Rather than asking politicians to define a “working person”, perhaps politicians should be asked to define a “journalist”…
Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief Bill
On 21 October, Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford and a member of Christians in Parliament, introduced a Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief Bill, “A Bill to require the continued appointment of a special envoy for freedom of religion or belief and make provision about the special envoy’s functions”. The role of Special Envoy was previously held by the Conservative MP Fiona Bruce, who had campaigned on the issue before Parliament was abruptly dissolved and who lost her seat at the General Election.
The Bill, the text of which has not yet been published, is set down for second reading on Friday 29 November – the same day as the second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill. Our guess is that it has precisely zero chance of reaching the statute book.
Law Commission: Burial and Cremation project online consultation events
In addition to the Law Commission’s in-person events on its consultation on Burial and Cremation (which began on 3 October 2024 and runs for 13 weeks until 9 January), it is also holding two online events – for which you need to register with Eventbrite in order to take part:
The online events will be an opportunity to hear about the Commission’s provisional proposals for reform from Professor Nick Hopkins, the Commissioner for Property, Family and Trust Law and his team, and to ask questions about the Commission’s provisional proposals and the issues raised in the consultation paper. You can contact the Commission at bcnfm@lawcommission.gov.uk with any questions about the events.
Around twenty church buildings are closed for worship each year, but only a fraction of these are destined for demolition. Although “Demolition” is one of the standard headings for our summaries of ecclesiastical judgments, since 2012 we have only reviewed two such determinations, although there may be some we have not captured. It was therefore of interest to read the announcement from the Diocese of Truro concerning the intended demolition of St Paul’s Church.
St Paul’s closed to worshippers in 2008 because it faced two very challenging structural problems: subsidence, probably related to damage from a World War Two bomb that fell nearby, and crumbling stonework, which meant that there was a risk to those using the building. Since then, the Diocese of Truro and the Church of England nationally have been exploring options that might give the building a new lease of life; several groups and individuals have been interested over the years, but in each case, closer examination of the two structural problems facing the church have meant that proposals have not been viable – even if the building were sold for a token amount: “even a last-minute buyer with very deep pockets would be faced with the reality of the crumbling stonework and the need to protect passers-by…”.
King Charles the Martyr, Falmouth
Elsewhere in Cornwall this week, the Diocese of Truro announced that it is investigating the installation, without faculty authority, of an additional plaque beneath the memorial to Thomas Corker, a 17th Century slave trader who was a parishioner at the Grade II* church of King Charles the Martyr, Falmouth. The marble plaque and Latin eulogy to Corker were in a prominent position in the church and are the subject of on-going local and national consultation.
The Diocese of Truro, King Charles PCC, the church community, people in Falmouth, including the black community, Black Voices Cornwall, the Church of England’s Contested Heritage Committee, Clinton Sealy, operations director for Transformation Cornwall, who was one of the original campaigners, and other interested parties have been working closely together to find the best solution, including an honest description of the history of Thomas Corker’s involvement in slavery. The plaque has now been removed, and we await further developments.
Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
There was no mention in the Budget of the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which in its current iteration is due to expire on 31 March 2025. However, in response to enquiries, Chris Bryant, Minister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism at DCMS, subsequently confirmed that the future of the Scheme beyond March 2025 will be a matter for the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
Petitions Committee
Appointments to the Petitions Committee have now been confirmed, and the Petitions website has been open from 3 pm on Wednesday 30 October, in addition to the presentation of public petitions by MPs.
Quick links
- Nicholas Aroney, Talk About: Law and Religion: Understanding religious freedom: Why does it matter?
- Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, Verfassungsblog: Whither the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
- Dominic Grieve, Conservative Home: Leaving the ECHR would be a disaster for Britain that Conservatives cannot contemplate.
- House of Commons Library Research Briefing: Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill 2024-25: on passing its final Lords stage on 22 October, the Bill was sent to the Commons for its second reading on 14 November.
- Rajiv Shah, UK Human Rights Blog: Assisted Suicide on the NHS would breach the ECHR.
- Cathérine Van de Graaf, Eva Brems and Stéphanie Hennette-Vauchez, Strasbourg Observers: Third party intervention to the ECtHR in F.D. and I.M. and three others (Les Hijabeuses) v France.