Prime Minister David Cameron is facing criticism for a recent speech in which he described his view of the role of religious organisations in the ‘Big Society’. Mr Cameron said that the space between the government and individuals can be filled by faith-based organisations, who can deliver public services. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which believes that public services should remain secular, has raised concerns over Mr Cameron’s comments.
The speech was made at a reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Council of Christians and Jews. In his speech, Mr Cameron said: ‘There is hope for the future, particularly if people can follow the example of charities like your own. This government is trying to put charities, charitable groups, and charitable giving on a whole different footing. Right across the board you can see that we are saying you’re not the third sector – we believe charities have a huge role in delivering great public services.
Mr Cameron went on to say that ‘It’s what I call the Big Society – the idea that there’s a huge space between government and the individual that can be filled by organisations, faith-based organisations perhaps in particular, that can deliver great public services, that can do great things in terms of tackling some of the problems of our time.’
However, getting religious organisations involved in the delivery of public services is highly problematic, because it creates the possibility of discrimination against public service users and employees. The exemptions in the Equality Act 2010 enable religious organisations which provide public services to discriminate on the grounds of religion and belief. Previous legal cases (the Leonard Cheshire case and YL v Birmingham City Council) have also set the precedent that organisations in the private sector contracted by the state to provide public services, including religious groups, do not qualify as ‘public authorities’ under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). This means that anyone discriminated against by a religious group providing public services would not be able to use the HRA to challenge this discrimination in the courts.
Worrying examples of public services being inappropriately contracted to religious groups have already taken place. For example, in April last year, the government transferred a contract for providing services for the victims of trafficking from a specialist charity to the Salvation Army, which preaches evangelical Christianity and describes homosexual behaviour as ‘self-evidently abnormal’.
Pavan Dhaliwal, BHA Head of Public Affairs, commented ‘We need secular public services which cater for everyone regardless of their religion or belief, and which treat people equally. But as more faith-based organisations start to take over the welfare state, there is a danger that religious discrimination will start to creep in to the system. Before any public services are outsourced to religious organisations, there must be statutory rules introduced to protect all clients and employees of public services from discrimination.’
Notes
For further comment or information contact Pavan Dhaliwal, Head of Public Affairs at pavan@humanists.uk or on 0773 843 5059.
The CCJ’s news article about Cameron’s speech:
http://www.ccj.org.uk/Articles/330471/Council_of_Christians/News/Prime_Minister_Congratulates.aspx
Previous BHA news articles raising concerns over faith-based public services:
https://humanists.uk/news/view/1103
https://humanists.uk/news/view/787
https://humanists.uk/news/view/790
The BHA’s campaign on public service reform:
https://humanists.uk/campaigns/public-service-reform
The BHA on the Human Rights Act 1998 and the meaning of ‘Public Authority’:
https://humanists.uk/campaigns/human-rights/human-rights-act-1998-and-the-meaning-of-public-authority
The Leonard Cheshire legal case:
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/04/04/2002/35784/news-analysis-of-test-case-involving-Leonard-Cheshire.htm
http://www.justice.org.uk/pages/public-authorities-under-the-human-rights-act-1998.html
The legal case of YL v Birmingham City Council:
http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2007/issue5/mcgarry5.html
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of ethically concerned, non-religious people in the UK. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, and for a secular state.