On 13 March 2026, William Nye, Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council and of the General Synod of the Church of England provided General Synod members with an update of the National Church Governance Measure, (“the update”).

At its meeting on 21 October 2025, the Ecclesiastical Committee (Joint Committee) had deemed both the National Church Governance Measure and the Clergy Conduct Measure as “not expedient”; in accordance with s3(4) Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, it communicated its report in draft to the Legislative Committee, on 30 October 2025.

The Ecclesiastical Committee in December set out four areas of concern: safeguarding arrangements; the scope of the delegated (order making) powers; aspects of the financial accountability framework; and the breadth of the Church of England National Services’ (CENS) charitable purposes.

Following an informal meeting with members of the Ecclesiastical Committee in January, its was made clear that the Committee’s primary concern was in relation to safeguarding, which it felt should be prioritised ahead of further engagement with Governance reform. At a meeting in early March, the Legislative Committee considered two options:

(i) to seek to reintroduce the Measure to the General Synod with amendments, or

(ii) report on its withdrawal at this stage. In light of the Ecclesiastical Committee’s expressed position, and the absence of clarity that amendments would resolve its concerns, the Committee concluded that reintroduction at this time would not be a simple or straightforward matter.

The update stated the in light of the Ecclesiastical Committee’s expressed position, and the absence of clarity that amendments would resolve its concerns, it was concluded that reintroduction at this time would not be a simple or straightforward matter. The withdrawal of the Measure would be reported to Synod in July 2026. The option for the draft Measure to be reintroduced and amended by Synod remains, although the earliest realistic date at which this could happen is February 2027. That level of delay could be damaging for the work of the NCIs.

The Legislative Committee expressed the hope that National Church bodies would reflect upon what changes could be affected by non-legislative and other routes without the requirement for statute to give effect to the policy intention which the Synod has overwhelmingly supported. The trustee bodies affected are now being invited to review potential non-legislative opportunities to progress governance work over the coming months while the work on the future of safeguarding structures is progressed.