IFN e-bulletin
Inter Faith Week in
An Inter Faith Week will take place
across
Scottish Inter Faith
Week
This year’s
Scottish Inter Faith Week will run from 28 November to 5 December. Read more…
New IFN Co-Chair from
Christian community
Rt Revd Dr
Alastair Redfern, IFN’s new Co-Chair from the Christian community, co-chaired
his first Executive Committee meeting in February together with Dr Girdari Lal
Bhan of the Hindu community. Read more…
IFN publications
Three IFN
reports have recently been printed, including the report of a seminar held
jointly with the National Association of SACREs on Local Inter Faith Organisations and Standing Advisory Councils on
Religious Education: Working together for understanding and community cohesion
as part of IFN’s ‘Soundings’ programme. Read more….
Equality Bill
The Report stage in the House of
Lords of the Equality Bill was completed on 2 March and Third Reading took
place on 23 March. A full briefing note
on the Bill was placed on IFN’s website last month. Read
more…
Faiths in Action Round
2 and ‘Faith Matters’
The second
round of funding under the Faiths in Action programme administered by the
Community Development Foundation is open for applications. Read more…
Secretary of State
announcements at Faith and Social Action conference
At the Communities and Local
Government conference, Faith and Social Action: Innovation and Expertise, held
in London on 17 March its Secretary of State, Mr John Denham, announced a
number of measures relating to faith based engagement in social action and in
the ‘public square’. Read more…
Visible - quality assurance and faith based
organisations
The Faith
based Regeneration Network (FbRN) is working with the Community Matters, the
Church Urban Fund and the Faith and Civil Society department of Goldsmith’s
College to develop a quality assurance framework for faith based
organisations. Read more…
Two EHRC research reports
The EHRC has published two reports
in its Research Report series. Read more…
National Policing
Improvement Agency guidance
The Citizen
Focus and Neighbourhood Policing Programme Team of the National Policing
Improvement Agency (NPIA) has recently produced an interactive guide for
neighbourhood policing teams and partners on Working with Faith Communities.
Read more…
Counter Terrorism in
Places of Worship
The
National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has researched
and produced a guide
intended to give protective security advice to those who are responsible for
security in places of worship. Read more…
Charity Commission guidance
on elections
The Charity
Commission has published an updated version of its guidance on
Charities and Elections. Read more…
New model constitution
for very small charities
The Charity
Commission, in partnership with a number of umbrella bodies across the charity
sector, has launched a new, simplified constitution which is designed for very
small charities with an annual income of under £5,000. Read more…
Charity Commission good practice guide for faith-based organisations
The Charity
Commission has published Faith
in Good Governance, a
new guide to good practice for the 30,000 faith-based organisations in the
third sector. Read more…
Public benefit assessments
for charities
The Charity
Commission has placed on its website a report on the emerging findings for
charity trustees of its public benefit assessment work so far. The report contains case studies relating to
12 charities (including four charities ‘advancing religion’). Read more…
Refreshed ‘Compact’ published
A refreshed version of the ‘Compact’ between the
Government and the voluntary sector has been developed. Read more…
Places
of Worship risk survey and VAT refunds
English Heritage, as part of its Heritage at Risk programme, is
researching the physical condition of places of worship. A large number
of historic church buildings are under threat because they will soon lose the
right to a special VAT refund. Read more…
Revised guidance for RE
Updated guidance on RE provision for primary
and secondary schools and local authorities to support the delivery of good RE
in schools in
Annual Scottish Inter Faith Council Networking
Seminar for Local Inter Faith Groups
The Annual
Networking Seminar for local inter faith groups in Scotland will take place on
Sunday 16 May from 12 noon until 4.45pm
at the Beveridge Park Hotel in Kirkcaldy.
Read more…
Regional inter faith link meeting in East of
The Inter
Faith Network holds, with the regional faith forums in the English regions,
periodic meetings for local inter faith organisers to share news and discuss
issues of common concern. The next such meeting will take place in the East of
England in
Building Good Community
Relations in Wales
The
Inter-faith Council for
Inter Faith Facilitators online community
The St
Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace has created an online
community for ‘interfaith facilitators’.
