New charity laws 'will be a calamity for the Kirk'

THE Church of Scotland has warned the Scottish Executive that new charity laws will bring the work of the Kirk to a halt.

Lawyers for the Church have told ministers that the powers in new legislation, aimed at preventing fraud, will "rapidly prevent the Church from continuing to function at all".

The Kirk is angry that the Charities and Trustee Investment Bill will give new powers to a regulator and to the courts to intervene in the Church’s internal working which it argues are guaranteed under an Act of Parliament dating back to 1921.

Around 1,500 separate congregations, 46 presbyteries and the three Kirk national boards - including the bodies which invest church funds and manage property - are registered charities. Up until now, these bodies were subject to the Church’s internal jurisdiction, including their own "courts".

Jeanette Wilson, the solicitor for the Church, told The Scotsman that if the bill becomes law it will allow for the intervention of the proposed new charity regulator, the Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or the Court of Session into the work of church organisations.

She said: "If there was ever a situation where the powers in the bill were exercised the Church of Scotland would not be able to carry on.

"We would not be able to pay ministers or pay other bills or administer our property and this is potentially interference in the government of the Church of Scotland. Under earlier legislation, this is an area in which the state is not supposed to interfere."

Johann Lamont, the deputy communities minister, said: "If somebody wanted to do something about the powers that the Church of Scotland has under the Church of Scotland Act 1921, there would have to be a repeal of the 1921 act.

"That is not the intention of the bill. The bill’s intention is to regulate charities and to find an interface with all the churches in relation to their charitable status.

"There is recognition of the fact that the Church of Scotland has a particular place in law. It is not the view of the Executive that... we should impinge on the internal matters of the church."