Northwest Forum of Faiths
2.00pm, Monday, 10^th April, 2006
Northwest Development Agency
Cheshire Office, Warrington

Lunch was served from 1.30pm

Minutes.

Present: Dr Khalid Anis MBE (Moslem), David Arnold (Jewish), Joginder Bhamra (Sikh), Helen Boothroyd (Christian), Revd Peter Brain (Christian), Revd David Emison (Christian), Zia Chaudhry (Moslem), Rt Revd Peter Forster (Christian), Rt Revd John Goddard (Christian), Dr Mohammad Junejo (Moslem), Dr Ajit Kumar (Hindu), Rt Revd Stephen Lowe (Christain), Maneck Mehta (Parsi/Zoroastrian), Suresh Mehta (Jain), Revd Martyn Newman (Christian), Abdul Hamid Qureshi (Moslem),Louis Rapaport (Jewish), Pauline Samson (Baha'i), Kelsang Sangkyong (Buddhist), AK Sinha (Hindu), Hardev Singh Sohal (Sikh), Ishwer Tailor MBE (Hindu),
Absent: Barry Levene (Jewish), Anthony Lord (Buddhist)
In attendance: Monsignor John Devine

John Devine opened the meeting by stating that although many of those present had served on the Steering Group which had met on four occasions over the last twelve months, the Northwest Forum of Faiths, meeting today for its first working meeting, was an entirely new body. The steering group had not been a shadow forum but convened only to produce the Terms of Reference for the definitive body. Members of the new body had been selected by faith communities themselves throughout the region.

The issue of a chair and vice chair for the new body was to be dealt with at the end of the meeting. John Devine invited nomination of Peter Brain as temporary chair for the day's meeting. This was proposed by Abdul Hamid Qureshi, seconded by Maneck Mehta and agreed nem. con.

1. After words of welcome and a minutes silence the acting chair invited members to introduce themselves and in one or two phrases to express their hopes and aspirations for the new body.

Helen Boothroyd, Social Responsibility Administrator, Churches Together in Cumbria (Christian): To contribute effective input in public policy issues in the region.
David Emison: Chairman, Cumbria Methodist District (Christian): To develop a more effective voice for faith communities in the North West. To help people & communities in the mono-cultural areas of the region (eg Cumbria) to engage effectively in multi-faith Britain.
Suresh Mehta: Cheadle, Cheshire (Jain): to obtain a better understanding of how a group of well intentioned individuals from a variety of faiths can influence decision making at local regional and (maybe) national levels.
Khalid Anis, Bowdon, Cheshire (Moslem): Promote tolerance. Provide a two way channel of communication so that the voice of grass roots minorities can be heard.
Joginder Bhamra, Blackburn (Sikh): Challenging stereotypes by raising awareness of faith issues to insure that the voice of other faiths is heard at the policy level of government.
Louis Rapaport, Cheshire, (Jew): To play a part in the desires and objectives of faith communities in the life of this country.
Hardev Singh Sohal, Merseyside (Sikh): To improve understanding among differing faiths by raising concerns on behalf of the Sikh community on Merseyside
Abdul Hamid Qureshi, Burnley (Moslem): A new challenge. A new dimension in inter-faith work which deals with public life issues rather than theology.
Zia Chaudhry, Merseyside (Moslem): To articulate the concerns of faith communities and their relevance in society
Martyn Newman: Merseyside (Christian): To be able to discern and articulate the distinctive faith values of the several religious communities in the North Qwest in respect of public life.
Peter Forster, Cheshire (Christian): To understand more about inter-faith relations in the North West, as they bear upon issues in Cheshire, and to contribute thereby to public discussion of matters of common interest.
Maneck Mehta, Lancashire (Parsi/Zoroastrian): to represent the perspective of the 'minority of minorities'.
John Goddard, Lancashire (Christian): Working with members of other faiths to develop understanding, build community cohesion and resist marginalisation and racism. To cooperate with and challenge local, regional and national authorities.
Mohammad Junejo, Manchester (Moslem): To discover why we need this group and to promote social cohesion.
Ajit Kumar, Merseyside (Hindu): To improve inter-faith relations and be a strong force in influencing public policies in regeneration and in the fields of education, crime prevention and spiritual well being.
David Arnold, Manchester (Jew): To restore a proper balance between secular and shared/common faith based values. To foster understanding within and between communities.
AK Sinah, Manchester (Hindu): To promote religious values and strengthen relations between faith communities.
Kelsang Sangkyong, Cumbria (Buddhist): To be a voice for Buddhists in the region and to represent them and that this Forum will have a positive spiritual influence on the way this region is organised and run.
Ishwer Tailor, Lancashire (Hindu): That the Forum be a voice for faith groups in the North West and that it be a consultative body on major issues relating to the regional economic strategy.
Stephen Lowe, Manchester (Christian): To articulate the voice of faith communities in the development of the North West.
Pauline Samson, Merseyside (Baha'i): To be a voice both for women and the Baha'i faith in getting the balance right in the decision making process. To bring peace.
Peter Brain, Manchester (Christian): To ensure that faith communities play their part in the regional public policy agenda. Not to be primarily focused on inter faith dialogue which should take place elsewhere.

