Written evidence from the Churches Regional
Commission (CRC)
1. SUMMARY
The new LEPs should have a statutory expectation
of involvement from the voluntary sector, which includes churches
and other faith communities, as they are vital to many local communities'
economic development, especially deprived communities. Priority
should be given to areas of deprivation; and we would welcome
a wider pan-Yorkshire and Humber body to support LEPS and focus
on Yorkshire and Humber- wide issues like tourism and inward investment.
2. The CRC were set up in 1998 to address economic
and educational disadvantage and social exclusion in Yorkshire
and the Humber by connecting churches together and influencing
government policy. We are focused on four policy areas—social
inclusion, rural, interfaith work, and culture, heritage and tourism.
We are supported by church leaders of the main denominations in
Yorkshire and Humber.
3. Churches are involved in local communities
in a way which supports economic development such as running job
clubs, furniture recycling, child care, support for the homeless,
English language classes for refugees, or lunch clubs. They also
promote cohesion by working with many groups and individuals who
are not part of their congregation. A survey by CRC of church
social action in 2002 funded by Yorkshire Forward, our RDA, found
that every church ran on average two social action projects and
over 150,000 people benefited from the 6,500 projects. (Angels
and Advocates 2002, CRC). The total economic value was around
£55 to 75 million a year. In 2003 the NWDA sponsored research
on the contribution faith communities make to civil society in
the North West—the kind of work undertaken and the scale
of this work. This had a 54% response rate, from a survey sent
to 4,400 places of worship. (Faith in England's Northwest,
NWDA, November 2003). Two years later this work was analysed to
produce an economic impact assessment of this work. The 2005 economic
impact report found there were 5,000 social action projects for
the 2,376 who replied, and volunteers alone of those who replied
generated £65 million. (Faith in England's Northwest:
Economic Impact Assessment, NWDA 2005).
4. In 2009 the Yorkshire and Humber Faith
Forum report, supported by Yorkshire Futures—the region's
intelligence agency—Grace and Generosity, suggests
that the total economic value of paid staff and volunteers in
community projects run by faith communities in Yorkshire and Humber
is in the region of £218-£282 million. (The volunteers
at minimum wage alone is £63 million). The rentable value
of faith buildings used by community groups is estimated at £10
million per annum. The value of faith-based tourism was estimated
at £4 million to the places of worship in the region (based
on an estimate of 2.4 million visitors a year to places of worship
in the region.). Again like the two reports mentioned previously
it was found that on average each faith centre was involved in
around two to three projects. (Economic Impact Assessment of
Faith Communities in Yorkshire and Humber, Grace and Generosity,
HE Research June 2009).
5. The NWDA report and the latter report
Grace and Generosity also pointed out that much of the work going
on was in the most deprived communities. "Employees and volunteers
have set up and continue to deliver extensive activities in their
wider communities, designed to meet the needs of many different
groups with an emphasis on the disadvantaged and excluded".
(Grace and Generosity p 12).
6. Churches and other voluntary groups both
have significant grassroots experience of the very local as well
as a wider perspective from the networks that churches have across
towns, cities, counties and nationally; therefore they combine
intimate local knowledge and deep-rootedness with a strategic
wider vision. We recognise that it is for local LEPs to define
their own strategy and priorities. We welcome this in principle,
but the process for determining this must not just be a conversation
dominated by local authorities talking to some in business. The
creation of a broadly based strategy, based on evidence and "what
works", will require the input of many different organisations.
7. Recommendation: The experience
of the churches, faith groups and the wider voluntary sector,
including social enterprises, co-operatives, universities and
colleges, who have a direct economic impact on the economy of
villages, town and cities, bring an important, informed and neutral
voice to the table and ought to be involved as stakeholders in
the development and delivery of LEPs. They are involved in the
delivery of skills development, employment and enterprise, so
there must be a mechanism for the proper engagement of a wider
range of stakeholders in LEP structures. Yorkshire has a successful
track record of partnership working—this spirit must be
carried forward into LEPs.
8. Whilst it is right to focus on growing
the private sector, LEPs need to take a broad view about local
economic development priorities. Growth must not just be economically
sustainable:
(a) It must be socially and environmentally sustainable
as well. The link between economic, social and environmental actions
to drive sustainable development must not be lost.
(b) The connection between economic growth and
people must be built directly into LEPs. Promoting "social
capital" can help LEPs achieve their aims.
9. CRC are very concerned about the impact
of significant reductions in public spending across Yorkshire
and Humber. Given the nature of our region's problems on issues
such as youth unemployment, long-term unemployment, a shortage
of social housing and towns and cities which are struggling like
Grimsby and Hull and Barnsley, we fear a disproportionate impact
of cuts and believe Government, where possible, should focus the
limited resources it has on the areas that need support the most.
10. Recommendation: Successful implementation
of LEP strategies will only be possible if partnerships are more
creative, imaginative and enterprising than in the past. Government
should actively encourage this type of thinking eg in Regional
Growth Fund. Resources should be targeted to areas which need
help the most.
11. Recommendation: Yorkshire and
Humber is a functioning economic area in its own right. We support
the principle of a Yorkshire and Humber-wide organisation sitting
alongside the LEPs to lead the small number of issues specific
to the whole area of Yorkshire and Humber. This might include
tourism, European funding, and inward investment in Yorkshire
and Humber.
11 August 2010
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