Themes:
- Improving the council's links with faith groups in the borough
- Improving access for faith and minority communities to the Council
- Black History Month
Minutes:
7.1 Councillor the Right Reverend Emmanuel Oyewole, Deputy Cabinet Member for Faith Communities, attended the committee. He reported that for the past few years the council had been working with Roehampton University in research into black churches in Southwark. As Deputy Cabinet Member he had been working with Councillor Vikki Mills, Cabinet Member for Communities & Economic Wellbeing, on how to take forward the recommendations from the research and how to improve relationships with faith communities. He had also been working with an umbrella organisation of churches to co-ordinate the recommendations and to develop communication. A member of staff had been allocated as a link person for churches and the council had reviewed and was promoting its guide for faith communities. The Deputy Cabinet Member reported that recently only one planning application from a faith community had been unsuccessful. He also reported on key activities during the year, including a festival at Burgess Park, Black History Month and meetings with the Multi-Faith Forum and the co-ordinator of the mosque.
7.2 Members welcomed the council guide for faith communities and asked how its use was being monitored. The Deputy Cabinet Member explained that it had been sent to four hundred faith groups in Southwark and was also available on the council’s website. The link person in the community engagement section acted as a point of liaison. Planning issues were monitored and the council talked to churches in order to mitigate any problems in this area. Stephen Douglass, Head of Community Engagement, explained that the current guide had been completed in November, taking account of the views of faith organisations in the borough and of the Roehampton research. The guide appeared to have helped in terms of planning issues as there were more successful applications and less potential enforcement actions. The Deputy Cabinet Member added that landlords often did not inform churches as to what was possible within a lease and that the council was looking into this issue in order to achieve greater transparency about the use of properties.
7.3 In response to further questions, the Deputy Cabinet Member confirmed that the council’s liaison officer had been created within the community engagement section in response to the suggestion of faith groups themselves. He felt that the post helped the council to gain a better understanding of faith communities and how to improve relationships. A member stressed the amount of good work undertaken by faith groups in Southwark but asked how the council could respond if a new organisation was set up which was not motivated by genuine faith. The Head of Community Engagement emphasised that it was not the role of the council to police faith communities but that a lot of work took place between the council, the police, the fire service and others and that concerns about particular organisations could be addressed amongst these agencies. A great deal of the council’s work was to support faith groups in gaining a better understanding of what the council required in planning and other terms.
7.4 Councillor Rebecca Lury, Chair, Health, Adult Social Care, Communities & Citizenship Scrutiny Sub-Committee, referred to a pilot programme to talk to faith congregations about mental health and the importance of early intervention. The sub-committee had recommended that the council continue to part fund the programme. The Deputy Cabinet Member agreed that this was important and stated that he was discussing with officers how it could be continued. The chair of the sub-committee wondered whether there were other ways of utilising the networks of faith communities. The Deputy Cabinet Member reported that he and the council were encouraging faith communities in the areas of safeguarding, health and safety, fire wardens and first aiders. A member asked whether, relating to the area of safeguarding, the Deputy Cabinet Member felt that Southwark was equipped to deal with the issue of female genital mutilation. The Deputy Cabinet Member explained that this was beyond his remit and was rather the responsibility of social care. His understanding was that the issue related to the Muslim community and was not generally encountered in Southwark but he would raise this with the appropriate cabinet member.
7.5 In response to further questions, the Deputy Cabinet Member confirmed that there were almost four hundred churches in Southwark out of which only one was subject to enforcement proceedings. A member asked how wide the Deputy Cabinet Member’s remit was in terms of engagement with the community. The Head of Community Engagement clarified that there was some cross-over with the remit of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Economic Well-Being. The council was broadening and improving its engagement with all communities across the borough. A member suggested that faith groups might be a conduit to increasing voter registration within the borough. The Deputy Cabinet Member was of the view that faith communities would welcome any relevant literature. The Head of Community Engagement indicated that the council was talking to faith groups about a similar approach to that of community volunteers. A member asked the Deputy Cabinet Member whether he had gained useful information from his visits to the United States in terms of how best to handle issues with faith organisations. The Deputy Cabinet Member felt that while American local government was more generous in its support, Southwark was doing well and was the first authority to appoint a Deputy Cabinet Member for Faith Communities.