The Ministry of Justice has published a discussion paper setting out the government's commitment to explore new methods of involving the public in debates and decision-making on national issues.

The Governance of Britain Green Paper, which was published in July 2007, sets out the government's proposals for the next stages of constitutional renewal. A major theme running through the Green Paper is the importance of reinvigorating democracy.

This discussion paper sets out a proposed framework for greater citizen engagement, using innovative methods such as citizens' summits and juries to inform national policy-making. The paper also contains proposals for strengthening the process for petitioning the House of Commons.

The government is keen to gather views from Parliament and the public on the content of this discussion paper. To read the paper and for more information on how to contribute, visit http://governance.justice.gov.uk/

The BME VCS Regional Panel has submitted a response to the Government's consultation on the Draft Legislative Programme.
To view the response, see attachment.
To read more about the Programme, visit http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/Page2391.asp

On 21 July the Government published its Cohesion Delivery Framework which contains advice to local cohesion practitioners to help them understand the concept of cohesion, map their local communities to identify possible cohesion issues and develop action plans to address those challenges. Inter faith issues and engagement with faith groups are addressed as part of work on cohesion. The text of this is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/898656.pdf

NB. With contribution from Inter Faith Network for the UK.

The Government published a short document on 21 July under the title of The Equality Bill – Government response to the consultation. It set out the key measures to be included in the forthcoming Equality Bill, which referred to plans for the subsequent publication of a much longer document.
The document describes in general terms the responses which were received to the report of the Discrimination Law Review, which was published last June setting out proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain, and then goes on to set out in greater detail proposals on the content of the Bill which it plans to introduce in the next Parliamentary Session. The main pillars of this were set out in the shorter document which it published last month, including the proposal for a duty on public bodies to promote equality, which will apply not only to race, disability and gender, where there is already such a duty, but also to age, gender reassignment, religion and belief and sexual orientation, where there currently is not. In practical terms, the Duty will require public bodies to consider how their policies, programmes and services affect different disadvantaged groups in the community. The Duty will also require public bodies to tackle discrimination and promote equality through their purchasing functions.

Voice4Change England has published a report of its inaugural national policy symposium. The event addressed the topic of ‘Equality and Cohesion in Diverse Britain: the Making of Public Policy’. The aim was for the BME third sector to engage with generalist third sector organisations, academics and funding agencies, to inform the making of public policy on cohesion where the role of the BME third sector is recognised and concepts of equality, diversity, multiculturalism and cohesion are collectively discussed and deliberated.

To read the report and listen to the day live recordings, visit http://www.voice4change-england.co.uk