Social Work in Scotland
“Am I my brother's keeper?” Genesis 4:9
Loving one’s neighbour as oneself is not only a Christian doctrine but it is written large in the human conscience. The obvious front runner in a recent poll of the modern ten commandments is: “Do to others as you would them do to you.” This is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:12.
Christian love to others finds its source in God’s love to us, not in the merits of collective support. Our social policy is based on these principles. The value of the individual is paramount, and our aim is the fullest development of each person’s God-given talents. The large scale social experiment of abandoning Biblical norms has resulted in the break-up of the nuclear family, the bed-rock of any society, and the breakdown in social cohesion so that there is no one thing which unites British society at present - not even a common language unites us.
1. The Family UnitThe Scottish Christian Party believes that Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations involves having a Christian social policy for nations as such. Christian love within the family unit is the building block of the Church, the nation and society. Both family and state government are institutions of God. Each has its own sphere of authority and each should respect its own limits and not trample over the God-given boundaries of the other.
Social Work needs a centre of excellence for family issues and more experienced social workers employed in such a speciality, and Government needs a Minister for Family Life.
2. Provision for the Elderly
The Scottish Christian Party will press for assistance to low income pensioner households with special reference to broadening concessionary public transport especially for rural areas, residential care costs, home help provision and the Council Tax.
We will call for a review of Social Work protocols in dealing with charges of abuse of vulnerable elderly in the light of the inability of concerned relatives to have a timely and adequate response to their expressed concerns.
3. Family Rights
The Scottish Christian Party is concerned that political correctness is encroaching on state education and even the domestic teaching of children, as though the state is responsible for the world view and moral values of the children. Parents are not rearing children for the state to take them over, as though there is a battle for their hearts and minds.
Parents are responsible under God for what a child is taught in the religious and moral sphere. We will vigorously oppose political correctness which inhibits a Christian environment in the home.
Just as there are parental rights, so there are parental duties towards society to rear responsible and useful children trained to their fullest potential, with recognition of their talents. Parental duties extend to meeting the needs and rights of their children in a safe and loving environment, a caring upbringing and stimulating interest in their development.
The rights of families are being undermined under the pretext of protecting children from inadequate parenting, and this too readily disrupts the parent-child bond. Proper parenting seeks to promote the parent-child bond rather than disrupt it. Families and children have had too much interference from well meaning but misguided social workers.
The judgement of some professional paediatricians has also been called into question in recent high profile court cases, but not before the social cohesion of the families concerned has been intolerably disrupted.
Social cohesion has deteriorated to such an extent that parenting classes are now being championed as the remedy for the lack of good parenting.
Rather, children in primary schools should be taught family relationships and parenting skills in preference to sex education and homosexual role play.
The Scottish Christian Party abhors all forms of child abuse. The denial of the parental right to administer reasonable chastisement is one such form of child abuse, as it denies the child its fundamental right to effective parenting. The anti-smacking lobby has altered the balance of power in the home in favour of the child, to the extent that many parents fear the legal consequences of reasonable chastisement, and thus elect to exercise little or no discipline in relation to their children. We believe this contributes to youth indiscipline and the Scottish Christian Party will seek to redress this imbalance.
4. Care, Fostering and Adoption
The Scottish Christian Party believes that taking children away from their parents should be the last resort and that stronger support services to families should be encouraged in a cost-effective way including local churches and other agencies.
We draw attention to an institutional bias against placing children with Christian families in some local authority social work departments.
The Scottish Christian Party believes that it is in the best interest of the child to be placed for adoption with a heterosexual dual-sex family, rather than with a homosexual same-sex couple or homosexual single person.
We therefore completely oppose adoption or fostering by unmarried or same-sex couples, based on the evidence that such parenting arrangements produce clearly inferior outcomes for children.
Any individual or organisation (including publicly funded adoption agencies) must be allowed an exemption from the Sexual Orientation Regulations on the basis that the regulations would compel action contrary to individual conscience and the teaching of their faith.
The Scottish Christian Party will seek to establish ‘Open Adoptions’ as the norm. When the knowledge of one’s natural parents is withheld we believe that the biblical injunction to “honour your father and mother” is rendered impossible. Furthermore the evidence for serious psychological problems as a result of ‘Closed Adoptions’ gives rise to the urgent need to address this matter.
5. Mental Health
The Scottish Christian Party believes that those suffering mental distress deserve great love and care, as close to their family and home community as possible. Our health policies, on self-worth, sexuality, drugs and alcohol, together with our policies on family life, useful employment and education aim to reduce the incidence of mental distress. For continuing sufferers, we will make greater efforts to include useful work in their care, as the Bible and clinical studies point to the importance of work in the self-esteem of human beings.
6. Helping those with Disabilities
The Scottish Christian Party will seek to love and support those with disabilities to help them back into the workplace. We will review the chronic under-funding of the current disability access legislation, where the expectations placed on public authorities are greatly in excess of the resources being provided to improve access to services and buildings.
7. Adult ServicesThe Scottish Christian Party will encourage and assist disadvantaged groups to help each other, thus enabling them to recognise their own potential and social capital despite their disadvantages. For example, we would seek to help build and restore their communities and support them to find work in social enterprises. Such adult services will be a priority for the Scottish Christian Party as it seeks to ensure that God’s love and provision reaches those in need in our society.
