Statement from the Bishops of the Church of Ireland
We wish to express grave concern at aspects of the process by which legislation, including highly controversial legislation in the social and educational field, is brought into law in Northern Ireland.
The shortcomings of the Order in Council procedure, as well as the procedure for the laying of regulations, are well known. There is very little committee scrutiny by elected representatives in the preparation of the legislation. Orders and regulations, when laid, are amenable only to a process of affirmative resolution, which means that although they may be debated in the House of Commons they may not be amended and, as a result, poorly drafted and/or inappropriate provisions are often passed, simply to allow the better provisions in any piece of legislation to pass into law. Furthermore, legislation which relates solely to Northern Ireland may well be passed even though a majority of elected representatives from the province may oppose it or wish to amend it. This is surely an oppressive situation and one which is exacerbated by the arrangements for public consultation on proposed new legislation.
It has been our experience that major provisions are placed for consultation at times of the year (notably the holiday months) when members of the public and bodies such as churches and other voluntary organisations are least well resourced to respond. Furthermore, overlapping consultation periods generally mean that consultation on a range of complex and far reaching legislative proposals must take place almost simultaneously, further limiting the effectiveness or fairness of the consultation procedures. We have also observed that broadly similar pieces of legislation being introduced separately in Northern Ireland and Great Britain are accorded different response times in the different parts of the United Kingdom to the disadvantage of the people of Northern Ireland.
We wish to protest this frankly oppressive behaviour on the part of government. We should particularly deplore, if it be the case, the fast tracking of controversial legislation simply as a lever to force the restoration of a devolved assembly at the expense of good government and maturely considered and appropriate law. We draw attention to new provisions and regulations relating to the registration of charities, adoption procedures, educational matters and sexual orientation, all of which will impact upon the life of the voluntary sector, the churches and the wider community, much of which is welcome but much of which is also controversial and deserving of much more considered scrutiny and exploration than has been accorded by the time tables imposed.
The Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Ireland
The Most Revd R H A Eames
The Most Revd J R W Neill
The Most Revd R L Clarke
The Rt Revd M H G Mayes
The Rt Revd H C Miller
The Rt Revd R C A Henderson
The Rt Revd W P Colton
The Rt Revd K H Clarke
The Rt Revd M G StA Jackson
The Rt Revd A E T Harper
The Rt Revd M A J Burrows
20 December 2006