Read more…
Inter Faith Network
website
The Inter
Faith Network website is currently undergoing re-design. Read more…
If you would like to
let us have items for consideration for inclusion in the next e-bulletin please
email these to ifnet@interfaith.org.uk
by
Disclaimer:
Information
in this bulletin has been sourced and compiled with care. IFN does not take responsibility for accuracy
of information supplied by external organisations and inclusion of items within
this e-bulletin does not imply endorsement or validation by IFN of the events,
publications or the bodies which have produced these.
Inter Faith Week in England and Wales
An Inter Faith Week will take place
across
The aims of the Week are: to
strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels; to increase awareness of
the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, in particular
celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their
neighbourhoods and to wider society; and to increase understanding between
people of religious and non-religious belief.
This will
be the second time that such a Week has taken place in
The Week is
being led by the Inter Faith
Network for the UK, working with its member bodies, in
consultation with the Department for Communities and Local Government and also
with the Department for Children, Schools and Families,
the Local Government
Association and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Regional Faith Forums in
For any
enquiries about Inter Faith Week in
An Inter
Faith Week in currently under consideration in
Scottish
Inter Faith Week
Scottish
Inter Faith Week, now in its seventh year, will run from 28 November to 5
December.
Scottish
Inter Faith Week 2009 was held from 22 to 29 November on the theme of ‘
New IFN Co-Chair from Christian community
Rt Revd Dr
Alastair Redfern, IFN’s new Co-Chair from the Christian community, co-chaired
his first Executive Committee meeting in February together with Dr Girdari Lal
Bhan of the Hindu community.
Bishop Alastair has been Bishop of Derby since 2005 and is
currently the Chair of the Multi-Faith Centre at the
He has
taken up post in place of Rt Revd Tom Butler, who this month retired as Bishop
of Southwark.
IFN
publications
Reports of
three IFN events have recently been published:
*
A
seminar on Bilateral Inter Faith Dialogue
in the UK held by IFN at Lambeth Palace, by kind permission of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, as part of IFN’s ‘Soundings’ programme.
*
A
seminar held jointly with the National Association of SACREs on Local Inter Faith Organisations and Standing
Advisory Councils on Religious Education: Working together for understanding
and community cohesion at Coventry TechnoCentre, as part of IFN’s
‘Soundings’ programme.
*
IFN’s
2009 National Meeting on Good Inter Faith
Relations: The Next Generation held at Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
Pdfs of
these reports are all available free of charge on the IFN website at www.interfaith.org.uk/publications. Hard copies can be purchased from the IFN
office (ifnet@interfaith.org.uk).
Equality
Bill
The Report stage in the House of
Lords of the Equality Bill was completed on 2 March and Third Reading took
place on 23 March. A full briefing note
on the Bill was placed on IFN’s website last month. The Bill now returns to the
House of Commons for it to consider the amendments made to the Bill by the
House of Lords in Committee, on Report and on Third Reading.
During the Report stage the House of
Lords voted to accept an amendment to the Bill in order to remove the
prohibition on civil partnerships taking place in religious buildings, while
placing no obligations on religious organisations to host civil partnerships if
they do not wish to do so. The amendment enables Liberal Judaism, the Quakers
and Unitarians to do so, which is what they wish. On Third Reading some
consequential amendments were agreed without a vote. The relevant provisions
will be brought into force by a commencement order. The Government made it
clear that it would consult fully about the details of the implementation of
these new arrangements, including the new regulations which will be required in
due course.
Another amendment to the Bill, which
was agreed at the Report stage without a vote, was to confer powers on ‘a
Minister of the Crown’ to amend, by order, the section describing the protected
characteristic of ‘race’ “so as to provide for caste to be an aspect of
race”. The Government has commissioned
the National Institute of Economic and Social Research to explore the nature,
extent and severity of caste prejudice and discrimination in Britain, and its
associated implications for future Government policy; and, on this basis,
accepted the inclusion of a power in the Bill which could be exercised or not
in the light of the research and consultation on it.
You can follow the progress of the Bill at http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2009-10/equality.html.
Faiths in Action Round 2 and ‘Faith Matters’
Faiths in Action is a £4 million grant programme being administered by the Community
Development Foundation (CDF).
The fund is being distributed over two years in two rounds of
funding. In the first round, 216 organisations were offered grants of up
to £12,000, totalling over £2.43 million.
