A private members’ bill was been introduced into parliament last year – The Chancel Repairs Bill 2014 (HL Bill No.38) to attempt an abolition of chancel repair liability. Introduced into the House of Lords, its first reading took place on 16 July. It is described as a Bill to make provision for ending the liability of lay rectors for the repair of chancels. It applies only to England only. Its provisions are brief. The main operative clause states that: “No person shall after the commencement of this Act be liable as lay rector for the repair of the chancel of any church or chapel.”
In discussions in the House of Lords yesterday, the Government made it clear that it had no intention of legislating in this area at present. Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con), the Government’s whip in the House of Lords, said: “My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Avebury for raising the issue of chancel repair liability for debate today. I am also grateful for the interesting contributions of other noble Lords who have spoken. I feel, in some ways, that the right reverend Prelate should be here, I will not say in the dock, but here with me to answer some of the speeches, which were all on the theme of changing the present situation. I listened carefully to the concerns expressed about chancel repair liability and I am sure that the Ministry of Justice will consider them in detail, but I must make clear—I trust that this will not come as too much of a shock to noble Lords, except, perhaps, to the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy—that the Government have no plans to change the law at present. None the less, it is because we take the concerns seriously that we are keeping the situation under review.”