A call to review the powers of church representatives on Orkney’s education committee was made at the full council’s first meeting this week.
Councillors were invited to accept Rev Fraser Macnaughton’s returning to the education, leisure, and housing committee on Monday morning.
They were also asked to accept two more appointments in Rev Susan Kirkbride and Marie Lock.
Under Scots Law, three seats must be open for religious representatives on councils’ education committees.
Two of these three seats on the Orkney committee have sat empty for a long time.
Rev Macnaughton’s predecessor on the committee, Hugh Halcro Johnston questioned whether they’ve ever been filled before.
All three church representative seats finally filled on education committee
In Orkney, and across Scotland, one of the three seats is kept for a representative from a protestant church.
However, there has been criticism of the full voting rights given to the representatives.
Following May 5’s council elections, Humanist Society Scotland called for councils to remove these rights.
At Monday’s full council meeting, councillor John Ross Scott asked for two of the church representative positions to remain empty so a report could be prepared on “the actual representation of the committee”.
He asked for this report to not only look at voting rights but also for parent and student representatives to be added to the committee.
He said: “My views differ in regard to having three church representatives with voting rights on the education committee. I think it’s wrong in this day and age.
“I know it’s a statutory duty requirement so it has to go ahead. But, I think it’s wrong that the government has this law. I would hope that this law would be changed.
“I’m not against one representative from the church, but I think it’s wrong that there are three with voting rights.
‘I would hope this law would be changed’
“There are some church reps across Scotland that didn’t have voting rights. So, that can be looked into.”
Gavin Mitchell, the council’s head of legal services, said the council had a duty to appoint the three church representatives and they would be appointed with full voting rights.
Appointing them without voting rights would call for a policy change, which could not be done at the meeting.
However, a notice of motion could be given or a report could come to a future meeting.
Mr Mitchell explained that no amendment could be made at Monday’s meeting.
Therefore, the three church representatives were accepted and they will sit on the committee for the full council term until 2027.