Applications
have now opened for the second round of funding.
Grants of
up to £6,000 are being offered. There is
no formal deadline for applications. It
is a rolling programme and applications will be accepted in the date and time
order that they are received by CDF until the total value of the eligible
relevant applications equals the overall value of the fund.
More
information on the funding programme and how to apply, together with a
PowerPoint briefing presentation and pdf leaflet can be found at www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/faiths-in-action.
You can
also telephone the helpline
on 01223 406533 or e-mail CDF at
fundingadmin@cdf.org.uk.
CDF’s new
publication, ‘Faith Matters’ is a collection of 19 in-depth case studies of
projects funded by the Faiths in Action grant programme. Looking specifically at projects dealing with
the environment, dialogue, young people and social action, ‘Faith Matters’
offers faith practitioners evidence to inform their projects and to prove the
importance of faith work to policy-makers.
Voluntary and community sector workers will benefit from good practice
drawn from case studies in running local projects and attracting funding.
A free pdf
of the book can be downloaded from www.cdf.org.uk/web/guest/news-headline?id=222269. Hard copies are available at £15.95 and can
be purchased online.
Secretary of State announcements at Faith and Social Action conference
At a
CLG conference on faith and social action on 17 March Mr John Denham,
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced
a new Faith Leadership in Government Fund worth £1.2m, designed
to increase the capacity to engage of national
faith community bodies which work with Government; a £50,000
Innovation in Faith-Based Social Action Prize to help publicise
and reward faith based projects which have not yet received the recognition
they deserve which are finding new ways to meet local problems, bring people
together and meet the needs of local communities; and ‘mythbusting’ guidance
for local authorities to remove confusion affecting commissioning of faith
based bodies to deliver services. The
press release can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1507453, the
speech made by John Denham at www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/faithsocialaction,
and the ‘myth busting’ document, Ensuring
a level playing field: Funding faith based organisations to provide publicly
funded services, at www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/15073411.pdf.
Visible -
quality assurance and faith based organisations
The Faith
based Regeneration Network (FbRN) is working with the Community Matters, the
Church Urban Fund and the Faith and Civil Society department of Goldsmith’s
College to develop a quality assurance framework for faith based organisations.
This will build on the VISIBLE framework (www.visiblecommunities.org.uk/)
which Community Matters has been using for some years and which is currently
being revised. As part of the process, they will be piloting the quality
assurance framework with six faith based organisations. If you would like to be
considered as a pilot project or to learn more about the project please contact
Jane: 07734 962140; janewinter@fbrn.org.uk
by 31 March.
Two EHRC research reports
The EHRC has published two reports
in its Research Report series.
The first was Good Relations: a conceptual analysis by Nick Johnson and John
Tatam of the
This report examines what is
actually meant by good relations and how this reflects, or stems from,
theoretical approaches and public policy, and begins to suggest ways in which
good relations might be measured. It therefore forms the initial output from
the Commission’s programme of work on good relations that will result in the
establishment of a Good Relations Measurement Framework (GRMF). The report can be found at: www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/research/research_report_42_-_good_relations_a_conceptual_analysis.pdf.
The second report, Religion or belief: identifying issues and
priorities, was produced by Linda Woodhead (with the assistance of Rebecca
Catto) who is Professor of Sociology and Religion at
In April and May 2009 three seminars
were held in
National Policing Improvement Agency guidance
The Citizen
Focus and Neighbourhood Policing Programme Team of the National Policing
Improvement Agency (NPIA) has recently produced an interactive guide for
neighbourhood policing teams and partners on Working with Faith Communities.
This guide is one in a series
produced by the Citizen Focus and Neighbourhood Policing Programme Team aimed
at increasing engagement with the public. The guide includes information on
visiting places of worship and is designed to support Neighbourhood Policing
Teams and partners to work more closely with faith communities at a local
level. Its aim is to help them in
identifying and addressing the specific needs and priorities identified by
faith communities within a wider neighbourhood policing engagement strategy.
A copy of the guide can be
downloaded from www.npiadocuments.co.uk/faithguidance.pdf.
