​Unelected church figures hold the balance of power on more than half of Scotland's education committees

The Scottish Secular Society is petitioning the Scottish Parliament, asking it to stop to stop imposing three unelected church appointees on every local authority education committee.

Campaigners say these nominees are not accountable to the electorate, yet they hold the balance of power in 19 of Scotland’s 32 education committees.

The society has called them a “constitutional anomaly” and a hangover from legislation dating back almost a century.

This situation is the very negation of democracy

It has launched a petition asking the Scottish Parliament to change this – replacing it with a system whereby local authorities are free to consult or co-opt church representatives, much as they can co-opt representatives of parents and teachers, if they choose to do so.

Spencer Fildes, Scottish Secular Society’s equalities officer, said: “This situation is the very negation of democracy. More than that, it is directly discriminatory, by creating positions of governmental power for which only members of certain specified religious groups are eligible.

“Our research has shown that one councillor, having failed to get re-elected, appointed himself as religious representative of the Boys Brigade; how the Church of Scotland has more appointees than the law allows and how eight others were the only ones to respond to a newspaper advertisement.

“These are just a few of the anomalies that challenge local democratic accountability when it comes to children's education."

The petition can be found here.