Council prevents couple from fostering over beliefs that homosexuality and gender fluidity are ‘wrong’
Matthew and Michelle Smith were rejected by Manchester City Council after failing the first stage of a fostering suitability assessment
By Callum Wells
A Christian couple who believe homosexuality is wrong and reject the concept of gender fluidity were lawfully prevented from becoming foster parents, the High Court has ruled.
Matthew and Michelle Smith were rejected by Manchester City Council after failing the first stage of a fostering suitability assessment. Social workers raised concerns about how their religious beliefs might affect a child placed in their care.
The couple, who were raising five children at the time, brought legal action against the council, claiming the decision breached their human rights and amounted to discrimination. Their case was rejected at Manchester County Court, and a High Court judge has now dismissed their appeal.
Court documents state the couple hold “gender critical views”, including belief in the “binary nature” of men and women
In a judgement handed down last month, Mr Justice Turner said there was “abundant evidence of their impressive parenting skills and commitment to the welfare of children in their care”. However, he said councils must carefully assess how beliefs are expressed in a fostering context.
He said local authorities “must remain vigilant to consider any ways in which the manifestation of the religious beliefs of particular prospective foster parents may affect the welfare of the child”.
The judge added: “This judgment is not to be construed as deciding that Evangelical Christian beliefs are generally incompatible with suitability to foster children. Still less is it to be taken to be disparaging of the claimants’ faith. My decision is strongly dependent on the particular facts of this case.”
Court documents state the couple hold “gender critical views”, including belief in the “binary nature” of men and women, alongside opposition to abortion and same-sex relationships. A belief in the literal “truth” of the Bible was also cited.
Social workers raised concerns after reviewing Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) materials for home-schooling
The Smiths first applied to foster in 2017 but delayed their application following advice from a social worker. They reapplied in 2019, when all five of their children were being home-schooled using the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme.
Social workers raised concerns after reviewing ACE materials, which the judgement says taught that “girls must obey men” and described homosexuality as “another of man’s corruptions of God’s plan”.
Mr Smith told a social worker he believed homosexuality “is wrong”. After that discussion, the couple began secretly recording all interactions with the council, believing they were being discriminated against.
“Mr Smith accepted that the content of their discussions was influenced by their desire to obtain evidence to support their suspicion that the Council was discriminating against them for their faith,” the judgement states.
A senior social worker told them carers must be “very, very proactive in promoting a very diverse view of the world”
Mrs Smith denied the couple were homophobic and said their faith “was to love people and respect them” and that they “did not judge people”.
In September 2019, the council rejected the application, citing concerns including the size of the household and the expectation that foster carers promote diversity.
A senior social worker told them carers must be “very, very proactive in promoting a very diverse view of the world”.
“I think we’ve reached the decision that we feel that you’d find it quite difficult to be proactive in promoting that diverse view of the world which is what we’re after really in our foster carers,” they said.
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