As part of the General Council’s work plan for 2006-07, they met members of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, on Friday 11 August 2006, in the Church and Society Council’s offices, 121 George Street, Edinburgh.
The aim of the meeting was to establish whether or not the General Council shared a common mind on issues with the Church, and to identify any action that might be taken.
The General Council was represented at the meeting by Katrina Purcell (Chairperson); Matt Smith (Treasurer); Grahame Smith, Deputy General Secretary; and Dave Moxham and John Park, Assistant Secretaries and the Church and Society Council by Fred Dinning, Sandy Horsburgh, David Sinclair and Lewis Rose (Scottish Churches Industrial Mission).
Interesting discussions took place on a wide range of issues. The Church and Society Council members explained the views of the Council/General Assembly and the work of the Council’s Working Groups on “Energy and Environment”; Fair Food”; and “Gambling”, and invited the General Council to contribute the views of Congress for consideration by these Groups. The General Council representatives outlined Congress policy where it existed on the issues under discussion and provided the CSC members with a copy of relevant Congress resolutions.
Amongst the areas of common concern that were identified during the discussion were: the lack of regulation in the Gaming Industry, particularly in relation to internet gambling; the UK Government’s Asylum and Immigration policy, and in particular the practice of dawn raids; the depressive effect on pay and working conditions across the labour market of the exploitation of migrant workers; the need for more extensive international action on fair trade and world poverty; the UK Government’s foreign policy, particularly in relation to the Middle East, and its apparent uncritical acceptance of the policy of the US; and the need for greater civic participation in Scottish political and public life.
It was agreed at the meeting that the STUC would invite the CSC to send a member to its Water Conference on 16 October 2006 and to the research dissemination event on sectarianism in the workplace to be held in early 2007; that a meeting be arranged between the convener of the Council’s Energy and Environment Working Group and the STUC’s energy affiliates; and that a joint statement on the replacement of Trident be produced for publication, with efforts made to have other peak civic organisations in Scotland, including other religious organisations, associate themselves with it.
In this regard, it was agreed that the General Council would prepare an initial draft statement, based on the policy adopted at the 2006 Annual Congress, for consideration by the CSC.