I rise with very considerable trepidation, with humility and, if I may say so, with some dubiety in relation to this issue. I come from Welsh nonconformist stock. I am a Welsh Presbyterian and my family have been Welsh Presbyterians for well over 200 years. However, I appreciate and respect the Church of England, the position that it occupies in the history of this land, its status as an established Church and all faith schools. As a lawyer or, more accurately, as a retired lawyer, my question is whether there is a point where a faith school or a body operating under any trust is entitled, if it so wishes, to go contrary to a principle that had been clearly and specifically spelt out in an Act of Parliament. The answer must be in the negative.
I do not know exactly what the circumstances might be in relation to this section under the Education Act 1996. If the right reverend Prelate is right to say that the amendment is no more than making an assurance doubly so—in other words consolidating a line that is already there—I would accept it. On the other hand, if the amendment allows the whole principle of the Bill to be endangered and imperilled, one must oppose it.
9 pm
The wording of the amendment is very wide and encompasses all manner of possibilities. Subsection (2) states: “Nothing in subsection (1B)”—a reference to the 1996 Act—
“prevents teaching the tenets of the relevant religion or religious denomination concerning marriage and its importance for family life and the bringing up of children to registered pupils at schools which have a religious character”.
Does that mean—as it seems to me that it must mean—that a teacher in a faith school could say, “Of course Parliament passed an Act in 2013 in relation to same-sex couples, but we believe that it is wrong. Everything that our church or denomination represents suggests that it is utterly wrong, and not only wrong but evil”? What does that create? That is not a licence that can be allowed to anyone who operates within the democratic principle of the rule of law and the rule of Parliament. If I am wrong about that, I apologise. If I am right, the amendment should be rejected.