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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq, being a fellow London MP. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) on securing this important debate. His speech was deeply thoughtful, very eloquent and also humorous, which is quite a difficult combination, and the strength of his faith came across clearly.
I also thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) for his considered and impassioned speech. I was particularly struck by his remarks on freedom of speech and religion. I know that he is a man of strong faith. We always see each other in the summer at Brompton Oratory during my constituency’s annual summer fête, and I know that he went to a very good faith school in my constituency, St Philip’s. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) for his important contribution. I was struck by his comments on how intrinsic Christianity is to our culture and history, and on the importance of the Church of England.
I thank the Front Benchers for their contributions. I found the contribution of the SNP spokesman, the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady), very interesting, particularly his comment about how close Christmas and Easter are to each other. I thank the shadow Opposition spokesperson. There is just one point I would like to take up from your comments—
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Order. The Clerk always gives me a funny look when people say “you”. Other people in the room who have sat in this Chair know exactly what I mean.
Felicity Buchan
My apologies, Dr Huq—my mistake entirely. I meant the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist). She said that the Government have not given sufficient support for the cost of living. I want to put it on the record that this Government have given more than £100 billion of cost of living support.
Turning to the subject before us, the importance of Christianity, I share the convictions of my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley about the importance of faith as an essential pillar of our society, and I welcome the opportunity to celebrate the role that Christianity has played in shaping and nurturing the world we live in. I agree that we should be immensely proud of Britain’s history and culture. The Government believe that people need to feel strong in their religious identities, and we are ensuring that the voices of people of faith are being heard.
Our country has been built on Christian values. They permeate every aspect of our lives. Values such as respect for others, public service and the rule of law are supported by the overwhelming majority of people in this country. Those values have evolved over time to become an integral part of Britain today. For that, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Church of England and the Church of Scotland—the two established churches in the UK.
The Church has, from the first, been the bedrock of our Christian community. It underpins the spiritual wellbeing of individuals. The Church welcomes each of them into a sustaining community of faith, and it builds around them the cultural and institutional framework that promotes and protects their wellbeing. Those values are not unique to churches and their worshippers; they characterise the core beliefs of all our faith communities.
It has been mentioned that at this time of the year, many religions are celebrating important events. We are in the holy month of Ramadan, and I was privileged to attend an iftar at al-Manaar mosque in my constituency last night. Passover is coming in late April, and I will be visiting a synagogue in my constituency at the weekend. Each of our religions, through the commitment they make to serve their worshippers and in their efforts to build our society, helps to deepen and enrich the lives of all of us.
At Easter time, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection signifies the promise of redemption and rebirth and the forgiveness of sin. So as Easter approaches, I am grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the role of the Christian Church in our history and culture.
I am proud of the United Kingdom as a place where people are free to practise their religion, faith or belief. We should all celebrate the diversity and richness of a society that has welcomed and supported those of all faiths and backgrounds. The latest census tells that the number of Christians living in this country has decreased, but Christianity remains the most prominent religion.
We may think of ours as an increasingly secular state, but the imprint and influence of Christianity on every aspect of our lives is unmistakeable. It is expressed in the very fabric of our buildings—our great churches and cathedrals, the Hall that we stand in today. It shapes the defining landmarks of our calendar—Easter, Christmas, saints’ days and holy days. It defines our working week, setting aside one day of each week to rest and worship; and it has long inspired our artists, composers, writers and poets, whose work enlightens and sustains our lives.
Christianity has shaped this country’s history and we should take this opportunity to celebrate the impact that those inspired by its teachings have had on the work of our Parliament. It was the Christian faith of the likes of William Wilberforce and John Wesley that led to the abolition of slavery. Elizabeth Fry devoted herself to the cause of prison reform. Lord Shaftesbury promoted care for people with mental illnesses. Charles Dickens, driven by his faith to work for a better, fairer, world, called his Common Lodging Houses Act 1851 “the best piece of legislation” that ever proceeded from this Parliament. Florence Nightingale, Charles Spurgeon, Harold Moody, Octavia Hill—all were committed reformers inspired by their Christian faith to drive reform and improve the lives of all.
Faith and belief continue to motivate people to acts of public service and to serve their local communities. As a nation, we continue to be made stronger by the work of those inspired by their faith. The tireless work goes on every day in our communities up and down the country, often without fanfare or fuss, quietly undertaken by those making an essential contribution to the common good. It is right that we celebrate and show our gratitude for this work and ensure that the perspective and voices of faith and belief are heard by Government.
Churches are often centres of community support, providing a range of services, including after-school care, youth clubs, financial advice, and addiction support to name a few. Many provide a safety net for those in need, running food banks or warm hubs, and the pastoral impact of the Church extends further into our society, with the provision of chaplaincy across the public sector, including Church of England schools, which we have addressed, prisons, hospitals and the armed forces.
Christian faith schools, like all other faith schools, also play an important role in our education system, providing high-quality school places for many children from all backgrounds, and choice for parents. Faith schools are some of our highest performing schools and are often popular with parents, whether they belong to the faith or not.
Sir Edward Leigh
My intervention is on precisely that point. I do not expect the Minister to give an answer now, but I have had various meetings on this subject. We have had meetings with the Secretary of State for Education, and I know the decision is now in Downing Street. There has been a long campaign to abolish the so-called faith cap, which serves no purpose apart from limiting the ability of Catholic schools and academies to attract new pupils. As I said, I do not expect my hon. Friend to answer now, but can she promise to raise this matter with Downing Street and with the Secretary of State for Education, who I know believes the faith cap should be removed?
