Agenda item

Report of the Chief Strategy Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Strategy Officer concerning the Faith in the City programme.

Introducing the report, officers noted the importance of addressing the increasing diversity of the City and its changing religious demographics for the City Corporation’s Corporate Plan and strategies such as Destination City. The proposals followed research undertaken by Union Street Consulting, which after consulting with over 1,000 participants showed a strong desire for faith communities, prayer spaces and cultural programming at work. The results suggested that a multi-faith model like that operated at Canary Wharf, tailored to the Square Mile’s unique context, would be widely supported. The project has gained backing from a range of faith and political leaders, including the Lord Mayor and the Policy Chairman. Funding was being sought from a range of organisations, and officers said that formal endorsement from the City Corporation through the Policy & Resources Committee would be crucial in supporting these funding bids.

During discussion, a Member raised several concerns about the proposals in the report. They informed the Committee that, prior to the meeting, they had asked for further information on costing but had been told it was not possible to disaggregate this from business-as-usual. They also noted that the report showed that the major change in the religious make-up was in the percentage of people with no religion. The reference to the post-pandemic faith awakening was based on research by Union Consulting, who were also the convenors of the Faith in the City project, and the Member felt this meant the company had a stake in the outcome of the consultation. They acknowledged the comparators of Abu Dhabi but said that homosexuality was illegal in the former and Friday prayers in the latter were segregated by sex. The Member felt the project could only be advanced if LGTBQIA+ and women’s rights were protected. He continued to ask for the following: further information on the success and failure metrics for the project; how it fitted in with the request from Member at the P&R Away Day for the City Corporation to focus on things it was already good at; and how it would reach diverse communities. Several other Members also raised their concerns, focusing on the level of engagement with the consultation and the chance that the City Corporation might eventually be required to provide financial support for the project.

In reply, officers said that the diversity considerations would be worked out as part of the pilot process. People from the LGTBQIA+ community had participated in the research, and officers noted that the sample size of 1,000 was one of the largest they had ever seen for such an activity. They acknowledged that the diverse needs of communities could sometimes lead to friction; this was the advantage of learning other models. The success metrics would be worked out with the eventual funders of the small-scale pilot have not yet been worked out but there would be clear scores for effectiveness. The strategic focus of the project met the Corporate Plan’s outcome for focusing on diverse communities. Supporting communities of faith had long been a challenge in the Square Mile as it didn’t have the religious infrastructure that other local authorities had. The project would help to create the framework for the Corporate Plan and the City Corporation’s statutory objectives under the Equality Act. The City Corporation was being asked to endorse the project and the pilot; it would not be funding it. The direct cost for the City Corporation would be officer time, but this was time already spent on engaging faith communities. Faith in the City would simplify the work already being done in the faith space and the perception of the City Corporation as a neutral convening body would give it credibility that schemes from church bodies would not.

Other Members confirmed their support for the proposal as providing a chance to reflect the changing make-up of City Workers in the City Corporation’s policies. A Member, also the Chair of the Planning and Transport, said that they felt the sort of space noted as being needed for religious activity could count as cultural space in planning applications. A Member said that the proposal was a logical extension of the success of the City Belonging project. They noted that there were various initiatives in the Square Mile for people to bring their ‘whole self’ to work; this included religion. Some of these had not worked because companies lacked the City Corporation’s convening power.

In reply to a question about data security, officers said that a data sharing agreement would be required where users would consent to their data being shared.

Deputy Peter Dunphy noted their discomfort with the official connection suggested in the recommendation, and moved an amendment to the second bullet point in the recommendation as follows:

·           Endorse the adoption of Supports Faith in the City as an official project of the City of London Corporation – with a vision to “to make the City of London the most faith friendly and religiously literate business community in the world, enabling it to attract and retain the very best global talent.”

The amendment was second by Alderman Tim Hailes and agreed by the Committee, with one Member voting against.

RESOLVED: That the Policy & Resources Committee:

·           Notes the research undertaken by Union Street Consulting, in which more than 1000 individuals participated.

·           Supports Faith in the City – with a vision to “to make the City of London the most faith friendly and religiously literate business community in the world, enabling it to attract and retain the very best global talent.”

·           Agrees that the City Corporation establish a Faith in the City Advisory Group to facilitate delivery, with membership drawn from elected Members, officers, faith leaders, business representatives and civil society. Membership will be proposed by officers with approval delegated to the Policy Chairman.

·           Agrees that City Corporation officers provide support for the pilot phase of this project and that the organisation use its convening power to secure funding and develop a longer-term vision for faith facilities and services.