Former General Secretary of Muslim Council of Britain and others to give evidence to Citizenship and Civic Engagement Committee
The House of Lords Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement will take evidence from witnesses who have previously worked for, or currently work for organisations which seek to encourage cohesion and civic engagement in the UK.
The session will start at 10:30am on Wednesday 13 September in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords. Giving evidence to the Committee will be:
At approximately 10:40am
- Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, former General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain
- Dr Jill Rutter, Director of Strategy and Relationships, British Future
- David Goodhart, Head of the Integration Hub at Policy Exchange
Areas the Committee will question the witnesses on include:
- The Government's definition of Fundamental British Values
- Whether mutual respect and tolerance can be combined with shared values within society
- The Government's role in promoting shared values
At approximately 11.30am
- Michael Sani, Chief Executive, Bite the Ballot
- Ashok Viswanathan, Deputy Director, Operation Black Vote
- Professor Jon Tonge, Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool
- Matteo Bergamini, Founder and Director, Shout Out UK
Areas the Committee will question the witnesses on include:
- The current state of democratic engagement in the UK
- Whether this could be improved through reforms to electoral law
- Whether engagement with the democratic process should be seen as a responsibility of citizenship
- The concept of the ‘civic journey', such as a ceremony celebrating a citizens' first vote
- Whether a lack of integration hinders democratic engagement
