Before deciding to make any recommendations to the bishop, the pastoral committee shall so far as may be practicable ascertain the views of the interested parties or, subject to subsection (7)(a) in the case of interested parties being local planning authorities, invite them to express their views.

In the case of F4recommendations under section 2A and of proposals and orders under section 14, the local planning authority or authorities shall not be included among the interested parties.

In the case of interested parties, being incumbents or vicars in a team ministry, the pastoral committee shall, before reaching their decision, afford to each incumbent or vicar, if he so desires, an opportunity of meeting the committee or sub-committee or representative thereof, but, in the case of a recommendation for a union of benefices or otherwise for the dissolution of any benefice or the holding in plurality of any benefice or benefices, or the establishment of a team or group ministry for any benefice or benefices, or the abolition of any office of vicar in a team ministry, the incumbent of the benefice or each of the benefices or the holder of the office of vicar shall have an opportunity of meeting the committee (as distinct from a sub-committee or representative thereof), if he so desires.

In the case of interested parties, being parochial church councils, the committee shall, before reaching their decision, afford to each council or their representative, if the council so request, an opportunity of meeting the committee or, if the committee so decide, a sub-committee thereof, or, with the consent of the council, a representative of the committee.

When the committee have decided to make recommendations, they shall formulate them in draft proposals and submit them to the bishop, and the bishop may, with the agreement of the committee, make such amendments of the draft proposals as appear to him desirable.

The committee shall annexe to the draft proposals formulated by them a statement of the views of the interested parties and, if those proposals include a proposal that a declaration of redundancy be made in respect of any church, the committee shall annexe a copy of the report prepared by the said Council under subsection (8) to the draft proposals.

In this section “incumbent”, in relation to a benefice in respect of which a suspension period has been declared and is for the time being in force, means the priest in charge thereof.

If the bishop approves either with or without amendments draft proposals submitted to him under section 3(9) he shall submit the proposals as approved to the Commissioners and inform the pastoral committee that he has done so.

The pastoral committee shall send a copy of the proposals as approved by the bishop to every interested party with a notice informing him F17that if the Commissioners prepare a draft scheme or order to give effect to the proposals he will be given an opportunity of making representations with respect thereto.

The Commissioners shall consider any proposals submitted to them as aforesaid and the bishop, in consultation with the pastoral committee, shall consider any comments made by the Commissioners with respect to any of the proposals.

After the provisions of the foregoing subsections have been complied with the Commissioners may make, with the agreement of the bishop given after consultation with the pastoral committee, such amendments of the proposals as appear to them desirable.

F18... The Commissioners shall serve a copy of any draft scheme or order prepared under section 5 on each of the interested parties, together with a notice stating that written representations with respect thereto may be made to the Commissioners not later than a date specified in the notice, being a date not less than twenty-eight days after the service of the notice.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Commissioners shall, in the case of every draft scheme, send copies of such a notice as is mentioned in subsection (3), but specifying a date not less than twenty-eight days after the sending of the notice, to the secretary of the parochial church council of every parish affected by the draft scheme, and require him to affix a copy on or near the principal door of every church in the parish and every building licensed by the bishop for public worship in the parish.

The Commissioners shall consider any written representations duly made with respect to any draft scheme or order and may, if they think fit, afford an opportunity to any person, whether he has made written representations or not, to make oral representations to their representative with respect to the draft scheme or order.

The Commissioners may, before or after the end of the period within which written representations may be made under this section, extend that period, and any representations made within the period so extended shall be deemed to be duly made.

If any such amendments are made, the amended draft scheme or order shall be treated in the same manner as an original draft scheme or order, and section 6F20... shall apply thereto accordingly.

F6Where no representations with respect to any such draft scheme have been duly made and the Commissioners are of opinion that any such draft scheme should be made, and do not propose to amend or further amend it under section 7, they shall submit it to the bishop for his consent and, when he has given his consent, they shall seal a copy of the draft scheme and so make the scheme, F7....

A notice under subsection (1A) shall inform persons who have duly made written representations with respect to the draft scheme of their rights, on obtaining the leave of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, to appeal to Her Majesty in Council and shall specify the date, being a date not less than twenty-eight days after the service of the notice, on or before which notice of intention to apply for such leave must be given.

When serving a notice under subsection (1A) the Commissioners shall send a copy thereof to the Registrar of the Privy Council together with a copy of the draft scheme and a copy of the statement in writing referred to in that subsection.

Where no representations with respect to any such draft order have been made, the Commissioners shall seal a copy thereof and submit it to the bishop.

