Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension)
Bill
- Since 2015, legislation has ensured that female bishops enter
the House of Lords sooner than they otherwise would.
- The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill extends
this provision for a further period to support efforts to
increase the number of female bishops in the House of Lords.
What does the Bill do?
- The , the , and the Bishops of
London, Durham and Winchester are automatically given seats in
the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. This Bill will ensure
that, whenever a vacancy arises among the 21 other bishops in
the House of Lords, the position will continue to be filled by
a female diocesan bishop if one is available.
- These arrangements have been in place since May 2015 as a
result of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015. Prior to this,
diocesan bishops filled the 21 seats in order of their length of
service as a diocesan bishop.
- Six female bishops have been appointed to the House of Lords
under the provisions of the 2015 Act, five of whom currently sit
in the House. This is welcome progress but more time is required
to ensure significant female representation among the Lords
Spiritual.
- However, the 2015 Act expires in May 2025, so it is right to
extend it for a further period to support this goal in agreement
with the Church of England.
- Without this legislation, the position would return to the
status quo ante whereby bishops become members of the
House of Lords according to their time in office; this would
result in it taking longer for more female bishops to enter the
House of Lords.
Territorial extent and application
- The Bill will extend and apply UK-wide.
Key facts
- The 2015 Act was passed shortly after the Church of England
changed its own legislation to enable women to be appointed as
bishops in 2014. The first female bishop (the , Rachel Treweek) was
appointed in June 2015 and quickly entered the House of Lords
as a result of the Act in September.
- At present, there is one female bishop who will be eligible
to enter the Lords on retirement of an existing bishop, and this
will happen before the 2015 Act provisions expire in May 2025.
There is a further retirement in February 2025 (the ),
which again would be covered by the 2015 Act if a woman bishop
was appointed to an eligible diocese before that retirement.
- Looking ahead, there are currently four vacancies amongst the
eligible diocesan bishoprics and there is a possibility of female
bishops being appointed to those posts. There are a further nine
Lords Spiritual who will reach the retirement age in the next
five years.
