Denham unveils £1m fund to strengthen voice of faith groups

A new £1m fund has been set up by the Government to help faith groups get their voices heard by government and public bodies.

The fund was unveiled before 180 faith leaders today by Communities Secretary John Denham at the Faith and Social Action conference in London.

Faith groups are being invited to bid for a share of the fund to strengthen their voice as well as their “capacity to challenge and engage Government”.

The fund will go towards the work of faith groups in delivering public services and can be used to cover the cost of activities like training in fundraising.

In addition to the fund, the Government has set up a £50,000 social action prize fund to help publicise and reward faith-based projects that are finding new ways to meet local problems, bring people together and meet the needs of local communities.

Mr Denham said the Government could not afford to overlook the “innovative” response of faith communities to social issues and that it was right that the Government recognised the good work they were doing.

"Government and faith don't always speak the same language but we should be working from a state of mutual understanding not misconceptions,” he said.

“It is vital that as wide a range of voices as possible are being heard and that the experience of faith groups on issues that span both the local and the global – from homelessness to climate change – are drawn on for the benefit of us all."

"Faith groups have a unique perspective which must be recognised by Government and local councils and this is especially important at a time when public services are under financial pressure.”

Mr Denham also announced the Government’s new “myth busting” guidelines, ‘Ensuring a level playing field’, for local governments working with faith groups. He acknowledged that there had been “reluctance” or “confusion” on the part of some local authorities to commission services from faith-based groups and that faith groups had been disadvantaged when trying to access funding.

The launch of the fund comes at a time when many Christians have been questioning the Government’s commitment to religious freedom.

The Evangelical Alliance, The Christian Institute and Church Society were among the Christian organisations to speak out against a recent vote in the House of Lords to allow civil partnership ceremonies to be conducted in church premises. They fear changing the law will lead to churches being sued if they refuse to carry them out.

In January, Christians celebrated victory after Lords voted in favour of an amendment to Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill retaining an exemption for religious groups to equality employment laws.

The UK’s equality laws came under subsequent attack from the Pope, who said they were unjust and violated natural law.