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Faith Leader's Letter in Full

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Faith Leader's Letter in Full The RT Hon Theresa May The Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA 21st April 2019 Dear Prime Minister, As people of faith, our values compel us to speak out for the world’s most vulnerable people. We, representatives of different faith communities in the UK, have come together ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review to urge you to maintain the aid budget and protect the quality of UK aid. In 2015, faith communities were proud of the UK’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. We must keep our promise to the world’s poorest made just four years ago. UK aid is a huge part of how we ensure no-one is left behind. We believe that the UK has a moral responsibility to continue to provide 0.7% of Gross National Income in aid, and to influence other governments to do likewise. While the world has seen unprecedented progress in tackling extreme poverty, there is still a long way to go in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The UK has a proud track record of supporting international development and is well respected around the world for our contribution. It is critical that we continue this leadership and generosity in the coming years. As representatives of faith communities, we also are extremely concerned to ensure that UK Aid’s primary focus remains poverty alleviation, and that we deliver the highest quality aid programmes for the world’s most vulnerable people. We add our voices to many in asking for reassurances that the UK Government will prioritise providing aid to the Least Developed Countries, ensuring the proportion of UK aid they receive is protected from further decline. The UK public, and our faith communities, hope that the Government will spend public money well. UK aid programmes should prioritise vital social sectors, such as health and education; promote gender equality, protect the environment and support local solutions to build local capacity and increase sustainability. To have confidence that UK aid is being spent effectively, we also need to know what the Government is doing in our name. All UK aid programmes should strive to be fully transparent and accountable. We recognise that the Spending Review is an extremely important, complex and demanding process for government. We pray that in your discernment, compassion for the poorest and most marginalised will guide your work. Yours sincerely, Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen JHub Director Manchester Reform Synagogue Right Reverend Susan Brown Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Right Reverend Paul Butler Bishop of Durham Arshad Duad Abdulkarim Gheewala Vice Chairman Balham Mosque and Tooting Islamic Centre Chair, Federation Of Muslim Organisations Leicestershire Rabbi Aaron Goldstein Lynn Green Senior Rabbi, Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue General Secretary of the Baptist Union Chair, Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors Pete Greig International Director of 24-7 Prayer International and Senior Pastor of Emmaus Road, Guildford Paul Harcourt National Leader of New Wine Kamran Hussain Green Lane Masjid & Community Centre Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism Harun Khan Secretary General Muslim Council of Britain Rabbi Dr. Deborah Kahn-Harris Principal of Leo Baeck College Rabbi Lea Muhlstein Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue Rabbi Jeffrey Newman Emeritus Rabbi, Finchley Reform Synagogue Rabbi Danny Rich Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism Reverend Canon David Richards Rector of St George’s and St Paul’s Church Edinburgh Mufti Shabaz Blackhall Mosque Edinburgh Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild past chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis Rabbi Dr. Jackie Tabick Right Reverend Ric Thorpe Convener of the Biet Din, Reform Judaism Bishop of Islington Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK Reverend Nigel Uden Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church Birmingham Central Mosque Reverend Michaela A. Youngson President of the Methodist Conference Tzelem, The Rabbinic Call for Social and Economic Justice in the Muslim Council of Scotland UK .
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