Faith Covenant
THE ’FAITH COVENANT’ IN BRIGHTON AND HOVE
The Faith Covenant - What is it?
A simple agreement between the Council and local faith groups to work together openly, fairly, and for the good of the whole city. The basic terms are:
The Local Authority commits to:
- Include faith groups in service delivery on an equal footing with other community partners.
- Engage regularly through clear communication, training, and honest dialogue.
- Treat fairly in commissioning, funding, and access to decision-making processes.
Faith Groups commit to:
- Serve everyone, especially the vulnerable, without discrimination.
- Act responsibly with strong safeguarding, transparency, and accountability.
- Strengthen community cohesion in collaboration with the council and other groups in the city.
This builds trust and shared purpose. Together, both sides aim to improve city life through respectful partnership. The Faith Covenant operates in many places in the UK and was originated by FaithAction and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Faith and Society. In Brighton and Hove, the covenant has been signed by two administrations: in 2018 and 2024.
RENEWING THE FAITH COVENANT IN 2024
As part of Interfaith Week 2024, Brighton & Hove’s diverse faith communities gathered with the City Council on 11th November to renew the Faith Covenant. This shared commitment celebrates unity, understanding, and collaboration between local authorities and faith groups, laying the groundwork for practical partnerships that uplift the city’s most vulnerable.
The Faith Covenant, first signed six years ago, establishes principles for mutual respect and cooperation. Speaking at Brighton Town Hall, Balbir Singh Gohler of Sikhs of Sussex reflected on the importance of selfless service and visibility: “We enrich the community and ourselves by sharing with others. Today’s renewal is a step forward in showing that we belong and contribute just as much as anyone else.”
Highlighting faith communities’ pivotal role in the city, Cllr Leslie Pumm, Cabinet Member for Community, Equality, and Human Rights, praised their efforts: “The Covenant ensures we hear lived experiences at the heart of the council and translates them into real, impactful action.” From hosting vaccination clinics in mosques to youth mentoring in churches, these partnerships showcase the transformative power of collaboration.
The event also emphasized shared values. Bishop Will Hazlewood, Bishop of Lewes, spoke of the common thread binding faith and secular groups: “We are more powerful when we seek to journey forward together, respecting one another but united by a belief in humanity’s worth.”
For Cllr Bella Sankey, the renewal underscores a collective responsibility to foster cohesion in a fractured world: “Collaboration and being more than the sum of our parts is key to improving lives in Brighton & Hove.”
As partnerships deepen, the Faith Covenant remains a beacon of unity, demonstrating that by working together, we can create a brighter, more inclusive future for all.
HISTORY OF THE FAITH COVENANT IN BRIGHTON AND HOVE
During 2018, BHFA proposed a Faith Covenant with the local authority, Brighton & Hove City Council to combat the perception that the faith community was often excluded from funding streams and contracts and to open new lines of dialogue between faith leaders and city councillors and senior officers at the local authority.
This was warmly welcomed by Brighton & Hove City Council and the covenant cleared the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equalities (NICE) committee on 8th October 2018.
The Faith Council is now the guardian of the Faith Covenant which is an agreement that provides a set of principles to guide partnership working between faith communities and the city council to ensure an open, collaborative and respectful relationship. It also sets out practical commitments by which the faith communities and the city council should abide, designed to create a constructive partnership with the common goal of helping more people and communities in the city, flourish and meet their full potential. It also ensures that the faith community has the opportunity to be considered for paid contracts when the opportunities arise.
In November, BHFA organised a launch and official signing of the Faith Covenant which was attended by Hon Stephen Timms MP who is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Faith and Society. The APPG has been promoting the uptake of faith convenants between local authorities and faith groups in all areas of the United Kingdom.