Where a copy of an order is submitted to the bishop under this section, he may by applying his seal thereto make the order.

Any person who has duly made written representations with respect to the draft scheme may appeal to Her Majesty in Council against the scheme or any provisions thereof, but only with the leave of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Schedule 2 shall apply to applications for leave to appeal, and to appeals to Her Majesty in Council, under this section.

Where the Commissioners inform the Registrar of the Privy Council that they wish to make the scheme without any amendment of the draft scheme, the Judicial Committee, without any further hearing, may propose to Her Majesty in Council that the appeal should be allowed or dismissed, and the like effect shall follow on that proposal as if it had been made under subsection (4)(a) or (b).

Where the Commissioners amend the draft scheme, it shall be treated as a draft scheme amended under section 7 and the provisions of this Part shall apply thereto accordingly.

The Commissioners shall send a copy of every F10scheme made by them under this Part and of every order made by the bishop under section F118(4) to the interested parties, and, in the case of a scheme containing a declaration of redundancy, to the Advisory Board.

The Commissioners shall also send a copy of every such F12scheme or order to the registrar of the diocese concerned, who shall file it in the diocesan registry.

The validity of a scheme made F13by the Commissioners under this Part, or of an order made under this Part, shall not be questioned in any legal proceedings.

Except in so far as any such scheme or order, or any provision thereof, is expressed to come into operation on a date, event or contingency specified therein, it shall come into operation on the date on which the scheme is F14made by the Commissioners or, as the case may be, the order is made by the bishop under section F158(4) .

The powers conferred by subsection (1) may be used to include recommendations affecting more than one other diocese, and in that case the conditions aforesaid shall be complied with in relation to each of the other dioceses.

If it appears to the bishop of two or more diocese that a committee should be constituted for the purpose of considering the boundaries of the dioceses concerned and the pastoral arrangements in the areas adjacent thereto and of making recommendations (if the committee so decide) the implementing of which would require the exercise of powers under section 36, then, if the Dioceses Commission gives its consent, they may by an instrument sealed by each of them provide for constituting a committee in accordance with the next following subsection.

The committee shall be known as the joint pastoral committee for the dioceses concerned, and shall comprise an equal number of members not exceeding five from each diocese, together with a member of the Dioceses Commission nominated by that Commission and a chairman appointed by the bishops jointly, or, in default of their agreement, by the Commissioners; and the members from any diocese shall include the bishop if he so desires and shall otherwise be nominated by the pastoral committee of the diocese concerned from among their members.

Without prejudice to the provisions of section 16(2), the functions of the joint pastoral committee, and the powers exercisable in pursuance of their proposals under section 36, may be limited by the instrument aforesaid or any subsequent instrument sealed by the bishops of the dioceses concerned to a specified section or sections of the boundaries of the dioceses concerned or to an area or areas so specified, or to the consideration of proposals or questions so specified relating to those boundaries or areas, but any such limitation may be revoked or varied by a subsequent instrument sealed by the bishops of the dioceses concerned.

The instrument which provides for the establishment of a joint boundary committee may also make such provision as the bishops of the dioceses concerned think fit for the procedure of the committee and any such provision as is referred to in subsection (4A) and, when deciding whether to make any such provision, and, if so, what provision, the bishops shall have regard to the provisions of Schedule 3 to the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007.

The provision referred to in subsection (4) is provision for paying the expenses of the joint boundary committee out of the diocesan pastoral accounts of the dioceses concerned.

If it appears to the bishops of the dioceses concerned that the purposes for which a joint pastoral committee was appointed have been sufficiently fulfilled, either by the making of a scheme or by a report or otherwise, or are unlikely to be fulfilled, they may by instrument sealed by them dissolve the committee.

Proposals submitted under subsection (1) may provide for including among any benefices to be held in plurality one or more benefices from a diocese other than the diocese of the bishop submitting the proposals, but before seeking the consents of the interested parties in the other diocese, the said bishop shall obtain the consent of the bishop of the other diocese, who shall before giving it consult the pastoral committee of his diocese.

At any time between the submission of proposals to the Commissioners under this Part and the making of a scheme by them or the making of an order by the bishop with respect to the proposals, the Commissioners may, without reference to any other person, make such amendments of the proposals or of any draft scheme or order prepared to give effect thereto as may seem to them necessary for the purpose of correcting any drafting mistake or omission.

Nothing in this Part shall be construed as limiting in any way the powers of a pastoral committee or a joint pastoral committee or the Commissioners to consider any representations made to them by any person and to hold such consultations and interviews and make such inquiries as they think fit.