PRESS RELEASE : New legislation will increase representation of female bishops in the House of Lords [July 2024]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 30 July 2024.

The Government will extend measures to speed up increasing the representation of women bishops within the Lords Spiritual for a further five years.

• Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill will extend existing rules aimed at increasing the number of women bishops in the House of Lords.
• Women bishops have been introduced to the Lords more quickly since original legislation came into force in 2015.
• Baroness Smith says the new bill “I have no doubt that any new female bishops will have an important role in parliamentary business in the months to come.”

The Government will extend measures to speed up increasing the representation of women bishops within the Lords Spiritual for a further five years. The term ‘Lords Spiritual’ refers to the 26 Church of England diocesan bishops who sit in the House of Lords.

The new bill, which has been requested by the Church of England, will ensure that vacant seats are filled by women bishops if an eligible female diocesan bishop is available. With the first female Diocesan Bishop having been appointed in 2015, this is to address the temporary inequality created by a system based on longevity of service. There are exceptions for the five great sees (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, Bishop of London, Bishop of Durham, and Bishop of Winchester) who have an automatic entitlement to sit in the House of Lords.

The measures have seen six women bishops enter the House of Lords more quickly since the passage of the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 than otherwise would have been the case. The original legislation had been due to expire in May 2025 and its extension will allow more time to achieve greater representation.

The extension to be granted under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill to May 2030 will postpone a return to the previous process, which saw seats allocated to the longest serving bishops.

Diocesan bishops are appointed by The King on the advice of the Prime Minister based on nominations from the Crown Nominations Commission.

The Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Minister for the Constitution and EU Relations) said:

This Government is working to ensure our Parliament represents the country that it serves – taking steps to address gender inequality is a vital part of that work.

As a result, it’s important that steps like this are taken to ensure more female bishops are able to bring a greater range of experience to the House of Lords.

The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, said:

We are pleased to support the Church of England in this matter. Lords Spiritual play a key role in the House of Lords and I have no doubt that any new female bishops will have an important role in parliamentary business in the months to come.

Six female bishops have been introduced to date and, as a direct result of this bill, we look forward to welcoming even more to the second chamber in the years ahead.

Rt Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, said:

I welcome the decision to extend the measure aimed at increasing the number of women who serve as Lords Spiritual. We have made progress on this in recent years but there is still more work to be done.

Bishops in the House of Lords seek to speak to the hopes and needs of all people across the communities they serve. By better reflecting those communities we can carry out that service more effectively.

This extension of this system is being delivered following a request from the Church.