– in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1947.
Mr Thomas Burden
, Sheffield Park
I beg to move:
That the Parsonages (Amendment) Measure, passed by the National Assembly of the Church of England, be presented to His Majesty for His Royal Assent in the form in which the said Measure was laid before Parliament.
This Measure comes to us from the Church Assembly where it is regarded as a non-controversial Measure. It was approved by the Church Assembly without amendment. It has been examined carefully by the Ecclesiastical Committee, who in their report do not consider that it affects prejudicially the constitutional rights of any of His Majesty's subjects and say that they are of the opinion that it should be allowed to proceed. In the circumstances I hope the Measure will be approved by the House.
Mr Colin Thornton-Kemsley
, Kincardine and Western
I beg to second the Motion.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
The Ecclesiastical Committee is a parliamentary committee established by an Act of Parliament in 1919 to consider measures passed by the General Synod of the Church of England.
The committee is appointed for the duration of a Parliament and consists of 15 members drawn from the House of Commons and the House of Lords who are nominated by the Speaker and lord chancellor respectively.
An example of an issue which was considered in recent years by the Ecclesiastical Committee is the proposal from the Church of England that it should be allowed to appoint women priests.
Matters concerning the Established Church of England are dealt with at Question Time by a parliamentary representative of the Church Commissioners.
