Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision Bill) Explanatory Notes, published 15 September 2026, paragraph 6, if she will list the 450 benefice appointments within the patronage of the Lord Chancellor; and whether these powers are still utilised.

The Lord Chancellor’s rights as Patron of approximately 450 Church of England benefices remain in use. When they become vacant full appointment processes are followed involving parish representatives, the relevant Bishop, and the Lord Chancellor's Ecclesiastical Secretary. A register is not published because benefices regularly change through pastoral reorganisation.