Summary#
The Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill would repeal provisions in the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and repeal the Jews Relief Act 1858. Its stated goal is to remove faith-based restrictions on advising the Crown about appointments in the Church of England or Church of Scotland, and on making ecclesiastical appointments. It is a Government Bill and is at second reading in the House of Lords, so it is not law yet.
- People of Roman Catholic or Jewish faith would no longer face the statutory restrictions described in the bill’s long title.
- The bill does not appoint anyone or guarantee that anyone will be chosen for an appointment.
- It says it would come into force on the day it is passed.
What it means for you#
- People of Roman Catholic or Jewish faith: If passed, the bill would remove the specified legal barriers to advising the Crown on Church of England or Church of Scotland appointments, and to making ecclesiastical appointments. It does not require anyone to appoint or consult them.
- The Crown and the churches: The bill changes the legal restrictions described above, but does not set out a new appointment process or change who makes appointments.
- Everyone else: The supplied text does not identify a direct change to other rights or services.
Money#
No publicly available information about costs is included in the supplied material.
- The material gives no cost estimate or details about spending, staffing, fees, or savings.
What is unclear#
- The supplied bill text does not show the specific provision in the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 that would be repealed. The long title describes its purpose, but the exact legal change cannot be checked from this text.
- The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and Jews Relief Act 1858 were not supplied, so the current law and the full effect of the repeals could not be verified against those Acts.
- The bill text refers to removing an entry from Schedule 5 to “that Measure,” but the supplied extract does not identify the Measure.
- The bill does not explain the scope of “ecclesiastical appointments” or set rules for how appointment decisions would be made.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the bill is that people’s religious faith should not by itself bar them from advising on, or making, church appointments.
- Removing the stated restrictions would remove a legal barrier without requiring anyone to give a person an appointment or advisory role.
- The bill’s stated goal is limited to removing these restrictions; it does not create a new appointment system.
Case against#
- The supplied text does not show the exact provision being removed from the 1829 Act, making it hard to assess the full legal effect.
- The bill does not explain how appointment processes would work after repeal, or whether other rules would affect who can advise or make appointments.
- Repealing a restriction removes a legal bar, but does not ensure that people affected by it will be consulted or appointed.