INTERFAITH groups will get £75,000 from Kirklees Council.

The Cabinet has agreed the fund interfaith development in the area.

They hope it will support more grassroots community organisations who aim to promote interfaith activity.

Kirklees Council currently provides £75,000 to fully fund the Kirklees Faith Forum (KFF), which employs three members of staff and runs an executive board made up of the Huddersfield and North Kirklees Interfaith Councils, SACRE, Faith community representatives, Interfaith Kirklees Schools and co-opted members from other bodies including the NHS. The deal has been reviewed and KFF will lose funding for a currently vacant position.

That funding will be directed towards grant scheme for groups to promote their own interfaith activities.

Clr Jean Calvert, Joint Cabinet member for Communities, said: “The council values its relationship with the Kirklees Faith Forum but needs to readjust the way it works with the faith sector as a whole in order to meet the challenges of today.

“We need to find ways to help faith groups tackle the difficult issues which face our communities, to help them overcome obstacles to their effectiveness and to become more self sustaining.

“We also want to support independent activity with a new funding scheme to support sustainable faith-based activity and we will review this new system after a year”.