The Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill was given its First Reading on 15 September 2026; a copy of the two-clause Bill is here and the Explanatory Notes (“the Notes”) are here. Whilst the historic legislation which prevents a person who professes either the Roman Catholic or Jewish faiths from advising the Sovereign on Church appointments is clearly discriminatory, there continue to be alternative arrangements which ensure that Church appointments can be made[1].
Nevertheless, primary legislation is required to remove this restriction. The Explanatory Notes include information inter alia on the policy and legal background, the need to fast-track the legislation[2], and the territorial extent.
Policy and legal background
The purpose of the Bill is to remove historic restrictions that prevent a person professing either the Roman Catholic or Jewish faiths advising the Sovereign on appointments to offices in the Church of England or Church of Scotland (‘Church appointments’) or making such appointments themselves, where they have the right to do so by virtue of their office. Until now, these have had no practical effect [3].
Church of England
As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the Sovereign is responsible for appointing archbishops, bishops and various other members of the clergy. By long-standing constitutional convention, the Prime Minister is responsible for formally advising the Sovereign on these appointments, of which there are over 350.
These appointments are subject to S18 Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 – “No Roman Catholic to advise the Crown in the appointment to offices in the established church... – and S4 Jews Relief Act 1858 – “Rights of Presentation to any Ecclesiastical Benefice possessed by Persons professing the Jewish Religion to devolve upon the Archbishop of Canterbury for the Time being...”
With regard to Crown appointments, Jonathan Chaplin notes that the function was already reduced to a procedural formality by Gordon Brown in 2007, who established the practice that the first preference of the Church’s own Crown Nominations Commission would automatically be accepted by the PM on behalf of the Monarch. No PM would subsequently exercise any discretion in the matter, either by opting for the Church’s second choice, or by demanding a third (recent PMs have done both).
Some ministers also, by virtue of their office, have the right to present clergy to benefices (church offices). This responsibility is primarily carried out by the Lord Chancellor who holds the right of patronage over approximately 450 such appointments. Where section 17 of the 1829 Act or section 4 of the 1858 Act apply, the right to make such appointments devolves instead on the Archbishop of Canterbury. Like the restriction on those advising the Sovereign, these legal restrictions only apply to Roman Catholic or Jewish people and do not apply to people of other faiths, or of no faith.
The Explanatory Notes state at [7] that “in practice, section 17 of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the equivalent part of section 4 of the Jews Relief Act 1858 are functionally obsolete. This is because they have been repealed in respect of the ecclesiastical provinces of Canterbury and York by the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986, a Church of England Measure. This means that the restriction is highly unlikely to be applied in practice, though there are limited, remote circumstances where it could in principle still apply”[4].
Church of Scotland
The Prime Minister is also responsible for advising the Sovereign on the appointment of the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Lord High Commissioner is the Sovereign’s personal representative to the General Assembly but is not an office in the Church of Scotland. It has been noted that it is unclear whether the reference to the Church of Scotland has any continuing practical relevance.
Appointments within the Kirk are made independently of the Monarch. Lay patronage, which previously gave landowners (including, where relevant, the Sovereign) a say in ecclesiastical appointments, was abolished by the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1874.
Fast-track the legislation
The Government intends to ask Parliament to expedite the parliamentary progress of this Bill. On the necessity of fast-tracking, the Notes comment:
“Why is fast-tracking necessary?
[13]. The Prime Minister professes the Roman Catholic faith. He is therefore prevented from fulfilling his constitutional role to advise the Sovereign on Church appointments. Whilst alternative arrangements have been made to ensure Church appointments can continue to be made, as set out by the Prime Minister on 10 September, primary legislation is required to remove this restriction.
What is the justification for fast-tracking each element of the bill?
[14]. The Bill has only one operative clause and therefore it would not be possible for some elements of the Bill to be done at a slower pace than others.
Other aspects of the fast-tracking are:
[16] The Government did not deem it necessary to give other parties or outside groups an opportunity to influence the policy proposal given the limited impact of the Bill on the general public and the fact that it will not trigger any financial provisions;
[17] The Government does not consider it appropriate to include a sunset clause, which would have the effect of reinstating the existing legislative restrictions;
[18] There are no mechanisms in place for post-legislative scrutiny and review. As the Bill’s impact is limited to office-holders with a responsibility to advise the Sovereign on Church appointments and making Church appointments, the inclusion of any mechanism would be disproportionate.
[19] Existing legislation cannot provide a remedy to remove the statutory restrictions on an individual professing the Roman Catholic or Jewish faiths from advising the Sovereign on Church appointments and on such persons making Church appointments.
Repealing the restrictions
The Bill will remove these restrictions by repealing sections 17 and 18 of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and repealing the entirety of the Jews Relief Act 1858 (section 4 of the Act is the only provision of that Act still in force), thereby enabling any Prime Minister or other ministers who profess either the Roman Catholic or Jewish faiths to advise the Sovereign on ecclesiastical appointments.
[1] Andy Burnham, Written Statement: Church Appointments, 10 September 2026.
[2] House of Lords Library: Fast-tracking Legislation, 12 September 2023. This states: “fast-tracked bills are those which complete all their parliamentary stages in a shortened timescale. Reasons for using the process include correcting an error in legislation or responding to unforeseen circumstances. However, issues such as pressure on the procedural process and a lack of parliamentary scrutiny have been identified with fast-tracking”.
Since the existing laws only discriminate against Jews and Catholics, Rishi Sunak, a Hindu, and Sir Keir Starmer, an atheist, were not prevented from advising on Church of England appointments in the way that Andy Burnham has been.
[4] Since most such patronage arrangements have been abolished, reformed, or transferred under later legislation, section 17 has little practical modern application; its on-going relevance would generally arise only in the unusual case of an old office that still carries a surviving right of presentation to an Anglican benefice.