The Scottish Executive Equality Unit set up the Core Liaison Group in 2004. This group was set up to enable closer working and consultation with church and faith groups and provides a good vehicle for inter and intra faith working.
The aim of the Core Liaison Group is:
- To allow for equality of access to policy and decision makers
- To facilitate open and transparent dialogue between Government and church and faith groups
- To act as a vehicle for collating and disseminating information
- To provide an early alert for issues of concern that the group may wish to bring to the table
The First Minister's annual meeting with Action of Churches Together in Scotland took place on 14 August 2006 at Bute House. The regular meetings with ACTS, which brings together nine Christian denominations in Scotland, allow a strong and lasting relationship with the Churches to be developed.
The meetings are used to discuss key areas of work and highlight issues of concern. This includes discussing what the churches are doing to tackle sectarianism and how this fits with the broader work in this area being taken forward by the Executive.