| Workshop
2: Partnership between
local government and councils of faiths
Facilitator: Harriet Crabtree
Reporter back: Zafar Khan
Minuter: Janet Tublin
Opening contributions: Zafar Khan and
Shanthi Hettiarachchi of the Luton Inter-Faith Forum, (soon to become the
Luton Council of Faiths), described the way in which the Grassroots
Project had fostered the development of inter faith work in Luton. They
spoke of the growing acceptance on the part of the local authority of the
importance of the role of local faith communities. Experience with the
Luton Inter-Faith Forum had provided the confidence on which to build in
moving to a more formally structured Luton Council of Faiths. Hari Shukla
described the setting up of the Tyne and Wear Race Equality Council’s
Inter Faith Panel and the initial difficulties in the context of REC work
in securing acceptance of the significance of faith identity. He went on
to describe the way in which good working relationships had been
established with local authorities within Tyne and Wear. In the course of
these presentations and in the following discussion, the following key
points emerged:
- It is important to ask the question, what do local authorities gain
from partnership with local inter faith initiatives? Why should they
support a local council of faiths?
- Local authorities may use groups for their own purposes, but local
inter faith groups can also use local authorities. The aim should be
mutual benefit.
- Faith community people and those working in local government do not
always understand quite where each other is "coming from".
Time spent explaining this is time well spent.
- If a group or council of faiths develops a reputation for solid work
on issues such as education and community relations, and if it is seen
to be properly representative, it is more likely to be used as a
sounding board by the local authority and other bodies and to receive
support.
- Questions can arise about the pattern of faiths represented. In some
areas, humanists have wanted to be involved when local government has
used the council of faiths as a sounding board.
- A major difficulty in building partnerships can be shifting goal
posts in terms of policy and lack of funds. Lack of continuity of
funds means that partnerships are not always easy to build. It is
particularly difficult if funding is pulled at short notice.
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