Scotland’s Constitutional Future

Last week I was involved in the submission of a response to the UK Government’s consultation on Scotland’s Constitutional future.

The debate around the whole issue of constitutional change is an important and interesting one. However any change must bring about it social justice benefits through reducing poverty and improving health and education for the people of Scotland.

This issue is not about how many questions there are but about self-determination and the right of the electorate of Scotland to vote for or against any constitutional change.

Neither independence for Scotland, not increased devolution, nor the status quo are prizes in themselves. The real victory lies in the alleviation of poverty, the reduction of ill-health and forgiveness in the criminal justice system and society. It should also be about a cultural change that leads to building better neighbourhoods, the removal of prejudice that feeds things like sectarianism and building a society that welcomes strangers without qualification.

Whatever the process it must be handled by an independent body with experience of handling referenda and there must be sufficient time for key issues to be fully debated.

Whatever your political views it is important that we all take the time to carefully consider and discuss with each other what kind of Scotland we would like to live in and make our decisions based on that and not be influenced by political pressure. If we get this wrong we cannot go back to the ballot box in four years time and try to fix it. We must get this right first time - therefore any timetable must allow sufficient time for appropriate debate by all.

Pay Day Loans

A Common Select Committee yesterday discussed the issue of “pay day loans” and the high interest rate charges that are applied.

The use of Pay day loans is indeed a time-bomb that needs to be addressed. There are also many internet loans now available which offer short-term loans of sums up to £1,000 per month. These companies are charging extortionate interest rates. Octopus Loans quotes one of the lowest APRs which is 1737%, Quick Quid quotes an average APR as being 2222.46% on a loan of only £50 and Wonga’s homepage declares a “representative APR as being 4214%. Although many of these companies say that the only lend to those with existing credit histories, the trap is that regular payers can increase what they can borrow, which can lead to serious problems. Of course, payday loans are supposed to be for emergencies. The problem is that for many people, topping up their incomes at the end of the month is not an occasional occurrence, but a way of life.

Surely what we need is a legal solution. The law has to be changed to address organisations that charge these extortionate credit rates and ensure that there is a ceiling on the amount that can be loaned to individuals. In an economic downturn, there will always be a market for loans and easy forms of quick cash. Payday loan websites and shops are just part of that phenomenon, but they are able to exploit a gap in Britain’s consumer protection laws: we have no usury laws.

Many other countries have a cap on interest rates. In Germany, lenders cannot charge more than 20% interest a year. Italy brought in a legal definition of usury in 1996. The US states all set their own caps on interest rates, some higher than others, and a Consumer Financial Protection Agency was created last year to supervise this at the national level. Payday loan interest rates are capped at 60% in Canada.

There has been political pressure for a similar cap in Britain, led by the End Legal Loan Sharking campaign and others. We as a church have recently been interested in the work that Dr Stella Creasy MP has been doing around these issues. A cap isn’t a straightforward solution however. An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading concluded that it could encourage lenders to hide the charges in fees and fines instead, and make things less transparent for borrowers. It could also drive desperate borrowers to illegal lenders.

I think there’s a place for a cap if it’s set at the right level, but it needs to be complemented by other measures. Perhaps payday loan companies should be taxed in proportion to their average rate of interest, and there should be controls on the ways they can advertise.

In some ways it is too easy to look to regulating the loan companies, when the bigger issue is the culture of debt that creates the market for their services in the first place. There’s a need for debt counselling, free financial advice, and education on budgeting.

And that brings us up against an even bigger problem – personal debt is great for the economy and is an easy way to prop up GDP. The government will hesitate to do anything to discourage it, no matter how predatory it becomes.

This is an issue we have to address and action should be taken to reduce the increasing debt the country faces. A good starting point would be to have every company and organisation that can afford it working towards paying all employees at least the Living Wage.

We can all make a difference

This is Fairtrade Fortnight - a good opportunity to focus our thoughts on what we can all do to help people trying to scrape a living as farmers in poor parts of the world.

Take a Step’ for Fairtrade is this year’s campaign and they are calling on all of us to engage with the Fairtrade vision of an even bigger movement for positive change on unfair trade. If you already buy some Fairtrade products you might want to think about adding more to your shopping list. Despite global warming you cannot buy Scottish bananas! So why not ‘take a step’ and choose bananas with the Fairtrade mark?

Some are cynical, questioning whether it really makes any difference. Yes it does – buyers must pay at least the Fairtrade minimum price to the producer. This covers the costs of sustainable production and is a safety net for farmers when market prices fall. So the poorest farmers and workers throughout the world benefit from us choosing Fairtrade when we shop.

Fairtrade encompasses almost all of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania and the poorest countries in Asia. But, did you know that Fairtrade applies to Scottish producers and farmers too? So support them and reduce carbon emissions from transport by buying local Fairtrade products whenever you can.

‘Take a step’ and make a difference. Look for the Fairtrade logo on products. It couldn’t be easier.

There is a wide selection of products available these days and it is your guarantee that disadvantaged farmers and workers around the world are getting a better deal.