Counter Terrorism in Places of Worship
The
National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has researched
and produced a guide
intended to give protective security advice to those who are responsible for
security in places of worship. Whilst the document concentrates on
measures to counter terrorism, it is hoped that these will also work against
other threats, such as theft, burglary and arson (which remain the greatest
threats to places of worship). The NaCTSO press release says
“It is accepted that the concept of absolute security is almost impossible
to achieve in combating the threat of terrorism, but it is possible, through
the use of this guidance, to reduce the risk to as low as reasonably
practicable.”
A copy of
the guide can be downloaded from www.nactso.gov.uk/placesofworship.php.
Charity Commission guidance on elections
The Charity
Commission has recently updated its guidance on elections and
politics. This guidance is for use by charities during the period between the
announcement of an election, and the date on which an election is held and
applies to both national and local elections. The guidance sits alongside other
requirements, such as electoral law, which apply to charities and non-charities
alike. A full copy of the updated
guidance on Charities and Elections
can be downloaded at www.charity-commission.gov.uk/supportingcharities/elect.asp.
The Charity Commission’s website
says: “The independent nature of the charitable sector is of fundamental
importance to society, and is greatly valued by the public. The guiding
principle of charity law in terms of elections is that charities should be, and
be seen to be, independent from party politics. This guidance contains legal
and good practice advice to charities to help ensure that they are able both
to: retain the essential quality of independence; and use their voice
effectively at election times.”
This brief updated guidance should be read in conjunction
with the Charity Commission’s more detailed guidance on the wider subject of Speaking Out:
Guidance on campaigning and political activities by charities (www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/cc9.asp). The principles described in this continue to
apply during an election period.
New model constitution for very small charities
The Charity
Commission, in partnership with a number of umbrella bodies across the charity
sector, has launched a new, simplified constitution which is designed for very
small charities with an annual income of under £5,000 (which do not need to
register with the Charity Commission, but are still subject to charity law) and
which do not own land or employ staff.
The template constitution uses clear, direct language and is just 700
words long. For more information,
including the downloadable constitution, go to www.charitycommission.gov.uk/registration/smallcharity.asp. (Please note that if a charity’s income
exceeds £5,000, it will need to register with the Charity Commission and will
then need a more comprehensive governing document.)
Charity Commission good practice guide for faith-based organisations
The Charity
Commission has published Faith
in Good Governance, a
new guide to good practice for the 30,000 faith-based organisations in the
third sector. It is hoped that the guidance,
released by the Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit, will help
trustees, staff and volunteers of faith-based charities, including places of
worship, comply with charity law, and equip them to work even better, whilst
recognising that maintenance of their faith-identity, core aims and mission is
key. The guidance is primarily aimed at
the trustees, staff and volunteers of those charities established with a
religious purpose whose primary focus is religious worship and associated
activities, rather than wider social or pastoral activity. A full copy of Faith in Good Governance can be downloaded at www.charity-commission.gov.uk/tcc/faithgov.asp#fore.
Public benefit assessments for charities
Charities
are required to submit to the Charity Commission as part of their report for
financial years commencing on or after
Guidance
about the public benefit requirements specifically for religious charities is
contained in the Commission’s document on The
Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit which can be found at www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/pbreligion.asp.
The
Commission has placed on its website a report on the emerging findings for
charity trustees of its public benefit assessment work so far. The report contains case studies relating to
12 charities (including four charities ‘advancing religion’). (www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/default.asp)
The Commission
has also placed on its website some illustrative (fictitious) examples of
reporting on public benefit including one for a mosque. These can be found under its website section
on Public Benefit Reporting. (www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/pbreport.asp)
‘Refreshed’ Compact published
A
refreshed version of the ‘Compact’ between the Government and the voluntary
sector has been developed.
A
‘Compact’ between the Government and the voluntary sector was established in
England in November 1998, inspired by recommendations in the earlier Deakin
Commission report on the Future of the Voluntary Sector. The Compact provides an
overall framework for promoting effective partnership working between the
Government and the third sector. A new
version has now been developed following extensive debate and consultation.
