Keep our statutory welfare services secular

Introduction

One of the BHA's main campaigning areas is public service reform, and in particular the inclusion of religious organisations as providers of public services, on behalf of the State. There are particular issues that arise with contracting to religious organisations. In addition to matters of principle, such as the threat to the secular nature of our public services, we have identified a number of practical concerns directly relating to having religious organisations as public service providers.

BHA concerns are detailed and discussed in our report 'Quality and Equality: Human Rights, Public Services and Religious Organisations', and include the four key areas of: the use of public funds to boost the scope and influence of religion and religious organisations; the risk of discrimination in employment; the risk of discrimination against service users; and the problem of a lack of human rights protection.
The public services we are concerned with in particular (and which we refer to in our report and elsewhere) are publicly-funded, comprehensive and statutory public services, to which all citizens have an entitlement.

You can download a report from the BHA website and the executive summary.

What's the problem?

Religious organisations in particular have exemptions from employment equality legislation, which allows them to discriminate in their employment on grounds of sexual orientation and on religion or belief, and from Part Two of the Equality Act 2006, allowing them to discriminate in certain circumstances against service users on grounds of religion or belief. We also have a number of concerns including that such organisations will proselytise, make participation in a religious activity such as prayer part of the service or will deliver services in places of worship. In addition, although public authorities (e.g. local authorities, central government, NHS Trusts and the police) are bound by the Human Rights Act 1998, organisations contracted to provide services on behalf of public authorities are not. We believe there are particular risks to service users' human rights, such as the right to a private life and freedom of belief, if they receive a public service from a religious provider.

Local authorities

Many religious organisations are already contracted to provide public services on behalf of local authorities, such as social care and housing services. Some may operate, to all intents and purposes, in a secular way, with no discrimination or religiosity in service. However, some may provide a service in a distinctly religious way, try to impose a religious belief or practice on service users or may discriminate in their employment on grounds of religion or belief or of sexual orientation.

All local authorities are required to adopt the Equality Standard 2007 requirements by March 2009.

What Mid Sussex Freethinkers is doing

We are collecting information on the way that local authorities contract to religious organisations and passing on this information to the BHA Local Development Officer.

What you can do to help

The BHA has asked Mid Sussex Freethinkers to keep an eye out for advertisments in local newspapers for posts restricted to religious people (see here for more details). If you spot such an advert, please contact or post a reply in the discussion forum. These will be forwarded on to the BHA.