Ross councillor attacks MSP's 'anti-church' proposal to axe clergy vote

A VETERAN Ross-shire councillor has claimed a former Highland SNP representative is doing the party’s dirty work for it by launching an "anti-church" proposal aimed at scrapping an historic right allowing ministers and priests to vote on school issues.

Alasdair Rhind, who represents Tain and Easter Ross made a stand over the issue today after Independent Highland MSP John Finnie submitted a Bill proposal to the Scottish Parliament seeking to abolish the clergy’s statutory involvement on education issues faced by local authorities, including Highland Council.

For decades, denominations like the Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic Church, have been allowed to influence decisions on schools, pupils and teachers.

Three religious representatives from both, plus a smaller Presbyterian church, sit as members on the council’s adult and children’s services (ACS) committee with full voting powers.

It dates back to when responsibility for schools was taken on by the state from churches in 1872 but they were granted a say in the education system.

Opposition to the law has been growing in recent years and Mr Finnie, a former SNP councillor, says the clergy’s influence is undemocratic because none are elected and do not have to answer to constituents, unlike councillors.

His draft proposal was sparked by clergy members voting to block the council’s move to build a Gaelic school in Lochaber last year on the political administration’s preferred site.

The voting upset on the £4million school was later overturned by the council and Mr Finnie said it was not right that unelected and unaccountable clergy could make multimillion-pound decision involving public money.

"This is about our democratic process, this is not an attack on our churches," insisted Mr Finnie. "Churches are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves, however, they have no democratic right to speak for the general populous.

"It is simply an anomaly that in modern day Scotland we can have unelected representatives of religion being able to vote on local government committees. The ability of such representatives to affect decisions on a wide range of services and the resulting financial implications with absolutely no accountability to taxpayers runs counter to the very idea of democratic governance.

"As custodians of public money I feel that we have to be accountable. Can you imagine in the Scottish Parliament if decisions were being taken on the basis of people who were not elected?"

Alasdair Christie, the council’s ACS committee chairman, would like to see the clergy’s voting powers reviewed and said most of his counterparts throughout Scotland held a similar view.

"I have always believed that in order to have a voting structure, there should be a democratic mandate," said Councillor Christie. "I welcome the input into the deliberations of the committee from many organisations but feel the [clergy] voting power should be revisited."

Senior opposition councillor Alasdair Rhind, who supports religious leaders’ voting power, claimed there was an "anti-church" attitude in Scotland.

He said it was a "sad reflection" on Mr Finnie’s time to have lodged the Bill proposal and claimed he was doing the SNP’s dirty work after the council’s Nationalist-led administration was initially defeated in the Lochaber school row last year.

"I think the way we are going it will be ratified by the Scottish Government, there seems to be an anti-church movement in the country," he said. "I do think that John Finnie was very much put up to this by the SNP administration, it is a sad reflection on his time. I think the majority of councillors have no problem with the clergy’s representatives on the committee. These people, like many other people, vote on their conscience.

"I have never heard them make religious comments, they are representing the people of the Highlands. They are accountable, they are selected by their church to represent their church."

The Tain and Easter Ross councillor, who is a Kirk elder, has previously criticised Highland Council’s decision in 2012 to axe prayers from its meeting agendas to ward off a legal threat from a secular pressure group.

He said the move had "rippled down" from Holyrood where "time for reflection" sessions are held prior to parliamentary debate.

Mr Finnie’s bill proposal, which is called "Promoting greater openness and accountability in local government", is now open for public comments.

After the 12-week consultation ends Mr Finnie hopes to gain the support of at least 18 MSPs which would give him the right to lodge a Member’s Bill, which, if passed, becomes law.

Anybody wishing to comment on the consultation can do so by e-mailing john.finnie.msp@scottish.parliament.uk or by post: John Finnie MSP, Room M3.19, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP.

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