Relationship with Structures of Regional Governance
The establishment of RFFs has, in the main, been a response to the regional agenda of Government. There are currently RFFs in all regions except London, where plans are well advanced, and the North East, where a group is actively seeking to develop an RFF. The existing RFFs are at different stages of development, have different structures and aspirations for future development. This section of the report focuses on the relationship that the existing RFFs have with regional governance. London and the North East are treated in a separate section.
All the established RFFs have a seat on the Regional Assembly, and all but the least well resourced (eg East Midlands) also contribute to committees and advisory groups connected to regional governance. For most of the RFFs, the initial reason for their formation was to develop this relationship between the faith communities and regional governance. However, all RFFs have seen the potential benefits of a regional level of operation for the development of other aspects of the work with faith communities and have either developed, or aspire to develop this further; for example the East of England and the North West RFFs have conducted research into the contribution of faith communities to wider society.
In a number of instances, the faith representative on the Regional Assembly is Chair or Vice-Chair of a sub-group or committee of the Assembly. The representative has been voted into these positions, it is not accorded them as a function of being the faith representative. However it is a comment on the degree of involvement and competence of those sent to the Assembly by the faith communities, that they are elected into these positions.
The highest levels of engagement at the moment are with the Regional Assemblies and the GOs. The RFFs are aware that, as Regional Policy is changing, they need to develop better working relationships with the RDAs and are keen to do so.
However, a number report that so far this has been difficult and they perceive this is because of the RDA focus on jobs, skills and economic output. An exception to this is the North West where the RFF is based in the RDA offices, and this aids working relationships.
A table showing the relationships of the different RFFs to regional levels of governance and other governance structures follows.
| Regional Forum | Relationship to Regional Level of Governance |
Other governance relationships |
| South West
(faithnetsouthwest) |
Regional Assembly:
faith place filled by faithnetsouthwest GO South West: places on Regional Rural Advisory Group
Black and Ethnic Minority Sub-Committee RDA: have served on some advisory groups but want to develop better links |
worked with several County and District Councils to establish and support
local Faith Forums
have developed good links with Equality & Diversity Officers in Local Authorities across the region work with the Regional Offender Management Service (ROMS) and have delivered training to staff from the Social Care Commission |
| South East
(South East England Regional Faiths Forum – SEEFF) |
Regional Assembly:
has two faith places GO South East:
involved in 2 of GOSE networks and a GOSE meeting for local
authority officers with a brief for faith communities RDA (SEEDA): good working relationship |
|
| East of England
(East of England Faiths Council – EEFC) |
Regional Assembly:
faith place filled by EEFC (as a result of lobbying
from EEFC) GO East:
close relationship, GO has part-funded research. GO also
uses EEFC as consultants RDA (EEDA): representative on EEDA's Regional Equalities Forum works closely with Inspire East (EEDA-hosted organisation with responsibility for sustainable communities eg organising a joint conference) |
works with the Faith Representatives to provide support on the LSP (about
20 out of the 54 LSPs have a Faith Representative)
aims to fill the gaps in LSPs where currently there are no Faith Representatives Environmental Agency Regional Offender Management Service |
| East Midlands
(Faiths Forum for the East Midlands – FFEM) |
Regional Assembly:
Faiths seat filled by FFEM |
|
| West Midlands
(West Midlands Faiths Forum - WMFF) |
Regional Assembly:
Faiths seat filled by WMFF Directorship of WMRA Membership of: Other Stakeholders Group Equalities Partnership Strategic Review Group WMSPAR (asylum & refugee partnership)
GO West Midlands: Observer from GOWM attends WMFF meetings. Co-working and consultation undertaken around cohesion and Primary English Test issues.
Work and conferences on LA Faithlink Officers role and other
issues. Regular meetings with GO officers RDA (AWM): Observer from AWM attends WMFF meetings. Meetings with AWM officers |
Works with:
WM Local Government Association EHRC (WM Office) HM Prison Chaplaincy Group WM Fire Service Sustainability West Midlands
National Offender Management Service pathway 7 Regional Group Some engagement with LSPs Work with MPs, councillors, LAs and faiths communities in setting up new sub-regional inter faith groups Destination West Midlands – Regional ChangeUp Consortia |
| Yorkshire and the Humber
(Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum – YHFF) |
Regional Assembly:
Faith seat filled by YHFF Representation on: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic panel. National Offender Management Service
Rural Affairs Forum GO Yorkshire and Humber:
Very good working relationship, have regular quarterly meetings
in GO offices RDA (YF): Works with YF |
Works with:
Sheffield Council eg to make Sheffield the UK's first City of Sanctuary for asylum-seekers and refugees SEE Partners (Social, Economic and Environmental Agency) Yorkshire & Humber region |
| North West
North West Forum of Faiths – (NWFF) |
Regional Assembly:
2 faith seats (one for NWFF and 1 for the Churches)
Faith rep is Chair of SEE partners and Vice Chair of NWRA
GO North West:
Working relationship RDA (NWDA): Office of NWFF is based within the headquarters of NWDA and this aids the development of good relationships. |
Representation on NW:
Faith and Cohesion Unit Department of Health Culture North West Migrant Workers North West National Offender Management Service North West Emergency Planning Regional Economic Strategy Regional Spatial Strategy (NWRSS) part of NWRA |
All RFFs see the potential for further developing their work
with the structures of governance.
An example of what can be achieved is provided by the Yorkshire and Humber
Faiths Link Group (see below). A view from GO SE gives an idea of what a robust
RFF will be able to contribute to the South East Region (see below).
The most common barriers to RFFs achieving their potential are:
- lack of capacity on the part of the RFFs (usually equated with a lack of funding)
- the high turnover of staff in some regional structures
- a mind-set and focus of officers in some of the structures in some of the regions which does not see the value and role of faith communities
- the effect of some government initiatives that produce the feeling that particular faith groups have been targeted for favourable treatment or restrictions