
This Insight looks at the role of the Ecclesiastical Committee and two Church Measures currently under consideration.
What is the Ecclesiastical Committee?
The Ecclesiastical Committee is statutory, which means it was established under an Act of Parliament rather than by a resolution of either House of Parliament.
Section 2 of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 (“the 1919 act”) – which in effect “devolved” certain legislative powers from Parliament to what is now called the General Synod – provides that there shall be a committee comprising a total of 30 members from both Houses. The Lord Speaker nominates 15 peers and the Commons Speaker 15 MPs. All, by convention, are backbenchers. They are appointed for the duration of a Parliament and do not need to be members of the Church of England.
The Ecclesiastical Committee does not require all 30 of its members to be present. The 1919 act provides that its duties can be “discharged” by any 12 members who can transact business even if Parliament is not sitting or if the committee has a vacancy.
The committee appoints its own chair. The chair has always been a peer and, by practice, is a previous holder of high judicial office. The current chair is Baroness Butler-Sloss (crossbench), a former English judge.
What does the Ecclesiastical Committee do?
Under section 3 of the 1919 act, every draft measure passed by the General Synod is submitted by its Legislative Committee to the Ecclesiastical Committee. This is accompanied by a “Comments and Explanations” document.
Church of England measures are primary legislation which relate to the administration and organisation of the established Church.
Examine draft measures
The Ecclesiastical Committee considers each draft measure. It will generally ask members of the General Synod to assist in its deliberations (it cannot take oral evidence from other individuals or bodies). The 1919 act provides for a joint conference of Parliament’s Ecclesiastical Committee and the General Synod’s Legislative Committee to be convened, if necessary.
Reports to Parliament
After considering the measure, the Ecclesiastical Committee drafts a report to Parliament which states the “nature and legal effect” of the measure and assesses its expediency (whether it should proceed) especially with relation to the “constitutional rights of all His Majesty’s subjects”. The committee can propose amendments to the measure but not make them, and the draft report can only be presented to Parliament with the agreement of the General Synod’s Legislative Committee.
The Legislative Committee may withdraw a draft measure from further consideration by the Ecclesiastical Committee and has usually done so if the latter’s draft report is unfavourable in some way. For instance, the Legislative Committee twice withdrew drafts of the Churchwardens Measure before it was finally approved by the Ecclesiastical Committee and Parliament in April 2001.
What is Parliament’s role in considering Church Measures?
Once the Ecclesiastical Committee has completed its report and the Legislative Committee has decided to proceed with the measure, the Committee’s report and the proposed measure are laid before both Houses of Parliament. Together with the Synod’s Comments and Explanations (PDF) document, these are also published on the committee’s webpages.
Agreeing to approval motions
Both Houses have to agree a motion in the form:
That the [title] Measure ([relevant paper containing the measure]), passed by the General Synod of the Church of England, be presented to His Majesty for his Royal Assent in the form in which it was laid before Parliament.
In the Lords, the report and measure is generally moved by a bishop or archbishop, and in the Commons by the Second Church Estates Commissioner. In the Commons, measures are usually referred to a Delegated Legislation Committee for debate, with the approval motion subsequently moved without debate on the floor of the House.
If both Houses pass the required approval motions, then the measure “in the form laid before Parliament” is presented to the King for Royal Assent. This means neither House has the power to amend a measure but can reject it by disagreeing to the approval motion.
Disagreeing to approval motions
Parliament last rejected a Church measure in 1989, when the Clergy (Ordination) Measure 1990 was initially opposed by the House of Commons. It was subsequently agreed to in February 1990. The most notable rejection concerned the Prayer Book Measure of 1927, which revised the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The approval motion was “negatived” in the Commons by 247 votes to 205 on 15 December 1927. A similar measure was defeated in the Commons again on 13 June 1928.
Royal Assent
If approval motions are passed in both Houses, then once Royal Assent has been signified by the King and notified to both Houses under the Royal Assent Act 1967, a measure has the same “force and effect” of an Act of Parliament.
Can Parliament legislate on Church matters without the Church’s consent?
In theory, yes.
The 1919 act does not preclude Parliament introducing its own bills dealing with internal Church of England matters. By convention, however, the government does not legislate for the Church without its consent. The Church of England can also “request” that the government introduce primary legislation in relation to Church matters.
What is the Ecclesiastical Committee currently considering?
The Ecclesiastical Committee considered the draft Clergy Conduct Measure at a meeting on 7 July 2025 and will receive an informal background briefing on the draft National Church Governance Measure on 4 September 2025.
The draft Clergy Conduct Measure will repeal the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 and replace it with a new system for the investigation of complaints, establishing three different procedures depending on whether the complaint is a grievance, an allegation of misconduct, or an allegation of serious misconduct.
The draft National Church Governance Measure makes internal governance changes and reduces the number of statutory Church Commissioners, who manage the Church’s property assets.
Further reading
The relationship between church and state in the United Kingdom
About the author: Dr David Torrance is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in the constitution (including church and state).