Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of attacks affecting Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia’s Arsi Zone in May and June 2026, including the destruction of a historic church; and what discussions she has had with her Ethiopian counterpart on protection for places of worship and affected communities.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 23 June in response to Question HL995, reproduced below for ease of reference:
"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: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Russia on the use of administrative penalties to fine religious organisations and confiscate or destroy religious literature for alleged failures to comply with official labelling requirements, and what assessment she has made of the implications for freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 1 June in response to Question 2671, and - as I said in my further response to him on 16 June - we will keep him updated if and when there are further developments to report.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 27 April 2026 to Question 128634, how many individuals identified by HM Revenue and Customs as eligible for the settlement opportunity announced following the McCann review have (a) settled in full and (b) entered into a Time to Pay arrangement in respect of disputed tax demands arising from the Loan Charge as of the most recent date for which data is available.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The new Loan Charge Settlement Opportunity (LCSO) is currently being legislated for and represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires taxpayers to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.
When the new settlement opportunity is enacted, HMRC will contact customers again, in stages, to explain what it means for them based on their specific circumstances.