Make Work pay

We Scots have a reputation for being canny with our cash but some folk have more reason to do so than others. There’s lots of talk about how we need to “make work pay” from politicians and others but the truth is, for many folk on the lowest wages, what they are paid isn’t enough to live on. Even with the minimum wage ( £6.08 an hour – if you are over 21!) there are folk in full time employment who can only make ends meet with overtime (sometime with lots of it) and in these tough times there’s not much of that about. Either way, long hours on little money means these folks quality of life is serious damaged.


There is a debate tomorrow in the Scottish Parliament about what’s called Living Wage. That is a campaign to get employers to pay a rate (calculated to be at least £7.20 an hour in Scotland) that will mean folk can do more than survive with what’s in their wage packet. You can read the details of how it is worked out at http://www.livingwage.org.uk  It is a campaign the Church backs wholeheartedly.


Much of Scottish politics these days is focused on the upcoming referendum. Long before that is decided, I’d like to see our politicians doing what it takes to make sure that no Scottish worker earns less than the living wage. That’s the kind of Scotland I want to live in, independent country or otherwise, one where we care not just about our own cash, but that others have enough cash to live and not just survive.


More details on how to follow tomorrows debate at : http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/scotland/newsid_9700000/9700088.stmt

Money Money Money

I found myself at the Scottish Parliament again last night – and yet again, the discussion was about money – but this time I wasn’t asking for money, we were talking about how we use money. The event was a reception hosted by John Wilson MSP as part of the Moderator’s annual visit to Parliament where folk were given a final chance to comment on the work of the Kirk’s Special Commission on the Purposes of Economics.

This is a two year piece of work by a group from business, trade unions, the church, voluntary sector, aid agencies, places of poverty and more. They argue that the purpose of our economics should be about reducing inequality, ending poverty, ensuring sustainability, and promoting mutuality. These are all moral issues. Economic relationships do not sit apart from human relationships. Wealth creation at the expenses of others well-being is destructive and inhuman

There’s no doubt that the credit crunch has been a wake-up call but are we hearing it. Too often I still hear cries to go back to business as usual. It can’t be right that some in our society are making huge financial gains, while for too many this winter the stark choice is whether to heat or to eat.

The Commission has covered many issues but the biggest cheer last night was a challenge to pay day loans. These legal loan sharks are charging 4000% interest in some cases and that could be capped. As Charles Munn who chaired the commission put it; “if Governments can find the political will to set minimum prices for alcohol, why can’t they set maximum prices for credit.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Neorscientist can watch us making decisions

Recently it was reported that neuroscience researchers have begun to be able to watch the decision making process at work in our brain.

Led by Professor Irene Tracey, an Oxford University team believe that within 10 years they will be able to do brain scans that test individual pain experience and this could be used to spot benefit cheats or fraudulent person’s injury claims.

This raised many questions in my mind, (or even in my neurons!). Is this right to use a tool which was built for the medical purpose of detecting something abnormal within the brain for a completely different purpose?  Can we really reduce our decisions to chemical reactions? Where does free will, or even choice fit into all this. Just because my brain pattern says that I am inclined to do a certain thing does not necessarily mean that I will chose to act upon it. I was glad to read that the Royal Society said that any question of using brain test results as evidence in court should be approached with "great caution”.

There are extraordinary consequences to a conclusion based on science that humans are merely made up of chemicals and our life decisions are determined by how those chemicals react in certain circumstances. This gives no room for the upbringing and morals instilled in us from our family, from our teachings and from our surroundings. Where too does the idea of sacrificial love or the challenge of forgiveness fit into this world view.

Professor Tracey is trying to help others heal. She should be applauded for that work in the service of others. But I do not thing her work should be used at the same time to undermine our very understanding of what it is to be fully human, with no room for our freedom of choice or the inner journey that is the bedrock of a contented life with or without faith.

What do I think of the Scottish Budget announcements?

Extra money for affordable housing can only be positive as this is on top of the additional 6,000 homes per year that has already been promised. However it is in the context of an overall cut to the housing budget, so it does beg the question – what else is being cut?

The proposed cut of £11.4m to student support which was in the draft budget will not now go ahead which is a welcome change of direction at a time when we need to encourage more students to take their education further. There was also an indication of more funding for further education colleges. It will not be enough but it is a start. This coupled with the increase in the modern apprenticeships and the guarantee of training or learning opportunities for the 16 – 19 year olds is at least a small step towards addressing the issue of growing unemployment in Scotland. I particularly welcome the investment of £3m to tackle Sectarianism an area of work that has been and will continue to be high on the agenda for the Church of Scotland.

Any steps that assist the Scottish people to cope during a period of financial austerity are welcome. However is the freeze in Council Tax a case “what is given with one hand is taken with the other” Cutbacks to local government funding from whatever source will surely threaten many local services?

Many other opportunities were missed. The promised levy on large stores selling tobacco and alcohol has been reduced. This will result in an estimated £15m - £95m reduction in the amount that the government had hoped to raise. What happened to the additional money this would bring in for the health service? I am also disappointed that not enough was done to support meeting Scotland’s plans for climate change. Yes, there was additional cash – but not nearly enough.

Then there is the protection of the NHS Budget but the cut in nursing costs and the apparent lack of additional support for kinship carers. So is this my last word on the topic of the Scottish Budget? You bet it’s not.