Community cohesion

Luton Council of Faiths

Much of the discussion about community cohesion has concentrated on ethnic and faith issues, but we believe that community cohesion is about everyone. We need to tackle divisions within society so that no groups or individuals remain disaffected and separate from mainstream life.

We aspire to a cohesive Luton in which:

• people value and appreciate our rich diversity
• people strongly and effectively challenge prejudice and discrimination in all its forms
• there is an inclusive sense of belonging, in which the right of every member of the community to maintain his or her individual identity is respected and valued
• people feel able to participate freely and equally and know that their contribution is valued
• disadvantage will be no barrier to equality of access, opportunity and dignity
• there is unity amongst people of all backgrounds and ages
• people are proud to live, work, learn and have fun in Luton

We recognise, welcome and embrace our community leadership role in relation to our responsibilities for promoting cohesion.

Luton Commission on community cohesion

In order to help us, a Commission was established to examine how people's identities impact on their experience of living here. Although the Commission was established by the Council, it was not a body or committee of the Council.

The Commission was asked to make recommendations on how the Council, its partners and our communities, can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Community Strategy vision for Luton in 2026. The full report was published in January 2011 entitled ‘Building Cohesion in Luton’ the report of the Luton Commission on community cohesion and is available to download below.

The Commission believed the background material and evidence presented to the Commission would provide a valuable resource for partners and communities. These are available to download below titled Appendix D.

The ‘Building Cohesion in Luton’ the report of the Luton Commission on community cohesion makes reference to an earlier investigation into community cohesion that was published in 2003. This was known called ‘Sticking Together’ and is available to download under Appendix E.

Luton's Community Involvement Strategy sets out an approach to ensure community involvement is at the core of how we respond to our communities.

For further information on the work please contact Community Cohesion Officer using the details below.