Lord Alton has said he is “sceptical” about the idea that the minister for Faith has been downgraded, but a Labour MP is calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to reinstate the role to a full Cabinet position.
The post was created under the coalition Government with the remit that “the minister works with religious and community leaders to promote faith, religious tolerance and stronger communities within the UK.”
As a senior Foreign Office minister the first holder of the post, Baroness Warsi, attended Cabinet meetings. After she resigned from the Government over its “morally indefensible” response to the Gaza war the post went to Eric Pickles, then the Secretary for State for Communities and a full Cabinet minister.
But then the role went to a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Baroness Williams of Trafford, who as well as looking after “faith and integration” was responsible for the HS2 rail link amongst much else.
It has since passed to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, who is responsible within DCLG for community cohesion, race equality, troubled families, domestic refuges and travellers policy, as well as being in charge of the Syrian Refugees Programme. In addition he is a junior minister in the Wales Office, responsible for energy, environment, defence, local government, localism education and law and order.
Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds, chair of Christians on the Left, has called for the post to be restored to full ministerial level in a standalone role. He told Christian Today: “Understanding and valuing faith communities is paramount to a successful, cohesive, inclusive society. Faith communities deliver positive social change through pastoral support, youth activities and welfare provision such as food banks, yet too frequently come under fire when tensions rise. Engaging with them is a big job and should be seen as such.”
But Lord Alton told the Catholic Herald that a lot depends on how much time and effort a minister wants to give to individual aspects of their work. “Baroness Warsi put a lot of time into it, particularly her relations with the Catholic Church,” he said.
He dismissed the idea that the post had been downgraded. “I’d be surprised if Theresa May, a vicar’s daughter, would have made a deliberate decision to downgrade it,” he said. There is value having someone to champion it inside the cabinet, he said. “Maybe the Prime Minister herself will champion it.”
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