House of Lords written question – answered at on 6 November 2009.
Lord Mawson
Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to encouraging wider community use of church buildings in England which are under-used outside The Times of regular church services.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (also in the Department for Communities and Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (also in the Department for Communities and Local Government), Department for Work and Pensions, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Communities and Local Government) (also in Department for Work and Pensions), Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions) (also in the Department for Communities and Local Government)
The wider community use of church buildings, and of the buildings of other faiths, was the subject of a joint working group between the Church of England and five government departments. This led to the publication of a report, Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential, in March 2009. The report sets "out a range of actions to help faith groups engage effectively in local and regional agendas, it outlines some resources that might help to make faith buildings more user-friendly as part of wider community activities, and .... ways in which providers of funding and policy makers might better understand what faith groups bring to community".
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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