On 13 February 2025, we reported that the General Synod of the Church of England had finally approved the new Clergy Conduct Measure; a subsequent post provided links to some earlier developments, the material presented to Synod and the amendments following discussion. This indicated that the Measure would then progress to its Parliamentary stages and Royal Assent, with Rules to be laid before the Synod in July and a Code of Practice to be finalised thereafter. At that point is was considered that new Measure would come into operation from early 2026.
The Ecclesiastical Committee published an uncorrected transcript of the oral evidence it took on the Clergy Conduct Measure on 10 June 2025. We reported that Baroness Butler-Sloss (Chair) had concluded by urging the Church to reconsider sitting in public, an issue that a number of people had raised, as “the Church would gain from more cases being heard in public rather than in private”. She added “We do not have a power to adjourn, as far as I know. We have a power only to say whether it is expedient under the 1919 legislation”, although it was noted that the Committee has a power to extend its deliberation and to consider the further evidence, if necessary.
There was a private meeting of the Ecclesiastical Committee (Joint Committee) on 21 October 2025 to discuss the Measure. As the Church Times went to press on Wednesday, in “Clergy conduct batted back to General Synod“, it reported that the Measure had been rejected as “not expedient”, on the basis, primarily, of concerns about the default expectation in the CCM that tribunal hearings would be held in private. The expectation now is for the joint Committee to send the draft Clergy Conduct Measure (CCM) back to the General Synod for further consideration rather than approve its passage into law. The publication of a report confirming the parliamentary decision and setting out the reasons behind it is expected to be published next week.
If the Ecclesiastical Committee (EC) do find the CCM inexpedient, the process thereafter is governed by section 3 of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, and SO 67 of the General Synod standing orders:
Section 3 of the 1919 Act, as amended by the Synodical Government Measure 1969:
“3 Measures passed by Church Assembly to be submitted to Ecclesiastical Committee.
(1) Every measure passed by the [General Synod] shall be submitted by the Legislative Committee to the Ecclesiastical Committee, together with such comments and explanations as the Legislative Committee may deem it expedient or be directed by the Church Assembly to add.
(2) The Ecclesiastical Committee shall thereupon consider the measure so submitted to it, and may, at any time during such consideration, either of its own motion or at the request of the Legislative Committee, invite the Legislative Committee to a conference to discuss the provisions thereof, and thereupon a conference of the two committees shall be held accordingly.
(3) After considering the measure, the Ecclesiastical Committee shall draft a report thereon to Parliament stating the nature and legal effect of the measure and its views as to the expediency thereof, especially with relation to the constitutional rights of all His Majesty’s subjects.
(4) The Ecclesiastical Committee shall communicate its report in draft to the Legislative Committee, but shall not present it to Parliament until the Legislative Committee signify its desire that it should be so presented.
(5) At any time before the presentation of the report to Parliament the Legislative Committee may, either, on its own motion or by direction of the Church Assembly, withdraw a measure from further consideration by the Ecclesiastical Committee; but the Legislative Committee shall have no power to vary a measure of the Church Assembly either before or after conference with the Ecclesiastical Committee.
GS Standing Order 67:
“67. Withdrawal of Measure by Legislative Committee and re-introduction
(1) If the Legislative Committee, in exercise of its power under section 3(5) of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, withdraws a Measure from the consideration of the Ecclesiastical Committee, the Legislative Committee must report to the Synod the withdrawal and the reasons for it.
(2) A member of the Legislative Committee may, at the request of the Committee, move in the Synod a motion “That the Measure entitled [Short title] be now reintroduced into the Synod.”
(3) If the motion in paragraph (2) is carried, a member of the Legislative Committee may move— (a) an amendment to any Clause or Schedule, (b) the omission of any Clause or Schedule, or (c) the insertion of a new Clause or Schedule.
(4) No other member of the Synod may move a motion or amendment under paragraph (3) except with the permission of the Chair and the general consent of the Synod.
(5) The Standing Orders apply to a motion or amendment under paragraph (3) as if it were moved in accordance with SO 53 (Revision without prior Revision Committee). …..
(9) After the completion of the consideration of any Clause or Schedule, whether at the same or a subsequent session, a member of the Legislative Committee may move a motion “That the Measure entitled [Short title] be finally approved”; and SO 64 applies to the consideration of that motion.”
In other words, in the light of the EC draft report, the Legislative Committee (LC) would be expected to withdraw the CCM from consideration by the EC, move to reintroduce it to GS and, if that motion is carried, move whatever amendment(s) seem necessary to satisfy the concerns of the EC. If passed, a member of the LC would then move for final approval and, if that motion is passed, the Measure would go back to the EC via the LC. Whether this process could commence at the February 2026 group of sessions, with the prospect that the Measure could receive Royal Assent before the GS is dissolved following the July 2026 group of sessions, seems doubtful: it would require an atypical speed of process! Meanwhile, we carry on with the unsatisfactory CDM.
A previous occasion when the EC found a draft Measure inexpedient concerned what became, after amendment, the Churchwardens Measure 2001. James Behrens wrote about the process in an article for the Ecclesiastical Law Journal: 6 Ecc LJ 97. In that case, the draft Measure first received Synod’s approval in July 1997 and, after being batted back and forth between Synod and the EC, eventually received Royal Assent nearly four years later in April 2021!
The chair is Baroness Butler-Sloss who I think is “she” not “he”. If you had bothered to turn up and watch the evidence session you would have seen the clerk speaking urgently to the chair after she made the quoted comment you would have seen that the Committee was clearly determined not to nod the Measure through. In particular the Committee was not buying the ecclesiastical apparatchiks’ argument everything could be fixed by rules when these had not been produced.
Noted.