The Christian Institute

Education official, Professor Tom Wilson

U-turn on controversial health education materials

Controversial sex and drugs education packs recommended by the Scottish Executive are to be reviewed 18 months earlier than planned.

Learning Teaching Scotland (LTS), the government quango responsible for recommending the teaching packs, announced the U-turn in a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee.

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Revd. David Holloway

Christmas message from
Revd. David Holloway

The real meaning of Christmas is in the words of Luke 2 verse 14: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."

That is the Christmas message in a nutshell. For Christ is the Prince of Peace...

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UK Equalities Minister, Barbara Roche, said: "It would send a powerful message about the acceptability of same-sex relationships and about the unacceptability of the homophobia still far too prevalent in our society"

Executive Plans to back
Gay Civil Partnerships

Plans to give marriage-like rights to gay, lesbian and bisexual couples will devalue marriage, says a national Christian charity today. The Christian Institute also says that the plans unfairly discriminate against family relationships, such as two sisters, who have lived together for years looking after each other.

Read our press release

The Scotsman has reported that the Executive plans to back the Westminster Government's proposal to allow Gay Civil Partnerships. [more]

Peers who voted in favour of gay adoption

Peers who voted against gay adoption

Government forces through gay adoption

The best interests of children have been ignored by the Government after peers voted by 215 to 184 in favour of plans to allow homosexual and cohabiting couples to adopt children.

The adoption bill will apply to England and Wales. The Scottish parliament now has to decide whether it supports adoption by homosexuals.

Read our press release

Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, has been forced into a U-turn on his smacking plans.

Executive dumps plans to ban smacking under-threes

Plans for an outright ban on the smacking of children under three have been dropped by the Scottish Executive.

However, The Christian Institute remains concerned about other proposals to change the law on smacking.

Read our press release

More on the smacking plans

The Baroness Young:
(1926-2002)

Tribute to Christian Institute patron, Baroness Young

Patron of The Christian Institute, Baroness Young, has died at her home in Oxford after a long illness.

Read our tribute

Other Tributes to Baroness Young

First Minister, Jack McConnell, says the plans were 'stupid and irresponsible'.

McConnell blocks plans for morning after pill in schools

Plans for school nurses to give out the morning after pill to girls under 16 have been quashed by Jack McConnell.

In a comprehensive U-turn, he condemned the scheme as 'stupid and irresponsible'.

[more]

Anti-drug minister Bob Ainsworth MP.

Crack 'not addictive' says
Executive-backed lessons

As the crack problem spirals out of control, the Scottish Executive has recommended drugs lessons which say that crack cocaine is not necessarily addictive to first time or occasional users.

Read our press release

Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm.

Fears that morning after pill
will be given out in schools

Health boards across Scotland could authorise school nurses to give out the morning after pill without parents' knowledge if the Scottish Executive give the go-ahead.[more]

William Rae, Honorary Secretary of the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland

Smack ban will swamp us,
say Scottish police chiefs

Plans to ban the smacking of toddlers will lead to the investigation of minor incidents, putting unnecessary strain on police resources, say police chiefs in The Scotsman newspaper. [more]

More about the plans to ban smacking...

Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, Chris Mullin MP.

Home Affairs Committee calls
for relaxation of some drugs laws

The Home Affairs Committee has published a report which calls for the reclassification of cannabis from class B to class C, and ecstasy from class A to class B. The report also calls for heroin addicts to be given heroin on the NHS.[more]

Labour's Jackie Baillie MSP: "I find it difficult to understand the context this material could be used in."

MSPs condemn Executive's
recommended sex lessons

The Scottish Parliament's Education Committee has unanimously condemned the explicit sex lessons controversially recommended by the Scottish Executive.

Read the Official Record of the committee meeting

Christian Institute Deputy Director, Simon Calvert, said: "If Healthwise are running the Know The Score helpline the Executive should pull the plug."

Controversial English group
runs Scottish drugs helpline

The English group running a new Scottish drugs helpline is the same group which produces highly controversial drugs education packs. In the packs, produced by Liverpool-based Healthwise, school children are told that crack cocaine is not necessarily addictive.

Read our press release

Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, is responsible for the Bill which bans the smacking of children aged under three

Smack ban ‘may aid abusers’

The Scotsman newspaper reports on The Christian Institute's new briefing which criticises Jim Wallace's smacking plans. The briefing says precious resources would be targeted at ordinary families rather than tackling real abuse. [more]

More about the plans to ban smacking...

Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, is responsible for the Bill which bans the smacking of children aged under three

Committee wants to hear
views on smacking plans

The Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee wants to receive the views of anyone with an interest in the Criminal Justice Bill. The Bill includes a ban on the smacking of children aged under three and other changes to the law on physical punishment.
[more]

The Daily Mail's front page from 4 January

Executive to drop
explicit sex lessons?

The Scottish Executive may stop recommending controversial sex education materials, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. [more]

Yet another council bans
Executive's sex lessons

Renfrewshire Council has become the fourth Scottish authority to ban the controversial sex lessons backed by the Scottish Executive.

Read our press release