Faith minister pays visit to Stamford Hill’s Charedi community

The Faith Minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has paid her first visit to the Charedi community since being appointed to the role in 2022.

Baroness Scott was welcomed to Stamford Hill by the Pinter Trust on Wednesday 24th May and was given a whistle-stop tour of the community. The Trust, a public-facing organisation representing Britain’s strictly-Orthodox Jews, was formed in memory of Rabbi Avroham Pinter from Stamford Hill who died from Covid in 2020.

Baroness Scott’s tour began at Beis Brucha Mother and Baby Home which provides respite for mothers after giving birth – providing a place for them to rest whilst their baby is looked after by trained maternity nurses.  The peer spoke to the home’s staff and heard from new mothers about the expert and dedicated care they and their babies have been receiving.

Baroness Scott also met Hatzola volunteers and heard about the life-saving work the first-responders undertake on a daily basis.  The Minister then visited Agudas Israel Housing Association’s (AIHA) Schonfeld Square Care Home where she met residents – some of whom are Holocaust survivors or who had come to the UK on the Kindertransport.

Whilst at the care home, she was invited to unveil a plaque which had been presented to AIHA on being awarded the prestigious Investors in People Gold Award.

The Minister’s visit follows the publication of the Bloom Report which recommended that government should maintain more in-depth and meaningful relationships with faith communities.  During the visit, representatives from the community spoke to the Minister about how they could take forward recommendations from the Report.

Chaya Spitz, Chief Executive of AIHA and steering group member of the Pinter Trust, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Baroness Scott to Stamford Hill today.  We greatly appreciated her taking the time to find out more about us and how we fit into modern Britain.  As the Minister herself recognised, it is only by talking to members of our community that you can get a real understanding of how we live and work and of how the government can support our growing community.  We are always pleased to welcome ministers and officials and we hope today is the start of a positive and productive partnership with the Minister.”