The refreshed Compact retains all the key points of the original but takes
into account recent developments in law, policy and practice and subsumes
material previously covered in separate Codes of Practice. It is divided into
three key areas covering involvement in policy development, allocating
resources and advancing equality. The
agreement reaffirms the Government’s and the third sector’s commitments to
12-week consultation and three-year funding. In addition, it recognises that
volunteering is a defining characteristic of the third sector and this
cross-cutting theme is acknowledged throughout the shared principles and
commitments. It highlights the shared
principles which Compact partners should follow when engaging in partnership
working, and records all the Compact commitments. These commitments cover three
key areas: involvement in policy development; allocating resources; and
advancing equality
The revised Compact has been signed by the Prime Minister and by the Chair
of Compact Voice and on behalf of the third sector.
The ‘refreshed’ Compact is accompanied by a smaller publication entitled
‘An introduction to the Compact’, containing general information about the
Compact, explaining to whom it applies to and how to implement it and resolve
differences. Both this and the Compact
itself can be found on the website of the Commission for the Compact at www.thecompact.org.uk.
Places of Worship risk survey and VAT refunds
English Heritage, as part of its Heritage at Risk programme, is
researching the physical condition of places of worship. On 30 June it
will announce the results of a sample survey that offers an insight into the
condition of
A large number of historic church buildings are under
threat because they will soon lose the right to a special refund. The
refund, which allows historic churches and other places of worship to claim
back the VAT on the cost of repairs and maintenance, is due to end in March
2011. An online petition to save the refund has been set up at www.savetherefund.info.
Revised
guidance for RE
Updated
guidance on RE provision for primary and secondary schools and local
authorities to support the delivery of good RE in schools in
The
guidance takes into account significant changes in types of schools and the
curriculum, and to set out the Government’s views on the importance of RE in
the early 21st century. It reflects the multi-ethnic and multi-faith
nature of our society and the Government’s emphasis on community cohesion,
which schools have a new duty to promote.
It also includes:
-
A greater emphasis on
personalising learning to help pupils to better develop socially and
emotionally as well as in their studies
-
Information on how
different types of schools – from Academies to voluntary aided faith schools –
should provide RE
-
More guidance on how to
link RE to other subjects in line with the new, more flexible and coherent
primary and secondary curriculum
-
Case studies and practical
information on how teachers can work with local faith groups and can use RE to
support community cohesion.
Alongside
this updated guidance, DCSF published the first ever programme of learning for
primary religious education (RE). The
new non-statutory programme of learning and updated RE guidance will give local
authorities and schools more ideas and support on how to develop their local RE
curriculum. This will also make RE teaching consistent with the rest of the new
primary curriculum, which is intended for first teaching in September 2011.
The
relevant DCSF Press Notice can be found at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2010_0027
and links to the two documents can be found at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/subjects/re/guidance/
and http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/new-primary-curriculum/areas-of-learning/religious-education/index.aspx.
Annual
Scottish Inter Faith Council Networking Seminar for
Local Inter Faith Groups
The Annual
Networking Seminar for local inter faith groups in
Regional inter faith link meeting in East of
The Inter
Faith Network holds, with the regional faith forums in the English regions,
periodic meetings for local inter faith organisers to share news and discuss
issues of common concern. The next such meeting will take place in the East of
England in
Building Good Community Relations in Wales
The Inter-faith Council
for
Interfaith Consultation
Events across Wales
27 March – Newport
17 April –
24 April – Lampeter (
For
more information contact Nigel Anthony at info@interfaithwales.org.
The
Inter-faith Council for
Inter Faith Facilitators online
community
The St
Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace has created an online
community for ‘interfaith facilitators’.
See http://interfaithfacilitators.ning.com.
Inter Faith Network website
The IFN
website is currently undergoing redesign. We would welcome your views on
features and functions which you would like to see. Please email paresh.solanki@interfaith.org.uk
or ring him on 020 7931 7766.
For
detailed information on events and projects in
Scottish
Inter Faith Council: www.scottishinterfaithcouncil.org
Inter-faith
Council for
For
detailed information on events and projects in the English regions see:
East
of England: www.eefaithscouncil.org.uk
East Midlands: www.ffem.org.uk
London: www.londoncivicforum.org.uk (Faiths Forum for London)
North East: www.nerfn.org
North West: www.faithnorthwest.org.uk
South East: www.se-faithforum.net
South West: www.faithnetsouthwest.org.uk
West Midlands: www.wmfaithsforum.org.uk
The Inter Faith Network for the
Registered charity no. 1068934. Company limited
by guarantee no. 3443823 registered in