Scottish Labour is writing to Scotland’s Catholic Bishops and Archbishops reaffirming Scottish Labour’s support for Catholic education following Malcolm Offord’s criticism of faith schools
Full copy of the letter provided below.
We are writing to you in light of recent events to reaffirm Scottish Labour’s unwavering commitment to protecting Catholic education in Scotland.
We know that thanks to the Education (Scotland) Act of 1918, Catholic schools have been a key part of Scotland’s education system for over 100 years.
We were appalled by Reform Scotland leader Malcolm Offord’s calls for an end to Catholic education in Scotland, and deeply concerned by many of the discussions taking place during the recent Religious Education/Religious Observance Bill.
Malcolm Offord’s suggestion that faith schools in some way fuel sectarianism shows a complete lack of understanding of the history, role and ethos of Scotland’s Catholic schools. There is no evidence to back up the assertions made and language such as this does nothing but attempt to sow division in communities. We are proud of the role Catholic schools and the church more widely plays in bringing people together not driving them apart.
Similarly, the SNP’s Religious Education/Religious Observance Bill suggested a further lack of understanding particularly relating to the importance of Catholic education and how schools operate.
The rushed and chaotic Bill threatened to undermine key tenets of religious education without proper discussion or consultation, which is why Scottish Labour voted against the legislation, and sought to amend it to explicitly protect denominational education by putting the relevant provisions of the 1918 and 1980 Education Acts on the face of the Bill. It was extremely disappointing that SNP and Green MSPs voted this down.
We understand that the often ill-informed debate on this Bill and the appalling comments from Malcolm Offord will be a source of anxiety for many members of the Church.
We therefore wanted to give a firm commitment that Scottish Labour stands l with you against any attempts to undermine or discredit Catholic schools.
Scottish Labour will robustly defend the role of Catholic schools in our education system throughout the election campaign, and more importantly we will protect and support them in government.
Kind regards,
Anas Sarwar
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party