Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to patient confidentiality of digital medical records being shared across multiple healthcare trusts.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where medical records are shared across National Health Service organisations, such as the Shared Care Record program, organisations should complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment. This allows them to consider the data protection and confidentiality risks involved, and outlines what actions they can take to mitigate the risk to an acceptable level. NHS England has published guidance on this subject, Information Governance Framework: Shared Care Records, a copy of which is attached.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with European counterparts in the past 12 months on the impact of religious registration requirements on smaller religious or belief communities in Slovakia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister for Multilateral and Human Rights on 18 March to Question 119359, which I have included below for ease:
The UK is committed to championing Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We recognise that every day, people around the world face persecution or discrimination on the basis of their religion or belief, including Christians. The UK's FoRB Strategy, set out by the Special Envoy last July, continues to guide our international engagement. We regularly raise FoRB concerns with governments worldwide and support locally led interfaith initiatives in regions experiencing acute religious persecution.
Through the UN, G7, and the Article 18 Alliance, the UK works with partners to highlight violations, promote reform of discriminatory laws, and advocate for individuals facing persecution. At the Alliance's fifth‑anniversary event in November, the Special Envoy called for deeper collective action and greater integration of FoRB into responses to global challenges such as conflict, development, and displacement.
We are strengthening coordination with international partners, including the United States and European counterparts, to ensure more coherent global advocacy and more responsive mechanisms to address emerging FoRB crises. We also work closely with civil society, faith leaders and human rights defenders to ensure that the experiences of those most at risk shape our policy and international advocacy.
The UK will continue to champion the right to freedom of religion or belief for everyone, everywhere.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many instances of patients’ medical records being accessed (1) inappropriately, and (2) illegally, have been recorded in NHS Trusts in England where digital records are kept in the last two years for which figures exist.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
1,445 cases of inappropriate access have been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) between 2019 to 2025. Medical records are accessed all the time by staff with a legitimate need to deliver the best possible care. Inappropriate access is rare, as the vast majority of staff take their duty of confidentiality extremely seriously. With that said, we agree with the ICO that there have clearly been too many incidents of National Health Service staff accessing patient records inappropriately. Any unauthorised access to a patient’s medical record is completely unacceptable and NHS organisations must take action where it occurs, including disciplinary measures and referrals to the police and professional regulators where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning the revocation of citizenship from a number of Shia Muslims on 27 April; and what assessment they have made of the implications for freedom of religion or belief, family life, and protection from statelessness.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 9 June in response to Question HL522.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to prevent patients’ medical records being accessed (1) inappropriately, and (2) illegally, in NHS Trusts in England where digital records are kept.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service trusts are required to maintain audit logs of access to patient information and have controls in place to prevent and identify unauthorised access. The Government is currently considering options for further action, and we will set out more detail in due course. In the meantime, NHS England will be launching a hard-hitting campaign telling staff Don’t let curiosity kill your career.
We expect the Single Patient Record to help strengthen ways to tackle this issue, including improving the audit trail for cases like this, so that trusts can take clear action when staff access records without due cause. Security and privacy of people’s health data are paramount, and as you’d expect we will build the strongest safeguards into the Single Patient Record. We’ll be confirming more on this as we develop the Single Patient Record in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the government of Syria, and (2) other international partners, about the protection of Christian places of worship and Christian communities in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Further to the written ministerial statements I made to the House on 28 January (HLWS1285) and 29 April (HLWS1560), UK ministers and officials continue to support the efforts of the new Syrian government to build a more stable, inclusive, and representative country, where Christian communities and other religious minorities are protected from persecution and allowed to play their full part in Syria's transition. The importance of that inclusive political transition was further emphasised with President Al Sharaa, during his visit to the UK on 31 March.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ethiopia on the protection of Orthodox Christian communities and historic places of worship following recent attacks in the Arsi Zone.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
We are concerned by reports of violence affecting communities in Ethiopia's Oromia region, including in Arsi Zone. The UK condemns all violence against civilians, including attacks against places of worship and people because of their religion. We continue to call on all parties to engage in dialogue to address the underlying causes of conflict. Through our Human Rights and Peacebuilding Programme, the UK supports dialogue efforts by local peacemakers, women's groups and the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia alongside Early Warning Human Rights Networks raising security alerts. The UK also supports the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission's capacity to monitor, investigate and act upon violations affecting civilians.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time it takes for representatives of Border Force senior management to meet with a member of either House of Parliament following a request to do so.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Requests for meetings are considered individually, taking into account the urgency of the issue, whether information has already been provided in writing, and operational demands. Border Force aims to engage with Members in a timely way where needed, with such engagement agreed in line with ministerial oversight. Ministers remain accountable to Parliament for the work of Border Force
There is no centrally held data on the average time taken for Border Force senior officials to meet Members of either House following a request.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the willingness of Border Force senior management to engage or meet with members of both Houses of Parliament.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Border Force senior officials engage with Parliament in line with the Civil Service Code and relevant Cabinet Office guidance. This includes supporting Ministers in their accountability to Parliament and, where appropriate, engaging with Members on factual or operational matters through written correspondence or in-person briefings.
No specific assessment is made of the “willingness” of Border Force senior management to meet Members of either House. As such, engagement is considered on a case-by-case basis on direction from Home Office Ministers.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of restrictions on Protestant churches in Algeria; and what representations they have made to the government of Algeria on the registration and reopening of churches in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The UK champions Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, including for Protestant congregations in Algeria. Our Embassy in Algiers is in regular contact with minority religious groups in the country on how best we can support FoRB, and we raise these issues regularly with the Algerian authorities, most recently when the Minister for the Middle East visited Algiers in October 2025. We will continue to advocate for freedom of religion in Algeria, including in relation to the operation of Protestant churches.