£1million fund for faith groups

Communities Secretary John Denham today unveiled a £1million fund to help faith groups get their voices heard by Government and public bodies and help play their part delivering public services.

John Denham praised faith groups for their hard work and commitment to their local communities and called on local authorities to ignore the myths about faith communities and create a level playing field for faith groups providing publicly funded services.

He also announced a £50,000 prize to reward faith groups for innovative projects in their local communities.

John Denham said:
"Government and faith don’t always speak the same language but we should be working from a state of mutual understanding not misconceptions. 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. We can not afford to over look the innovative ways faith communities address issues. The prize I am establishing today will highlight and reward the innovative ways faith groups address the challenges that arise in their communities.

"For millions of people faith plays an important role in their day to day lives. It is right that government recognises this role and supports the good work being done. The money being announced today will not be used to directly core fund these groups directly - this is not the role of Government - but is intended to support those communities which lack the capacity and infrastructure to respond effectively in dialogue on issues that affect and matter to them and highlight some of the great work being done so they can continue to build on their valuable work in their local communities."

Speaking at a conference in London - Faith and Social Action: Innovation and Expertise – John Denham announced a package of measures:

£1million Faith Working With Government fund
National faith based organisations are invited to bid for a share of £1million funding that help them develop a bigger voice and strengthen their capacity to challenge and engage Government.
The money is focused on making sure these organisations have the tools they need to do the job and could be used for activities including training in fundraising.

£50,000 Innovation in Faith-Based Social Action Prize
The prize is being developed to help publicise and reward faith based projects which have not yet received the recognition they deserve. Prizes will be awarded to faith projects who are finding new ways to meet local problems, bring people together and meet the needs of local communities

New ‘myth busting’ guidance for local government on working with faith groups
At times there has been a reluctance or confusion on the part of some local authorities to commission services from faith based groups and there are concerns amongst many groups and organisations including faith groups that they are disadvantaged when trying to access funding. It is clear that greater clarity is needed if local authorities and faith groups are going to have confidence they need to work together. Faith-based bodies are entitled, like any other suitably qualified bodies, to be awarded funding to deliver public services. A paper dealing with some common myths entitled Ensuring a level playing field: funding faith based organisations to provide publicly funded services, will be launched at the conference. The paper is intended to deal with current confusion about these arrangements.