§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What persons and organisations are involved in the Government's interfaith consultations being conducted by Ms Fiona Mactaggart MP; and on what policy issues they have been invited to comment. [HL4746]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalI refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my honourable friend Fiona Mactaggart to the honourable Member for Rhondda (Mr Bryant) in another place on 30 June 2003,Official Report, column 12W, which sets out the membership of the steering group which is carrying out the present review of the Government's Interface with the Faith Communities. In addition, my honourable friend is holding meetings with organisations which have a relevant perspective on the review but are not represented on the steering group, for instance the National Secular Society and the British Humanist Association.
The review is concerned with developing effective processes for consulting the faith communities and is not itself considering any specific policy issues. However, we are considering the feasibility of carrying out a pilot consultation exercise in a particular locality, which would test the effectiveness of various consultative mechanisms through consulting local faith communities on a developing area of Home Office policy.