My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am today launching a consultation on Face-to-Face and Side-by-Side: A framework for inter faith dialogue and social action.

We have long recognised the contribution made by faith groups to local communities, in terms of charitable activity, social action, community cohesion, support in emergencies, as well as their spiritual and religious role.

The relations between every faith are integral to the success of each of them.

We want to take this opportunity to reflect on how the Government should support this, where and in what circumstances interfaith works best and how we can work in partnerships with faith and non-faith based communities and organisations.

This consultation is part of the Government’s response to the independent Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s report Our Shared Future which set out a number of practical recommendations on how to build cohesion and a shared sense of belonging. The report outlined the important role that interfaith activity plays in building integration and cohesion, as well as the need for more constructive conversations between those of faith and those of none.

In particular the consultation will seek to:

Understand how to best build confidence in the benefits of partnership working and develop a greater understanding of the contribution that faith communities can make;

Discover to what extent local authorities and other public bodies are already working with faith communities;

Understand better the structures which aid interaction and social action and how can these be best developed;

Learn about some of the barriers to interfaith activity—especially to the involvement of women and young people—and how we might best work together to overcome these;

Look at what actions are needed to widen and deepen interfaith dialogue and social action.

Our society is deeply enriched by the presence of diverse faith groups, and our communities benefit from their local activity.

Copies of the consultation document have been deposited in the Library of the House.