Felicity Buchan
I will certainly follow up and revert to my right hon. Friend on that. I have many faith schools in my constituency, but I will mention just two: St Mary Abbots Primary School, which has hosted many Afghan and Ukrainian children and made them so much a part of the school community; and Cardinal Vaughan, which is an exceptional Catholic secondary school.
Let me say again that as a Government we recognise the importance of faith and belief across our communities. My colleague in the other place, Baroness Scott, the Minister with responsibility for social housing and faith, continues to champion the brilliant work carried out by our faith and belief communities up and down the country. As hon. Members know, we published Colin Bloom’s independent review of faith engagement in April 2023. In his review, he examines engagement with faith in a broad range of public settings and makes a number of recommendations on how Government can improve engagement with faith groups, both to recognise the contribution of faith communities to our society and to address harmful practices. We are carefully considering the review’s findings and will respond in due course.
I want to pick up on a few points that were mentioned today. Religious tolerance was mentioned, and I want to make it very clear that freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law and equal rights are things that we all strive for and value. The rights that we enjoy in the UK extend to everyone. Any individual or group is free to express views and beliefs within the confines of the law, but we must all behave responsibly and respect one another’s fundamental rights. Freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right and one that underpins so many other rights.
Regarding funding for places of worship, I want to be very transparent about the fact that such funding is relatively limited. Successive Governments have followed the principle that it is for faith communities themselves to be responsible for the management and upkeep of their places of worship. Nevertheless, there are some instances of Government support: for example, the Heritage Fund run by the national lottery is a scheme to help to restore buildings so that they can be enjoyed by the wider community. If a place of worship is listed, there is a further scheme called the listed places of worship grant scheme, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, local authorities can now pay small amounts of money for repair and maintenance of local churches where their buildings are being used to deliver services to the wider community.
I want to talk briefly about the Inter Faith Network. I took an urgent question on that a few weeks ago. I want to make it very clear that we value the contribution made by all organisations that are dedicated to bringing our faith communities together in order to strengthen the ties that bind us, and in my own constituency—[Interruption.]
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Order. We have a three-hour slot, so we will be fine whatever happens.
Felicity Buchan
In my own constituency, I bring together the leaders of many different faith groups. I bring together Holland Park Synagogue with Al-Manaar Mosque, with the gurdwara in my constituency and with many Christian churches. Valuing inter-faith networking is very important.
Andrew Rosindell
I rise to thank the Minister for her welcome when I visited All Saints’ Notting Hill in her constituency, I think three years ago, for the unveiling of the royal coat of arms in that wonderful church. Does she agree that it is magnificent that a church displays the royal coat of arms, and that all churches should be encouraged to do the same?
Furthermore, will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating the Reverend Father David Ackerman of St John the Evangelist, Kensal Green? The church not only displays the royal coat of arms, but it raised £20,000 for windows to celebrate the platinum jubilee —magnificent stained-glass windows that depict flora and fauna from all over the Commonwealth. The windows were a unique tribute to Her late Majesty for the platinum jubilee. Will my hon. Friend visit the church to see how wonderful the windows look? They are a great testimony to our Christian faith and the importance of the monarchy and Commonwealth to our Christian heritage, which we celebrate today.
Felicity Buchan
I certainly agree with everything the you have said about the importance and unity of the Church, the state and the royal family. It was a great delight to see you in my constituency—
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
Minister, the Clerk is nudging me. The word “you” means me in this context.
Felicity Buchan
That is right, Dr Huq. It was a great delight to see my hon. Friend in my constituency, and I would love to see him there again.
To return to the subject of the Inter Faith Network, the Department monitors all funded organisations throughout the lifecycle of their projects for the purposes of assessing delivery against workplan targets, compliance and evaluation, in line with best practice for the management of public funding. To ensure suitability, all partners are subject to clearance through our internal finance and due diligence processes. The Secretary of State made the decision to withdraw the offer of funding to the Inter Faith Network in view of a member of the Muslim Council of Britain being appointed to the IFN’s board of trustees. Successive Governments have had a long-standing policy of non-engagement with the MCB. The potential closure of the Inter Faith Network is a matter for the IFN as an independent charity, not the Government.
I would like to express my gratitude to those driven by their faith to strengthen our society and communities. Their selflessness, dedication and commitment to helping others during these challenging times are commendable. Religion plays a significant role in the lives of many people, and the Government are committed to ensuring that it can continue to play a positive role in society. By working together, I know we can achieve even more to help our communities.
Easter is the very foundation of the Christian faith. For Christians worldwide, the importance of Easter is praising and acknowledging Jesus Christ’s resurrection, his triumph over sin and death, and the promise of everlasting life. As we hear in the Gospel of John 3:16, which my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley quoted,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
I remember having to recite that in Sunday school, in Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, as a young girl. Easter is a time we can all learn from as Christians coming together, and a time we can all share with loved ones in unison. I wish my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley and everyone who has taken part in this very timely debate a happy Easter.
Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)
I call Nick Fletcher to wind up—but not until 4.30 pm. You have a couple of minutes, Mr Fletcher.