2. Northwest Regional Assembly. John Devine explained that part of the rationale for the establishment of the Forum was to ensure faith representation on the NWRA. In recent weeks the Assembly, in line with two other English regions, had agreed to offer two 'faith seats', one for the Churches and one for the minority faith communities. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Assembly has a policy of one seat per organisation. This meant that in addition to the existing seat for the North West Churches, the new seat for the Forum should represent the minority faiths. It was also stated that there was an unspoken expectation that the person representing the minority faiths might be a Moslem. Members were reminded that the North West Forum of Faiths was an initiative of Faith Communities themselves, rather than an initiative of regional government. Faith communities themselves should determine who should represent them and the member of the Forum selected and their named substitute would represent people of all minority faiths, irrespective of their own. After some discussion it was agreed to postpone the process to be dealt with alongside the election of a chair and vice chair.

3. The acting chair welcomed Nick Gerrard, Head of Policy and Strategy at the NWDA and our hosts for the day. Nick in turn welcomed the Forum to the Agency and explained the role of the Agency as an instrument of the Department for Trade and Industry operating under a locally recruited board to take responsibility for the sustainable economic development of the NW region. Nick went on the explain the North West Regional Economic Strategy, which was a strategy for the entire region rather than a corporate plan for the NWDA itself. Nick's presentation is attached. There had been a two year consultation process leading up to approval of the Strategy by the DTI and its publication at the end of March 2006. Faith communities had been involved in the process. In addition they were mentioned on XXXX occasions as potential partners in the delivery of the RES, principally as custodians of the regions cultural heritage and partners in working towards social cohesion in deprived areas. The challenge was to ask in which delivery actions identified in the strategy did the faith communities now wish to become involved. Please find the full power point presentation 'Regional Economic Strategy' attached.

After a brief discussion it was agreed to set up a small working party to take this agenda forward.

4. Nick Gerrard went on to speak about Casinos. This was a regional issue and therefore an apt issue for the new Forum to consider. The NWDAs engagement in the issue was in terms of their economic advantages rather than social consequences. The NWDA had taken the view that since the Casino was central to Blackpool's development plan it should put its weight behind the Blackpool bid rather than simultaneously promoting Manchester where there were other potential economic drivers. Please find the full power point presentation 'Regional Casinos' attached.
Stephen Lowe stated that faith leaders had been approached by the chief executive of Manchester City Council and he had reason to belief that faith leaders had been similarly approached by other local authorities seeking support for their bids. There was evidence that local authorities up and down the country were anxious to present these proposals as something that had faith community support before they went to local consultation. Bishop Stephen raised several points: a) the issue of problem gambling - these proposals would make vulnerable individuals even more so; b) there were opportunities to demand engagement by faith communities in monitoring the impact of locating casinos in areas of social deprivation; c) should faith communities participate/co-operate in an attempt to lessen the negative impact of the inevitable; d) what level of involvement should faith communities consider? e) what percentage of the proceeds would be fed into mitigating the negative impact in deprived communities? f) if faith communities co-operate/collude can they at the same time claim that casinos do more harm than good?
David Arnold believed it was a matter of principle. The response of the Forum of Faiths would be significant. Should we seen to be dirtying our hands? Does the pragmatic approach stand up? Does the benefit in economic regeneration outweigh the social consequences?
John Goddard quoted DHSS evidence of extreme of poverty behind the glitz of Blackpool's Golden Mile. Seasonal unemployment lay at the heart of this deprivation. The Blackpool Forum of Faiths had taken the view that if such a casino should come to the NW, Blackpool should be at the top of the list. What guarantee was there that profits made in Blackpool would not disappear to the US rather than being spent locally? Could a tax from casino income be applied locally? Was this an opportunity for faith communities? Casinos would attract other activities which exploited the vulnerable such as prostitution. What structures would be put in place to pick up the casualties?
Mohammad Junejo emphasised the difficulty in controlling the flow of profits in a global economy. Khalid Anis asked whether we were dealing with a certainty or a possibility.
Nick Gerrard emphasised that this was not the NWDA's decision to take. It was a planning issue, the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and also the Department for Culture Media and Sport. The Casino Advisory Panel was currently evaluating the bids. A short list would be published in the summer. Public enquiries into those short-listed would follow. Discussion would continue with the relevant local authorities. Pilots would take place to test the social impact. Further information was available on the DCMS website under Casino Advisory Panel. Stephen Lowe re-iterated the view that wherever in the region the casino was situation it would affect the entire NW region. 'Smaller' casinos, larger than anything already existing, would affect all communities.

ACTION: The chair asked for three or four individuals to keep a watching brief on both the RES and on Casinos behalf of the entire body together with John Devine. Abdul Hamid Quareshi, Helen Boothroyd and Ajit Kumar agreed to monitor the RES. Stephen Lowe, Ishwer Tailor, John Goddard agreed to monitor the issue of Casinos at to co-opt someone from the Blackpool Faith Forum if appropriate.

Nick Gerrard left the meeting at this point. He was thanked both for his contribution and for the NWDA hospitality to the Forum.

5. Representation on the North West Regional Assembly
The discussion begun at the beginning of the meeting was continued. It was stated that the Forum met about three times per year but that there were additional meeting of the Economic and Social Partners, the 'non politician' members. Resentment at members of the Moslem community pushing themselves forward must be avoided. According the census figures for the NW , Moslems were the second strongest faith numerically. Whoever occupied the seat would represent the entire Forum of Faiths rather than their particular faith community. It was agreed to invite nominations prior to the next meeting. Similarly nominations for the position of chair and vice chair were to be invited before the next meeting.

6. Publicity: David Arnold spoke of the need for a communications policy. Initially this would be via the website www.faithnorthwest.org.uk

7. Dates of future meetings: It was envisaged that we would meet in July and November. Members to be consulted on their availability.

8. The acting chair closed the meeting by thanking Members for their attendance