Conor Burns

The National Church Institutions recognise that freedom of religion or belief, like other human rights, is strongly correlated with political stability, and that repression of freedom of religion or belief, whether by societal hostility or state discrimination, can serve as major drivers of conflict and violence.

Sadly, in too many parts of the world today, whether that be in Russia or Ukraine, or in Iraq and Israel, the discrimination against or targeting of religious minorities is commonly associated with rising social tensions, intercommunal strife, violence and even mass atrocities.

Published Community Health Service waiting list data shows there were 286,424 adults waiting for community musculoskeletal services as of April 2023.

NHS England does not hold data on how many people waiting for community musculoskeletal services were provided with an appointment within a certain time of referral.

From April 2023, providers are being asked to establish Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams. These are multidisciplinary teams who will assess health needs to proactively inform pre- and post-operative care and identify surgical risk factors in order to reduce the chance of cancellations and to improve patient outcomes.

Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams will work with patients to develop personalised preparation plans. These plans will detail both the clinical and the wider support needs of patients both leading up to the time of surgery and in the post-surgical period.

The teams will be able to refer people for specialist secondary care input where required and, in conjunction with social prescribing link workers, to connect people to the most appropriate community support for them.

We are working with partners to define and scale up musculoskeletal (MSK) hubs in the community. This includes expanding access to community-based physical activity interventions and testing vocational support to help people with MSK conditions to manage their condition and remain in or return to work.

Ministers regularly engage with stakeholders, including Versus Arthritis, on a range of issues. There was a Ministerial meeting with Versus Arthritis on 18 January 2023 to discuss trauma and orthopaedic waiting lists.

Musculoskeletal conditions, which include arthritis, is one of the group of conditions included in the Major Conditions Strategy. The strategy will aim to identify actions in the areas of prevention, treatment and long-term management of care to improve outcomes for individuals across the six major condition groups.

To inform the development of the strategy and to ensure a wide range of experiences are considered, the Department has launched a call for evidence to seek wider views and ideas from the public and organisations including Versus Arthritis.

I [Andrew Mitchell] issued a statement on 29 May strongly condemning the Government of Uganda's decision to sign the deeply discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. I met with the Ugandan Foreign Minister on 14 March and 4 May 2023, and the Ugandan High Commissioner on 1 June 2023, to underline the strength of our opposition to the Act and highlight its impacts on the safety of LGBT+ people in Uganda. The Prime Minister has also spoken with the Foreign Minister, as has the Foreign Secretary with the High Commissioner. The British High Commission in Uganda has made the strength of the UK's opposition to this Act clear across its engagements with the Ugandan Government, and is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.

The UK works to tackle the root causes of human rights violations and abuses, including in Uganda. Since 2018, the UK has invested over £13.5 million in programmes to support the promotion and protection of LGBT+ rights globally, primarily in the Commonwealth. The British High Commission in Uganda is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Anti-Homosexuality Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.

I [Andrew Mitchell] issued a statement on 29 May strongly condemning the Government of Uganda's decision to sign the deeply discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. I met with the Ugandan Foreign Minister on 14 March and 4 May 2023, and the Ugandan High Commissioner on 1 June 2023, to underline the strength of our opposition to the Act and highlight its impacts on the safety of LGBT+ people in Uganda. The Prime Minister has also spoken with the Foreign Minister, as has the Foreign Secretary with the High Commissioner. The British High Commission in Uganda has made the strength of the UK's opposition to this Act clear across its engagements with the Ugandan Government, and is engaging with the LGBT+ community and human rights defenders to understand the impact of the Act on the safety of LGBT+ people and support their efforts to protect the rights of vulnerable communities.

Whilst we hold information regarding the number of people awaiting the outcome of their asylum claim in each postcode, this information is not held in a reportable format.

Whilst we hold information regarding asylum claimants in each parliamentary constituency, this information is not held in a reportable format.

The enduring solution is to stop the illegal, dangerous, and unnecessary small boat crossings that are overwhelming our asylum system. The Home Office works tirelessly, alongside other government departments, to reduce the Government’s dependency on hotels for contingency accommodation through a package of long-term and short-term measures. Hotels are on a rolling contract and in the event we decommission a site, there is a notice period to ensure that our accommodation providers can safely relocate residents.

We expect high standards from all of our providers, and we have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Details of the AASC can be found at:

New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK www.gov.uk/government/news/new-asylum-accommodation-contracts-awarded

The enduring solution is to stop the illegal, dangerous, and unnecessary small boat crossings that are overwhelming our asylum system. The Home Office works tirelessly, alongside other government departments, to reduce the Government’s dependency on hotels for contingency accommodation through a package of long-term and short-term measures. Hotels are on a rolling contract and in the event we decommission a site, there is a notice period to ensure that our accommodation providers can safely relocate residents.

We expect high standards from all of our providers, and we have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Details of the AASC can be found at:

New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK www.gov.uk/government/news/new-asylum-accommodation-contracts-awarded

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets opens in a new tab), under the document Asylum seekers in receipt of support (second edition). Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the next quarterly figures due to be released 24 August 2023.