Churches warn demands of new Scottish Government register will hit their work with poor

‘Bureaucratic requirements will cost churches huge sums’

Churches have warned bureaucratic requirements surrounding a new Scottish Government register of property holdings will have a "hugely detrimental" impact on their ability to serve communities and support people struggling with poverty.

They say the Register of Controlled Interest in Land - which aims to improve transparency over ownership of land and property - has been set up in a way that creates "unmanageable administrative burdens" for local congregations. The churches say the number of church buildings, halls and manses covered by the legislation and the internal structures of some denominations, including the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, mean the register will hit churches particularly hard and cost them huge sums. They say they have been engaging with the government for months, but claim it has failed to recognise the churches' position or respond to their suggestions for alternative arrangements.

The Rev Fiona Smith, the Kirk’s Principal Clerk said: “We’ve nothing against the principle of the register, indeed many Churches have been supportive of land reform and increased transparency for a very long time. It is the way the new register has been designed that will cause significant difficulty for Churches and congregations to comply. It is likely to cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal and administrative costs. It will require additional effort and energy from volunteers, which is going to make it harder for us to retain and recruit people. It imposes criminal penalties, for a failure to provide information to the register, on people who will not know that they have this duty.

The Rev Fiona Smith, principal clerk to the Church of Scotland's General Assembly, says the new register will mean huge costs for the churches

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“Overall it is going to have a hugely detrimental impact on our ability to serve Scotland’s communities, and money that could be used for help with sustaining community and congregational life or to support people struggling against poverty will instead have to go on administration and legal advice. Our attempts to have the disproportionate impact of this legislation recognised by the Scottish Government have so far fallen on deaf ears.”

And Bob Christie, chair of trustees for the United Reformed Church's Scottish synod, said it was disappointing the government had failed to acknowledge the impact of the register on our churches. He said: "We want to work with them to make the register as useful and complete as possible, and have made a number of realistic and workable suggestions that would not add disproportionate or extensive burden to our volunteers or add a great deal of new work for our staff.

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"It is with regret that we note that our proposals have not been accepted, and we are deeply frustrated that we have not been given any explanation or reasons from the Scottish Government, or recognition from them that this new change will substantially impair our work. The Scottish Government claim they value and respect the work of faith groups in contributing to cohesive and connected communities, and in providing social care to some of our most vulnerable citizens, but on this issue they are making our lives immeasurably more complicated and costly."

There are moves to extend the deadline for compliance with the new register by 12 months to spring 2024. But the churches say it is not more time that is needed, but a rethink of the way the register is set up.