The Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill would remove the restriction on people of the Roman Catholic faith holding the office of His Majesty’s lord high commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill (324 KB , PDF)
Approximate read time: 10 minutes
At present, Roman Catholics are legally restricted from holding the office of lord high commissioner due to historic legislation, such as the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. The Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill would remove this restriction. This would facilitate the upcoming appointment of Lady Elish Angiolini, a practising Roman Catholic, as the lord high commissioner in 2025. She would become the first Roman Catholic to hold this office.
It is a government bill and is being fast-tracked. It was introduced in the House of Commons on 13 February 2025 and passed all its stages on 4 March 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 19 March 2025.
Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill (324 KB , PDF)
The motion “that this bill do now pass” is moved immediately after a bill’s final stage in the House of Lords (known as third reading). It is amendable and so provides an opportunity for the House to oppose, delay or record a view on a measure if there is enough support. This briefing provides examples of amendments to the motion and what the outcome was each time.
In January 2025 the House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report on the responsibility of the government (the executive) to oversee the constitution. It concluded that the UK’s constitutional arrangements would benefit from several improved safeguards, such as the appointment of a senior minister to advise on constitutional matters and for advisory bodies to be put on a statutory footing.
National policy statements (NPSs) inform decision-making for nationally significant infrastructure projects. The current NPS for nuclear power generation (EN-6) has effect for listed nuclear projects capable of being deployed by the end of 2025. Both the current and previous governments have consulted on a new NPS (EN-7) that would apply to nuclear power stations expected to be deployed after 2025. This briefing gives an overview of NPSs, the proposed new NPS for nuclear power generation and the reaction to it, as well as the current government’s policy on nuclear energy.
