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Lord Chancellor: Ecclesiastical Functions

House of Lords written statement – made at on 30 March 2006.

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Photo of Lord Falconer of Thoroton Lord Falconer of Thoroton Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor

On 2 March 2004 it was announced, in a Written Ministerial Statement, that the Government had decided that the Lord Chancellor's ecclesiastical patronage should revert to the Crown, acting through the Prime Minister. The Government have now decided not to proceed with that decision, but instead to retain the current arrangements. The original decision was taken in the context of the proposed abolition of the office of Lord Chancellor. In the light of the changed context of the retention of the office of the Lord Chancellor, I have concluded that changing the current arrangements for ecclesiastical patronage would not improve the efficiency of the appointments process nor would it contribute to the reform of the office of the Lord Chancellor in the way originally envisaged.

This decision takes into account the views of those responding to the consultation paper Constitutional reform: reforming the office of the Lord Chancellor, published in September 2003. The Majority of respondents favoured the retention of the services of the Ecclesiastical Office at No. 10, expressing their confidence in and appreciation of that office's work.

House of Lords

The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.

The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.

Lord Chancellor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chancellor

Prime Minister

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom

Chancellor

The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.

majority

The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.