FERGUS EWING: Absurd green tape will criminalise church folk
Without the Church , Scotland would not be the nation we are.
Without its influence, we would not have had the education of children through the parishes centuries ago.
With its influence we have always been a country that tries to look after those in poverty and misfortune. It has been and is now a force for good. It has shaped and guided the morals and personal standards of our people.
I for one think that is a legacy of which to be proud and to cherish.
Today, throughout the Highlands, the Churches – all churches of whatever denomination – together provide a key part of alleviating poverty.
For example, it is often church members who volunteer to man food banks, and it is the outstanding efforts of the Salvation Army that so helps men that have lost their way in life , and churches help in countless other ways and means.
The First Minister recently held a ‘poverty summit’ at which he pledged to eradicate poverty in Scotland.
This worthy aim is one that all the Churches have always pursued.
Let me offer Humza Yousaf one piece of advice how very simply, at least, to maintain some of the money and alms at present provided to people in poverty by our churches?
He should scrap the application of the law which requires the Churches to register in a new legal register of ‘Persons holding a Controlled interest in Land’.
Unbelievably, this measure, intended in some way to promote land reform, will instead impose upon the Church of Scotland (and all other Churches), a duty to register for each one of 6,000 properties it owns, full details of all of the office bearers of every single congregation.
This is completely and utterly pointless. No-one seeking land reform has ever asked for any of this.
But it will create what the Church of Scotland say will be ‘unmanageable administrative burdens’ and which will cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal and admin costs.
It even imposes criminal penalties for failure to provide this information.
Under these criminal provisions, people who do not know they are subject to this duty may be unwittingly committing a crime! As if the police do not have enough to do.
Why are we criminalising those who help the poor?
It nuts. It’s wrong, and it should be stopped forthwith.
Moreover the Churches will separately require to register with the charities watchdog OSCR information regards their trustees.
So it’s a double duplicated dose of bureaucracy.
Let me quote the Churches’ own words as to the impacts this absurd ‘green tape’ will have: “Money that could be used for help to support people struggling against poverty will instead have to go on administrative and legal advice.”
I raised this absurdity with the Scottish Government Minister, Mairi McAllan who replied to my letter stating that to exempt the churches would ‘create inconsistencies’ or ‘loopholes’.
She did not say what these are or may be. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Rather than use these hundreds of thousands of pounds raised mostly through donations and voluntary effort of church goers for a mindless bureaucracy of zero value, surely it should continue to be used to help people who really need it?
I will continue to pursue the campaign to end this absurdity facing our Churches around the constituency some of whom have raised this with me as their MSP , for example, churches in Grantown and Inverness.
I hope to raise this in parliament and to work with MSPs across the political spectrum to bring common sense to bear.
• Fergus Ewing (SNP) is MSP for Strathspey.
