Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Reform, addressed a meeting of member representatives of the RE Council on 7th November at the Zoroastrian Centre, Harrow. Mr Gibb affirmed the government’s support for religious education, emphasising the importance of its contribution to religious literacy and high standards. He said that a person could not be considered well educated unless they had some grounding in the great religions of the world. In response to a question, he also promised to look at the support that local authorities should be giving to SACREs and agreed syllabus conferences.

The minister announced the imminent publication of consultation documents on revised criteria for GCSE and A level Religious Studies, welcoming the contribution of many members of the RE Council in working towards the development of the draft criteria. The consultation would be open until 29 December.

Mr Malcolm Deboo, President of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, took RE Council members on a guided tour of the centre before the meeting.