ChurchWorks Commission responds to King’s Speech

The ChurchWorks Commission has welcomed the Government’s plans to address the mental health crisis, but calls for action to urgently address child poverty and clarity on the future of Family Hubs, which play an increasingly important role in supporting children, young people and families in local communities.

Responding to the new Government’s first King’s Speech, the Commission’s Chair, the Right Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester, said:

"The announcements in today's King's Speech are encouraging signs that the new government will be ambitious in tackling key issues facing people across the country. I particularly welcome the commitment to improve mental health provision for young people and the promotion of the wellbeing of children. The Prime Minister has said that there will be no decade of national renewal in this country without the active participation of the church. ChurchWorks stands ready to help unlock the potential of churches across the country to play their part in that shared mission."    

The ChurchWorks Commission is committed to supporting efforts to tackle the mental health crisis. While 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England, only 1 in 3 are currently getting treatment. Many of the 40,000 churches in the UK already offer excellent support to their community in the form of chaplaincy, mental health courses, socially prescribed activities or Warm Welcome Spaces.

However, there was a disappointing absence of any announcement on the manifesto commitment to create a Child Poverty Strategy. Churches play a vital role in supporting children and families living in poverty and the Commission is keen to work with the government to create and implement this new strategy.

There were also no announcements on the future of Family Hubs, which has raised concerns for the Commission. Commissioners have prioritised supporting more churches to play an active role in the delivery of the one-stop-shops for all services and support for families and children from 0-19.

ChurchWorks Commission Director Jack Palmer-White, said: “The continuing lack of clarity around the future of Family Hubs is concerning. Churches have an important role to play in supporting children and families and ChurchWorks has successfully enabled more local churches to connect their work with local Family Hubs. We strongly encourage the Education Secretary to address the uncertainty that local authorities are facing and commit to working with voluntary, community and faith organisations to support all children and families.”