The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomes the inclusion of the “Holocaust Memorial Bill” in the Government’s legislative agenda outlined as part of the King’s Speech today. Moving forward with the planned National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre has been a longstanding policy ask of the Board of Deputies, repeated again this year in our 2024 Jewish Manifesto.
The Government’s prioritisation in promoting safety, security and tackling terrorism is crucially important. We also welcome the Government’s commitment to play its part in trying to secure long term peace and security in the Middle East, including a two state solution with a secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. These are key Board of Deputies policy positions and, as with all legislation, we will be carefully scrutinising the detail of the Government’s plans in this area.
This will also go for further policy issues covered in the Jewish Manifesto, and mentioned as part of the King’s Speech, including welcome proposals to support mental health services, ban conversion therapy, pursue equal pay and tackle violence against women and girls.
There will be anxiety in parts of our community, particularly the generally poorer Charedi community, about the detail around the provisions imposing VAT on private education. This is particularly true given the maintenance of the two-child cap, which disproportionately impacts larger families, which the Board of Deputies has long opposed.
President Phil Rosenberg said:
“The Board of Deputies looks forward to working with the Government on a number of issues of particular importance to the Jewish community which were outlined as part of the King’s Speech and the accompanying legislative agenda. We will always seek to provide the Government of the day with advice, guidance, praise or constructive criticism, with regards to the general feelings of British Jews on relevant legislation; today provides an encouraging start to build on.”