Inter Faith Network Closure
Debate between Ruth Jones and Felicity Buchan(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Felicity Buchan
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As I have said, very careful consideration went into this decision. It has been a long-standing policy of successive Governments, first introduced in 2009 by a Labour Government, not to engage with the MCB.
Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)
I listened carefully to the Minister’s response to my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), when she said that the Government take inter-faith work very seriously, but actions speak louder than words. Cutting off funding with just a few hours’ notice is not helpful to this important organisation. What steps will DLUHC now take to support dialogue in any areas where it has been lost?
Felicity Buchan
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As I say, DLUHC funds a number of organisations that work very intensively at a local level to support inter-faith work and community cohesion.