Following the referendum in 1997 and the Scotland Act 1998, the
churches in Scotland were keen to get involved with the Scottish
Parliament, as they had supported the devolution cause for years,
notably within the Scottish Constitutional Convention. So it was
decided to set up an office for this purpose - the Scottish
Churches Parliamentary Office. The purpose of the office was
envisaged to build a fruitful relationship with the Parliament,
enabling the churches to engage effectively in the political
process.
The Rev Dr Graham Blount was appointed Parliamentary Officer in
1998 and the office itself opened in 1999 once premises had been
found on Johnston Terrace, near Edinburgh Castle. The Scottish
Parliament was initially based in the Assembly Hall of the Church
of Scotland. In 2004, the Scottish Parliament moved to its
permanent home at the bottom of the Royal Mile, and in 2006, the
office moved halfway down the mile to be located in the Scottish
Storytelling Centre - the old Netherbow connected to John Knox
House - which combines the modern with the very old historical
features of John Knox House and is the perfect location for the
office.
The office started with a staff of two (a Parliamentary Officer
and secretary/assistant) but the budget provision for research
allowed for another part-time member of staff after two years. This
later became a full-time post (with some Scottish Government
funding). As the SCPO team has gradually expanded, so the capacity
of the office to produce more output has increased. Having
initially started covering only Holyrood; since June 2005, the
office also covers Westminster. This added dimension has
proved useful for a number of issues that churches are interested
in, but which do not necessarily fall into the remit of the
devolved Scottish Parliament.
The main focus continues to be on resourcing the churches
through monthly updates and occasional briefings, to ensure that
the churches' contributions to public debates -whether from local
churches, individual denominations or shared ecumenical responses -
are timely and well-informed.
In partnership with other faith communities, the Office helped
establish "Time for Reflection", the weekly Parliamentary slot in
which representatives of Scotland's faith communities offer a
reflective "thought for the day"; SCPO continued to advise
Parliament staff on this, and initiated the annual Parliamentary
Carol Service.
The Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network arose from a
realisation that issues around poverty and debt, homelessness and
refugees would be an ongoing priority for the churches. SCPO
continues to support SCSIN in its work of helping the churches
engage with Government and Parliament on these issues.
In December 2008, Rev Dr Graham Blount left SCPO and was
replaced in March 2009 by Ms Chloe Clemmons.