Unelected religious representatives who sit on Edinburgh Council’s education committee have been stripped of their voting rights after councillors overwhelmingly voted in favour of the change.
It comes despite last-minute pleas from a variety of faith groups to retain the powers, which date back to 1918 when control of Catholic schools was handed over to the state from the church.
Appearing before councillors, Archbishop Leo Cushley said the decision “makes no sense,” suggesting there was “another agenda at hand such as one that is inimical to faith”.
A city minister called it “a thin end of a wedge whose aim is to remove representation altogether”.
However councillors argued the matter was a “straight forward matter of democracy and accountability” and public policy should be decided by “those who are democratically elected”.
While the religious representatives – from the Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church and Edinburgh Interfaith Association – will no longer have a vote, they will still have a seat at the table as is the arrangement with the three parent representatives who sit on the Education Committee too.
Edinburgh, which has been considering the move since 2019, joins Orkney, Highland and Fife Councils which have all voted to remove the privileges throughout 2023.
A report to a full council meeting on Thursday said legal advice confirmed it was “within the council’s gift to either confer or remove such voting rights”.
An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) carried out for the council by an independent consultant found concerns focused on “the potential or symbolic impacts of the change” rather than “any immediate measurable impact on particular groups of people who shared a protected characteristic”.
It added there were fears that this was the start of a “slippery slope” which could lead to religious representatives’ right to attend and speak at education meetings also being removed.
Several deputations urged the council to keep the status quo – a position backed only by the Conservative and Labour groups.
Pupils from St Peter’s RC Primary School and St Thomas of Aquins RC High School were followed by Church of Scotland Morningside minister and former moderator Derek Browning.
“Our concern remains consistently for people of all faiths and none. This enables us to work with others to ensure that the enormous benefits of a balanced, progressive, inclusive and stimulating religious perspective in schools in nurtured, supported and enabled to flourish,” Rev. Dr Browning said.
He said the matter was not “high priority for our citizens,” adding: “This is not so much a matter of democracy, but rather one which is opposed to religions playing any part in our country at large.
“It’s with considerable regret that we say we find it hard not to see this matter before you as a thin end of a wedge whose aim is to remove representation altogether.”
Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Leo Cushley told councillors that church representatives right to vote in the council had been “unremarked and unremarkable for many years because it is an expression of democracy”.
He said: “Catholic schools in Scotland are part of the heritage of the Catholic community here and they were entrusted in 1918 to the state, presently represented by you.
“Having entrusted this estate to you, for us not to have an active voice in council in matters touching upon Catholic schools makes no sense to us, unless there is another agenda at hand such as one that is inimical to faith, be it in schools or elsewhere in the public square.
“I don’t believe the presence or voting of church representatives in council has given any motive for concern that I’m aware of anyway.”
Scottish Hindu Foundation also called for no removal of voting rights by the council, with chairperson Dr Richa Sinha saying: “In today’s increasingly diverse society, the involvement of faith communities in the education sector stands as a hallmark of both Scottish culture, values and traditions for shaping the long-term future of our society.
“The participation of faith representatives in committee decisions is essential for safeguarding the rights of parents, children and young people who are part of faith-based schools.”
Nasim Azad from Edinburgh Interfaith Association, which represents a range of different religious groups, said they were “strongly opposed to taking away minority community rights”.
He added: “This is particularly important at a time when there has been a large growth in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia across the UK and Europe.
“We are not asking for preferential treatment over the other groups. Rather than taking our rights away, we would ask the council to consider increasing voting rights for those groups who are currently excluded on the committee.”
Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: “Religious reps are appointed at present to ensure the education committee is held accountable to the Church and therefore I strongly believe they must continue to have a vote on matters that could impact on Catholic schools.
“The legislation is clear. Religious representatives should be present. Their vote is implied and we have nearly a hundred years of precedent.”
He said it was “completely inappropriate” for councils to make “ad-hoc decisions” on the subject, adding he didn’t want the decision to be open to “yet another expensive legal challenge”
He said: “Until such time as the Scottish Government provides clear guidance or legislative change I do not think it is appropriate to change the status quo.”
Lib Dem group leader Kevin Lang said: “I’ve approached this issue by applying what I think is a basic, long-standing principle that when it comes to taking public policy decisions, it should be for those who are democratically elected to make decisions.
“At the end of the day, that’s what makes a democracy a democracy.”
The Green Group’s Steve Burgess said: “We believe this is a straight forward matter of democracy and accountability.
“However on the council’s education committee we currently have members who have not been elected by voters and therefore are not accountable for their decisions or voting, and yet they are able to vote on matter of education and schools in our city.”
The move to strip religious representatives on the Education Committee of voting rights was backed by 40 votes to 21.
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