The BHA’s Chief Executive and Campaigns Officer met with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Andrew Stunell MP today. The Minister was interested to hear the BHA’s views on issues including ‘interfaith’ work in the ‘Big Society,’ the funding of voluntary groups and the government’s plans for reforming public services. The BHA has been having regular meetings with officials from the department for some time and this is the third Ministerial meeting that the BHA has attended at the department.
Pepper Harow, BHA Campaigns Officer commented, ‘This is the first time we have met a member of the coalition government team in the department and we feel that it was very positive. We focused our comments on what the ‘Big Society’ will mean, particularly for non-religious people and their ability to access services and engage with civil society. We have a real concern that a focus on religious organizations as service providers and deliverers of the ‘Big Society’ agenda will mean that non-religious people are disadvantaged.
‘We made our point very clearly to the Minister that secular organizations deserve the same support and engagement as religious ones and that focusing on ‘faith’ in communities, similar to the previous government’s approach, will prevent people from being fully involved. As many studies show that at least 43% of people consider themselves to be non-religious, ignoring this large, and growing, constituency would seriously damage the ability of government to build a successful ‘Big Society.’’
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For comment or information, contact Pepper Harow, Campaigns Officer, on 0207 462 4992.
More information about the BHA’s work on Communities and Local Government.
The British Humanist Association was founded in 1896 and is the national charity promoting Humanism, campaigning for a secular state and an open society and representing and supporting non-religious people.