T
The Chu
urch of Scotland
S
d
_____________________________
_____________________
___________
__________________ Churchh and Societyy Council 121 Geo
orge Street Edinburgh, EH2 4YN Tel: 0131 225 5722 Fax: 0131 240 2239 Email: churchanddsociety@cofscotland.org.uk Web: w
www.churchofscotland.org.uk Charity Number: SCO11353 Offficial Response SUBJEC
CT: REQUESSTED BY: REFEREENCE: DATE: SUBMITTTED BY: Scotland’s Constituutional Futu
ure UK Govvernment ‐ SSecretary of State for SScotland OR – 00
04 ‐ 2012 9 March
h 2012 Church & Society CCouncil, Chu
urch of Scottland Dear Sirr Please ffind attacheed the Resp
ponse from tthe Church of Scotland
d with regarrd to Scotland’s Constitu
utional Futu
ure. The Chu
urch of Scottland underrstands the need for th
he debate about our coonstitutionaal future in orderr to reach some point o
of decision within the lifetime of tthis parliam
ment, howevver, the Church does not w
want the deb
bate to be ssimply one o
of constituttional changge in and off itself. Full responses to aall the questtions are coontained witthin the attached docuument. Please d
do not hesittate to conttact us if anny clarification is requirred or we caan be of furrther assistan
nce. Church of Scotland draft response to UK consultation on Scotland’s Constitutional Future Preamble The Church of Scotland understands the need for the debate about Scotland’s constitutional future to come to some point of decision within the lifetime of this Scottish Parliamentary Session, given commitment in the SNP manifesto and the mandate the present Scottish Government has in holding a majority in the Parliament. The Church does not want the debate to be simply one of constitutional change in and of itself. Self‐determination for any nation is a good political principle that the Church would support; this includes the right of the electorate to vote for or against constitutional change. The key issue for the Church is to ensure that social justice would be improved by any constitutional change. Critical questions in this debate will be about the values which reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ i.e. more about poverty, health, education and all the other aspects of human flourishing than it will be about a transfer of some, more or even all powers from one parliament to another. Neither independence for Scotland, nor increased devolution, nor the status quo are prizes in themselves. The real victory lies in the alleviation of poverty, the reduction of ill health, forgiveness in the criminal justice system and in society, cultural change that builds better neighbourhoods, removes prejudice that feeds things like sectarianism and welcomes strangers without qualification and all the other things that nurture human living. This response is about process but the process of Scotland becoming the nation it wants to be in the 21st century global village is a journey that the outcome of any referendum on constitutional change is but one small sign post from which there is still little clear direction. A legal referendum 1 What are your views on using the order making power provided in the Scotland Act 1998 to allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for a legal referendum in an Act of the Scottish Parliament? Whilst the Church of Scotland has not taken a view of the detail of the specific processes involved in creating the legal context for a referendum on independence, it has reflected in the past of the first principles involved in managing the process of democracy. These are that democratic processes should only be as complex as is necessary to achieve transparency and clarity of the issues and that all decisions should happen at the level closest to those affected that is reasonable to achieve good decision‐making. In that context, it would seem reasonable that a Section 30 order applied via the 1998 Scotland Act, given that it uses present legislation for which there is clarity about its 2 purpose, should be used as the basis for a discussion and agreement by both the UK and Scottish Governments as the legislative method by which power could be granted for a referendum on Scotland’s constitutional future to be run legally by the Scottish Government. This method should be only used by agreement. The Church would not support any process if it were imposed. 2 What are your views on the UK Parliament legislating to deliver a referendum on independence? As referred to above, the UK should only legislate if there is agreement between the UK and Scottish Government that that would be the clearest, least complex and most efficient way to achieve a legally binding referendum. 3 What are your views on whether the Scotland Bill should be used either to: i) give the Scottish Parliament the power to legislate for a referendum; or ii) directly deliver a referendum? On the principle that decision making should be devolved to the lowest level practically possible, the view of the Church would be that the Scottish Parliament should be give powers to legislate for a referendum as that would mean the decisions about process would be taken as closely to those involved as possible. A fair referendum 4 What are your views on the oversight arrangements for a referendum on Scottish independence? The arrangements should be in the hands of an independent body with experience of handling such referenda. 5 Do you think the Electoral Commission should have a role in overseeing a referendum on Scottish independence? The Church of Scotland would support a referendum being run independently of any political body, especially one with a vested interest in a particular outcome. The Electoral Commission would seem to be the best example of a properly independent body that is already set up to run these aspects of the democratic process. In addition, as a matter of international good practice and transparency, the referendum should be monitored by the (Warsaw‐based) Office for Democratic Institutions & Human Rights (ODIHR) of the (Vienna‐based) Organisation for Security & Co‐operation in Europe (OSCE). The ODIHR is now one of the world's foremost election monitoring agencies. 3 6 What are your views on which people should be entitled to vote in a Scottish independence referendum? In its support for devolution and the vote to achieve that constitutional change, the Church did not express support for expanding the franchise for that process beyond the arrangements for parliamentary elections at that time. In remaining consistent with that position, the Church would support the use of the franchise for the Scottish Parliament being the basis for eligibility to vote in the referendum. A decisive referendum 7 What are your views on the timing of a referendum? The Church would urge that the timetable for the referendum should give sufficient time for the questions of principle we have referred to, to be fully debated, rather than simply a rehearsal of the party positions. However providing time for debate should not be seen as an excuse for postponing the vote for a long time. 8 What are your views on the question or questions to be asked in a referendum? The Church has not taken a view on whether or not there should be one or two questions in a referendum. It would support clarity, honesty and transparency in the drafting process and for the question to be approved to the satisfaction of the independent body over‐seeing the whole process. The integrity of the process may be queried if a question drafted by an organisation or political party that has already expressed a view on the hoped‐for outcome could be seen as leading. The draft section 30 Order 9 What are your views on the draft section 30 Order? The Church has not taken a view on the detail of the detail of this draft and is unlikely to do so. 4