Christian Party Members of Parliament will:
“Am I my brother's keeper?” Genesis 4:9
Loving one’s neighbour as oneself is not only a Christian doctrine but it is written large in the human conscience. The obvious front runner in a recent poll of the modern ten commandments is: “Do to others as you would them do to you.” This is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:12.
Christian love to others finds its source in God’s love to us, not in the merits of collective support. Our social policy is based on these principles. The value of the individual is paramount, and our aim is the fullest development of each person’s God-given talents. The large scale social experiment of abandoning Biblical norms has resulted in the break-up of the nuclear family, the bed-rock of any society, and the breakdown in social cohesion so that there is no one thing which unites British society at present - not even a common language unites us.
1. The Family UnitThe Scottish Christian Party believes that Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations involves having a Christian social policy for nations as such. Christian love within the family unit is the building block of the Church, the nation and society. Both family and state government are institutions of God. Each has its own sphere of authority and each should respect its own limits and not trample over the God-given boundaries of the other.
Social Work needs a centre of excellence for family issues and more experienced social workers employed in such a speciality, and Government needs a Minister for Family Life.
2. Provision for the Elderly
The Scottish Christian Party will press for assistance to low income pensioner households with special reference to broadening concessionary public transport especially for rural areas, residential care costs, home help provision and the Council Tax.
We will call for a review of Social Work protocols in dealing with charges of abuse of vulnerable elderly in the light of the inability of concerned relatives to have a timely and adequate response to their expressed concerns.
3. Family Rights
The Scottish Christian Party is concerned that political correctness is encroaching on state education and even the domestic teaching of children, as though the state is responsible for the world view and moral values of the children. Parents are not rearing children for the state to take them over, as though there is a battle for their hearts and minds.
Parents are responsible under God for what a child is taught in the religious and moral sphere. We will vigorously oppose political correctness which inhibits a Christian environment in the home.
Just as there are parental rights, so there are parental duties towards society to rear responsible and useful children trained to their fullest potential, with recognition of their talents. Parental duties extend to meeting the needs and rights of their children in a safe and loving environment, a caring upbringing and stimulating interest in their development.
The rights of families are being undermined under the pretext of protecting children from inadequate parenting, and this too readily disrupts the parent-child bond. Proper parenting seeks to promote the parent-child bond rather than disrupt it. Families and children have had too much interference from well meaning but misguided social workers.
The judgement of some professional paediatricians has also been called into question in recent high profile court cases, but not before the social cohesion of the families concerned has been intolerably disrupted.
Social cohesion has deteriorated to such an extent that parenting classes are now being championed as the remedy for the lack of good parenting.
Rather, children in primary schools should be taught family relationships and parenting skills in preference to sex education and homosexual role play.
The Scottish Christian Party abhors all forms of child abuse. The denial of the parental right to administer reasonable chastisement is one such form of child abuse, as it denies the child its fundamental right to effective parenting. The anti-smacking lobby has altered the balance of power in the home in favour of the child, to the extent that many parents fear the legal consequences of reasonable chastisement, and thus elect to exercise little or no discipline in relation to their children. We believe this contributes to youth indiscipline and the Scottish Christian Party will seek to redress this imbalance.
4. Care, Fostering and Adoption
The Scottish Christian Party believes that taking children away from their parents should be the last resort and that stronger support services to families should be encouraged in a cost-effective way including local churches and other agencies.
We draw attention to an institutional bias against placing children with Christian families in some local authority social work departments.
The Scottish Christian Party believes that it is in the best interest of the child to be placed for adoption with a heterosexual dual-sex family, rather than with a homosexual same-sex couple or homosexual single person.
We therefore completely oppose adoption or fostering by unmarried or same-sex couples, based on the evidence that such parenting arrangements produce clearly inferior outcomes for children.
Any individual or organisation (including publicly funded adoption agencies) must be allowed an exemption from the Sexual Orientation Regulations on the basis that the regulations would compel action contrary to individual conscience and the teaching of their faith.
The Scottish Christian Party will seek to establish ‘Open Adoptions’ as the norm. When the knowledge of one’s natural parents is withheld we believe that the biblical injunction to “honour your father and mother” is rendered impossible. Furthermore the evidence for serious psychological problems as a result of ‘Closed Adoptions’ gives rise to the urgent need to address this matter.
5. Mental Health
The Scottish Christian Party believes that those suffering mental distress deserve great love and care, as close to their family and home community as possible. Our health policies, on self-worth, sexuality, drugs and alcohol, together with our policies on family life, useful employment and education aim to reduce the incidence of mental distress. For continuing sufferers, we will make greater efforts to include useful work in their care, as the Bible and clinical studies point to the importance of work in the self-esteem of human beings.
6. Helping those with Disabilities
The Scottish Christian Party will seek to love and support those with disabilities to help them back into the workplace. We will review the chronic under-funding of the current disability access legislation, where the expectations placed on public authorities are greatly in excess of the resources being provided to improve access to services and buildings.
7. Adult ServicesThe Scottish Christian Party will encourage and assist disadvantaged groups to help each other, thus enabling them to recognise their own potential and social capital despite their disadvantages. For example, we would seek to help build and restore their communities and support them to find work in social enterprises. Such adult services will be a priority for the Scottish Christian Party as it seeks to ensure that God’s love and provision reaches those in need in our society.
Christian Party Members of Parliament will:
- provide a distinctly Christian Voice in Holyrood
- speak up for the Christian constitution of Scotland
- introduce legislation to hold governments to their own Manifesto pledges
- expose the unequal Equalities legislation
- work against the centralisation of Police services