Legislative Reform Measure 2018

1 Power to remove or reduce burdens

(1) The Archbishops’ Council may by order make provision which it considers would remove or reduce a burden, or the overall burdens, resulting directly or indirectly for any person from ecclesiastical legislation.

(2) “Burden” means—

(a) a financial cost,

(b) an administrative inconvenience, or

(c) an obstacle to efficiency.

(3) “Ecclesiastical legislation” means any of the following or a provision of any of them—

(a) a Measure of the General Synod (whether passed before or after the commencement of this section);

(b) a Measure of the Church Assembly;

(c) a public general Act or local Act in so far as it forms part of the ecclesiastical law of the Church of England (whether passed before or after the commencement of this section);

(d) an Order in Council, order, rules, regulations, directions, scheme or other subordinate instrument made under a provision of—

(i) a Measure or Act referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or

(ii) a subordinate instrument itself made under a provision of a Measure or Act referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(4) For the purposes of this section, the burdens which are capable of resulting from ecclesiastical legislation include any burden which results from—

(a) an inconsistency or anomaly in the legislation, or

(b) the form of the legislation (for example, where the legislation is hard to understand).

(5) The provision that may be made by an order under this section includes (subject to section 3)—

(a) provision abolishing, conferring or transferring, or providing for the delegation of, functions of any description (including a function of legislating),

(b) provision creating a body or office, and

(c) provision amending, repealing or revoking an enactment.

(6) The consequential provision which may be made in an order under this section in reliance on section 9(1) includes provision to abolish a body or office.