Schools (Religious Observance) (PE1487)
Our next item is consideration of two petitions. We will deal with them one at a time.
I would like to make a public announcement: I support the Government. [Laughter.] You will not hear that very often, but there you are. I have read the papers through; the Government’s approach to the petition is reasonable.
I agree with Mary Scanlon’s suggestion and her comments about the availability of information. However, even if they are armed with that information, parents in different parts of the country can have experiences that vary significantly. The steps that the Public Petitions Committee has taken are the steps that we would, under normal circumstances, have recommended. I am not sure how we can take the matter further.
I agree with both members. The Public Petitions Committee has taken oral and written evidence and it has written to the Government, which has written back, laying out its position. Those are measures that we would have undertaken, had they not already been undertaken.
Yes—local authorities should give parents the information and make sure that they are armed with it.
At the moment, there is a legal requirement to include information about the right to withdraw from religious observance in the school handbook, and I am sure that local authorities do that. The issue that we are discussing is whether parents are aware of that right or whether there should be more proactive provision of the information, which may be a little bit hidden from parents and young people.
I referred earlier to the implications if a parent elects to withdraw their child—or if a child elects to withdraw—from that aspect of school activity. The implications may be clear in some instances but not in others. I am not sure whether that is covered in the code that schools are required to observe, but it would be helpful to know the implications. Knowing one’s right is one thing, but knowing the implications of exercising that right is equally important.
Are you talking about the meaningful activity that the individual pupil would undertake?
I am talking about how a school might be expected to respect the right. For example, rather than exclude an individual child, certain schools that I have had direct personal involvement with will find a different way of delivering a particular activity. I suspect that it would be more illustrative than didactic, but it would be useful information for parents or children on how they might go about exercising their right.
A couple of points have been made. I will try to break this down a bit. Are members content that—in the first instance, at least—we write to the Government, asking it to encourage local authorities to make sure that parents are aware of the right? That is Mary Scanlon’s suggestion.
Should we include in that letter Liam McArthur’s suggestion that local authorities go beyond that and provide information on the implications of withdrawing and on the meaningful activity that individual pupils would undertake?
It now comes down to what we do with the petition. We have a number of options. We could take further evidence, we could write out, we could consult, we could ask the Government for a further response or we could close the petition. What are members’ views?
As Liam McArthur said, a considerable amount of work has been done on the petition. The weakness—if there is a weakness—is in the guidance and ensuring that people are fully informed. I do not see any benefit in taking further evidence, which would only duplicate the excellent work that the Public Petitions Committee has done. I suppose that I am therefore suggesting that the petition be closed.
I agree with Mary Scanlon.
I also agree with Mary Scanlon.
And I agree with the Government.
That is twice that Mary Scanlon has agreed with the Government.
I do not see what we could add to the work that has already been done, so I think that it is reasonable to close the petition.
The only other thing that I will say, from a personal point of view, is that most parents are probably unaware that they have the right to opt out. I am sure that young people are also unaware of the right. For me, it is a matter of free choice that the individual can decide whether or not to attend. I therefore emphasise that it is important that individual families be aware of their legal right. I am less concerned about the law, as long as it is available to families and individuals to choose whether or not to attend. Their being made aware of that right would be my priority.
Thank you. We will close the petition and write to the Government on that basis.
Local Authority Education Committees (Religious Representation) (PE1498)
The second petition is PE1498, which was lodged by Colin Emerson on behalf of Edinburgh Secular Society. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to bring forward legislative proposals to repeal section 124 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as amended by section 31 of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994.
You have pointed in your introduction to the issue that I will raise. John Finnie has a member’s bill proposal under consultation and consideration. That seems to be the logical vehicle through which members across the parties can contribute to the debate and, ultimately, take a view on the matter. I am not sure what the committee could add, given that the petition urges the Scottish Government to bring forward a legislative proposal and there is a mechanism for doing that through John Finnie’s proposed member’s bill.
I feel that the information that I have in the committee papers is probably insufficient to make a decision. I have not had the opportunity to discuss the issue with my party group. I think that there would be a wide range of views within my party group; to be fair, in all parties there will be a wide range of views on the issue. The situation is historical—the provision is more than 100 years old.
For the second time, I agree with Mary Scanlon.
It is a strange day.
I am very grateful.
From my point of view, the proposal in the petition is an interesting one. Clearly, religious groups have a—I hesitate to use the word “privileged”—position on education committees in local government that is different from that of other groups. There are historical reasons why that is the case and we all understand that process.
Thank you. That concludes our business today.