The week in which the Revd Mrs Vennells appeared before the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. In other news… 

General Election 2024

So they’re off! Parliament was prorogued on Friday and is to be dissolved this coming Thursday. The result was a scramble to pass a raft of legislation before the shutters came down, during which several bills fell by the wayside.  One of the casualties was the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill, which would have put the role of the Special Envoy on a statutory footing. Of more general importance, the Renters (Reform) Bill also died – so “no-fault” eviction stays, at least for the time being. The full list of Bills granted Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 is here.

“Religion” in the Scotland Census 2022

On Tuesday, National Records of Scotland published the data from the 2022 Census on religion, ethnic group, country of birth, national identity and language – and, for the first time, a majority of respondents stated that they had no religion: 51.1%, up from 36.7% in 2011. Continue reading →