Ecclesiastical Commissioners (Powers) Measure, 1938
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | measure 1938 No. 4 |
| Year | 1938 |
Ecclesiastical Commissioners (Powers) Measure, 1938
(1 & 2 Geo. 6.)
A MEASURE passed by the National Assemblyof the Church of England.
To confer upon the Ecclesiastical Commissioners power to establish and fix parochial tables of fees for the performance of church offices and matters incidental thereto: to amend the Glebe Lands Act, 1888, and to make applicable to future sales under that Act the provisions of the Ecclesiastical Leasing Acts as to improvement of annual value: to give additional powers to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners as to the application of money arising from the sale of property of a benefice under the Ecclesiastical Leasing Acts or the Glebe Lands Act, 1888, and to enable them to rearrange charges on endowment of a benefice in favour of another benefice: to remove a doubt arising under the Union of Benefices Act, 1860: to enable the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to withdraw certain curate grants: to make provision for payment to the incumbents of benefices by regular quarterly instalments of such part of the income of their respective benefices as is received by them from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: to give additional powers to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in relation to funds available for the endowment of benefices and in relation to curate funds: and to amend section two of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act, 1850, as to the salaries payable to Church Estates Commissioners.
[23rd June 1938]
1 Tables of parochial fees to be established by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
(1) It shall be lawful for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and they are hereby empowered, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, to establish and fix for any parish a table of fees to be payable for or in respect of the solemnization or performance of church offices, the erection of monuments in churchyards and such other services or matters as may by any law or custom be now included in such tables, and also at any time and from time to time to revoke any table of fees for the time being in force for any parish whether such table shall have been established or fixed under the powers conferred by this section or under any previous statutory power or by or under any custom or otherwise, and establish and fix a new table in substitution therefor.
(2) All powers now vested in any authority or person other than the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to establish, fix, alter or add to any table of fees for any parish whether under or by virtue of any custom or usage or under or by virtue of the provisions of any statute, including the powers conferred by section thirty-three of the Parish of Manchester Division Act, 1850 , and by section fifteen of the New Parishes Act, 1843 , shall as from the commencement of this Measure determine and be no longer exercisable.
(3) The Ecclesiastical Commissioners may include in any such table of fees directions as to the amount of any fee or the method of fixing the amount thereof, as to the person to whom any fee shall be payable and as to the purpose or purposes to which any fee shall be allocated, and provisions as to the payment of special or increased fees for special services.
(4) Every table of fees which shall be fixed in exercise of the powers conferred by this present section shall be established and put on record by an instrument in writing under the seal of the Commissioners giving particulars of such table. Every such instrument shall be registered in the registry of the diocese in which the parish concerned is situate, and shall take effect as from the date of the instrument or from such other time as may be appointed in that behalf by the instrument. And all fees so fixed and established may be demanded, received, sued for and recovered by the spiritual person or clerk or sexton or other person to whom the same shall be assigned or allocated in like manner, and by such or the same means as would be available or applicable if such fees were ancient legal fees.
(5) The Ecclesiastical Commissioners shall in relation to any parish exercise the powers conferred by this section if and when requested in writing so to do by the incumbent and the parochial church council (if any) of the parish.
(6) Save as hereinafter provided no table of fees for any parish shall be fixed under the powers hereinbefore contained unless and until the same shall have been approved by the bishop and by the incumbent and the parochial church council (if any) of the parish.
(7) In any case where it shall appear to the bishop that a new table of fees should be established and fixed for any parish and either no application shall have been made by the incumbent and the parochial church council to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to exercise the powers in that behalf hereinbefore contained or such application as aforesaid shall have been made but the incumbent or the parochial church council shall have refused or failed before the expiration of such reasonable period as the bishop may allow for that purpose to approve of any table of fees proposed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and approved by the bishop, then and in such case it shall be lawful for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, at the request of the bishop, to establish and fix a new table of fees for the said parish without the approval or consent of the incumbent or the parochial church council, but otherwise in manner hereinbefore provided, subject to the following conditions, namely:—
(i) Notice in writing of the intention of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to proceed under this subsection shall be given to the incumbent and parochial church council (if any);
(ii) A copy of the new table of fees for such parish as proposed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and approved by the bishop shall be served upon the incumbent and the parochial church council (if any), together with a notice to the effect that any representations in respect thereof submitted to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by the incumbent or by the parochial church council (if any) within one month thereafter will be considered;
(iii) Any representations so submitted shall be referred to the bishop for his advice and opinion thereon, and shall be duly considered before any instrument shall be executed for establishing such table of fees;
(iv) The powers of this present subsection shall not be exercised so as adversely to affect the rights of any incumbent without his consent in writing.
(8) In any case where any new table of fees for any parish shall be fixed or established in exercise of the powers conferred by this section, a copy of such table of fees shall be sent by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the incumbent of the parish, together with a statement of the date or event on which the same has or will become applicable.
(9) It shall be the duty of the incumbent for the time being of every parish to procure that a copy of the table of fees in force in the parish shall at all times be publicly exhibited and kept exhibited in some suitable position in the church or churches of the said parish so as to be openly displayed and readily accessible to parishioners and other persons entering such church or churches.
(10) For the purposes of this section—
‘Parish’ shall include any ecclesiastical parish, parochial chapelry or other place within the limits of which any incumbent or minister has the cure of souls and is entitled to retain for his own benefit the fees chargeable in respect of the performance of church offices;
In relation to any parish as aforesaid ‘the bishop’ shall mean the bishop of the diocese in which such parish is situated;
In relation to any parish as aforesaid ‘the incumbent’ shall mean the incumbent or other the holder of the benefice which comprises such parish.
2 Amendment of the Glebe Lands Act, 1888.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (4) of section four of the Glebe Lands Act, 1888 , all securities at any time hereafter bought out of purchase money...
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