Citizenship and Civic Engagement Committee seeks your views

The Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement has published its Call for evidence. Interested parties and organisations are invited to submit written evidence to the Committee by 8 September 2017.

Background

The Select Committee has been appointed to consider the issues of citizenship and civic engagement in the twenty-first century and is now calling for evidence from those interested in these issues. The committee is keen to hear from a wide range of individuals, groups and organisations in order to understand the nature of the citizenship challenge for different parts of society; the aim being to identify new ways of building bridges within and between communities, and to support civic engagement. The Committee will begin taking oral evidence in September 2017, and has to report by 31 March 2018.

The inquiry

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, Chairman of the Committee said:

“British Society has experienced many changes in recent years and this has put new stresses and strains upon it. Citizenship and civic engagement are a vital part of the “glue” that maintains a cohesive and tolerant society. This Committee has been established to investigate citizenship in the UK, what it means and whether it should change. We also want to find out if there are barriers preventing people from being more involved, both locally and nationally. We hope to hear from people all over the country who have an interest in this topic, who work with communities who are disengaged as well as from people who are disengaged themselves.”

Areas of interest

The focus of the Committee's inquiry will include:

The meaning of citizenship and civic engagement in the 21st Century
The role of ceremonies in encouraging citizenship
The rights and responsibilities attached to citizenship
The impact of current electoral law on political engagement
The state of citizenship education and the role that it plays in creating active citizens
The role of voluntary citizenship schemes such as the National Citizen Service
The ways society can support civic engagement and the role of Government and Parliament in supporting that
The values that all of us who live in Britain should share and support
The relationship between civic engagement and social cohesion.

If there are any questions about the call for evidence, how to submit evidence, or the deadline, please contact the staff of the Committee at hlcitizenship@parliament.uk.

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Further information

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