Clergy Conduct Measure

In our post of 1 November 2025, we noted that the Church Times had indicated the Measure had been rejected by the Ecclesiastical Committee (Joint Committee) as “not expedient” on the basis of concerns about the default expectation in the CCM that tribunal hearings would be held in private. The publication of a report confirming the parliamentary decision and setting out the reasons behind it is expected to be published next week. 

A detailed Comment by David Lamming outlines that 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. He also notes the case of the Churchwardens Measure 2001 on James Behrens wrote in an article for the Ecclesiastical Law Journal: “The Churchwardens Measure 2001”,  Ecclesiastical Law Journal  [2001] 6(29), 97-110.

Forfeiture of honours

In the October roundup of ecclesiastical law, we noted that Mike Pilavachi had been added to the current List of individuals whose honour has been revoked by the Sovereign, (August 2025). Pilavachi was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours List for services to young people; he joins Paula Vennels, whose CBE (2019) was revoked in February 2024. A broader consideration of The removal of titles and honours was published in the recent House of Commons Research Briefing; this is particularly pertinent to more recent events reported in the Gazette (5 November), which are, albeit, outwith the ambit of Law and Religion UK.

Charities SORP 2026

On Friday, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator published the new CHARITIES SORP 2026, which comes into effect on 1 January. Under its provisions, new accounting rules for charities in the UK will vary depending on their income. Continue reading →