The Ecclesiastical Committee
The Ecclesiastical Committee is a statutory Committee
appointed under the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919.
It comprises thirty members, fifteen of whom are
Members of the House of Commons, appointed by the Speaker, and
fifteen of whom are members of the House of Lords, appointed by
the Lord Speaker. The quorum is twelve.
Appointments to the Committee are generally made
early in a Parliament. Unless the Speaker or the Lord Speaker
decide otherwise, members appointed by them remain on the Committee
for the life of the Parliament.
While its powers are those laid down by the Act,
the procedures it has adopted are those of a Joint Select Committee.
Current Membership
| HOUSE OF LORDS | HOUSE OF COMMONS
|
| Lord Davies of Coity |
Sir Stuart Bell |
| Lord Elton | Peter Bottomley
|
| Lord Judd | Ben Chapman
|
| Lord Laming | Sir Patrick Cormack
|
| Lord Lloyd of Berwick (Chairman)
| Ann Cryer |
| Baroness Massey of Darwen
| Mr David Drew |
| Lord Newby | Mr Frank Field
|
| Baroness Perry of Southwark
| Mr John Gummer |
| Lord Pilkington of Oxenford
| Mrs Sharon Hodgson |
| Baroness Rendell of Babergh
| Simon Hughes |
| Lord Shaw of Northstead
| Robert Key |
| Lord Wallace of Saltaire
| Mr Gordon Marsden |
| Lord Walpole | Mr Desmond Swayne
|
| Baroness Wilcox | David Taylor
|
| Lord Williams of Elvel |
Steve Webb |
Remit
The Ecclesiastical Committee examines draft Measures
presented to it by the Legislative Committee of the General Synod
of the Church of England. It reports to Parliament on whether
or not it considers the measures to be expedient.
It generally asks members of the General Synod to
assist it in its deliberations. In some circumstances a conference
of the Ecclesiastical Committee and the Legislative Committee
may be convened.
The Church of England Measure on which the Committee
has reported is presented to both Houses in its final form at
the same time as the Committee makes its report.
Before the Measure becomes law, both Houses must
approve motions that the Measure should be presented to the Sovereign
for Royal Assent in the form that it was laid before Parliament.
Once both Houses have passed the necessary approval
motions, the Measure is presented for Royal Assent and becomes
law.
Publications
The reports and proceedings of the Committee are
published by The Stationery Office by Order of both Houses. All
publications of the Committee are on the internet at www.parliament.uk
Contacts
All correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary
of the Ecclesiastical Committee, House of Lords, London, SW1A
0PW. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 3152.
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