Following the launch of Faithworks in February this year, the campaign has gained huge national support from across the major denominations and from politicians of all parties, culminating in the delivery of a Declaration, signed by 75,000 supporters to the Prime Minister on June 19th. The Declaration, written in response to findings of discrimination against faith-based community projects, called on the government to take policy measures to ensure that effective and accountable faith-based groups are supported in their community work, and judged on their results, rather than excluded from funding because of suspicion or prejudice.

Steve Chalke, Faithworks Founder comments: “We are delighted that Local Government is taking the Faithworks agenda seriously. We eagerly await these guidelines which we will hope will be a positive and practical tool to facilitate an increase in both the quality and quantity of effective partnerships between churches and local authorities for the benefit of the whole community.”

Faithworks has been working closely with the LGA since the start of their campaign, alerting them to churches’ concerns and communicating the huge range of church-based social projects in Britain, which wish to work in co-operation with statutory agencies.  Having considered the discrimination against churches highlighted by the Faithworks Campaign, the LGA asked Faithworks to give its response to a draft of their ‘Best Practice Guidelines’ for working with faith groups.  Faithworks attended a consultation meeting along with other interested parties and submitted a formal response to the guidelines on behalf of the thousands of churches that support the campaign.

Faithworks has requested that the LGA’s guidelines will set out practical ways in which local authorities can begin to work with faith groups, including the appointment, in every local authority, of a ‘Faith Groups Liaison Officer’ who can proactively liase with faith groups who wish to develop social work initiatives. Faithworks has also recommended that the final document spell out the many advantages for local authorities that work with churches that can provide sustainable, committed, imaginative and transforming solutions to the needs of Britain’s communities.