Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Edinburgh - Briefing Document One

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Parliamentary Officer:Rev Graham Blount
Phone:
0131 558 8137

Briefing Document No 1 - May 1999 - Page 1 of 4

Singing the Lord's Song in a New Scotland

On 12th May this year, the newly elected Scottish Parliament will meet for the first time in the Kirk's General Assembly Hall, to appoint its Presiding Officer - while the General Assembly itself debates the Church and Nation Report in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre! No longer will anyone describe the General Assembly as the nearest thing Scotland has to a Parliament, and the coincidence of timing could be read as a dramatic sign of displacement. But that would be a serious misreading of the moment.

The Scottish churches, together, have had a significant role in the movement out of which the Parliament has come, as one dimension of their commitment to the well-being of the nation and its people. In a distinctive way, the churches are part of Scottish public life. And this will continue.

The churches have created the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office to build a fruitful relationship with the new Parliament. It will enable them to:
engage effectively in the new political process,
translate their commitment to the welfare of Scotland into Parliamentary debate, and
contribute the range and depth of their experience, and their faith reflection on that, to the decision-making process.
This will be done through briefings to the churches and to Parliamentarians - of which this, along with our recent election briefing, represents a start - and by bringing people together for dialogue. Often, this will be happening in partnership with others in Scottish civil society.

It is not just the geographical proximity of the Parliament which has prompted this. A new political process, carrying many hopes, is not only promised but starting to take shape in the Scotland Act 1998 and in the Report of the Consultative Steering Group (out of which it is expected the procedures of the Parliament will come). While the details of how the Parliament will work, and therefore how the churches and others can participate, will only emerge as the Parliament makes decisions and puts them into practice, this briefing reviews the proposals for new structures with an eye to how we can engage with them.

Powers of The Parliament
The Scotland Act 1998 defines the main powers reserved to the Westminster Parliament as,
Constitution
Foreign affairs
Defence & national security
Civil Service
Financial & economic matters
Immigration
Misuse of drugs
Trade & industry (e.g. consumer protection)
Energy
Aspects of transport (e.g. railways)
Social security
Employment
Abortion, genetics, surrogacy, medicines
Broadcasting
Equal opportunities.

Clearly, these include many matters of concern to the Scottish churches, such as international debt, the arms trade and the welfare benefits system. While the Scottish Parliament can - and quite probably will - debate these matters, it has no legislative powers in these areas. Churches, therefore, will need to keep in close touch with Westminster via existing channels, including CCBI.

Devolved powers are not defined in the Act; they cover all areas not reserved, and will therefore include
Health
Local Government
Social Work
Housing
Planning
Economic Development
Financial Assistance to Industry
Aspects of transport e.g road network, bus policy, ports and harbours
Most aspects of criminal and civil law
Criminal justice and courts
Police and Fire Services
Environment
Natural and built heritage
Agriculture
Food Standards
Forestry
Fisheries
Sport
The Arts