The Covenant is a formal commitment between faith communities, statutory bodies such as the City of Wolverhampton Council and West Midlands Police, and key strategic partnerships like the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership, Wolverhampton Health and Wellbeing Board and the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Boards, to a set of principles that promote open, practical working on all levels.
It will also formally recognise the immense contribution made by both the faith and non faith communities to the City of Wolverhampton, and reaffirm the commitment to work with the faith sector here.
The City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet this week agreed to develop the Faith Covenant, which will be officially launched later this month.
Councillor Paul Sweet, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "Developing a Faith Covenant for the City of Wolverhampton will bring about a wide range of benefits.
"It will encourage closer working between statutory organisations, strategic partnerships and faith groups in the City, and promote and celebrate community cohesion and the positive contribution faith groups make to Wolverhampton.
"It will put the council and its partners in a stronger position to work alongside Wolverhampton's faith sector and also provide a clear signal of our support for the faith sector and our appreciation of the positive contribution it makes to the City as a whole."
The Faith Covenant will be officially launched at an event on Tuesday 12 December, when representatives from the council, InterFaith Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council and other organisations will formally sign a declaration of support.
A working group will then be established to develop an action plan which will focus on areas including how the statutory sector can engage with and support faith groups in their work, improving collaboration in response to incidents affecting resilience and community cohesion, and safeguarding within the faith sector.
Wolverhampton will become the 11th local authority in the country to have such a covenant.
The City has also signed up to the Armed Forces Community Covenant, a pledge of mutual support between the city and its Armed Forces community.
It calls on local people to support the Armed Forces community, recognise and remember the sacrifices they have made over the years and encourage activities that help members of the Armed Forces integrate into local life.
It also encourages members of the Armed Forces support the wider community, and promote understanding and awareness among the public of some of the issues faced by former members of the Armed Forces as they return to civilian life.
- released: Friday 1 December, 2017