Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on whether multi-academy trusts must be an exempt charity, rather than a charity.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All academy trusts are exempt charities under paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the reported incident of arson on the Wad Medani Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place in Sudan since 15 April 2023 and secured a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2023 to establish a fact-finding mission for Sudan. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), they have not observed a significant increase in the specific targeting or discrimination against any religious minorities because of their beliefs. We support OHCHR's continued monitoring of the situation in Sudan.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of Christians arrested in Iran.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and is aware of the recent upsurge in arbitrary arrests of Christians. At the 78th UNGA, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. The UK is an active member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, where we continue to call on Iran to uphold fundamental rights. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners to promote the rights of Christians in Iran. We also work with our international partners in multilateral fora.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of anti-Christian sentiment in Laos.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), as demonstrated by our hosting the 'International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in July 2022. We also work through the UN to promote and protect these rights. The UK Embassy in Laos raises concerns about limitations on freedom of expression and other human rights issues, including freedom of religion, on a regular basis, both publicly and in private and last did this on 10 January 2024. I visited Laos in September 2023 and raised our concern over particular human rights cases with Laos Ministers. We also raise country specific human rights issues at the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the attacks on Christians in Plateau State on 24 December 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Rising insecurity in Nigeria has affected all faith and non-faith communities, including Christians. UK Government officials and I regularly raise freedom of religion or belief, including the impact of insecurity on communities and the need to bring perpetrators to justice, with the Nigerian Government. The British High Commissioner has raised the recent attacks in Plateau with the Nigerian National Security Adviser. The High Commissioner and his team continue to work closely with the respective authorities to raise and address these issues through multiple forums.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the income to the public purse was for VAT payments from Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information requested is not available. HM Revenue and Customs holds data for VAT receipts disaggregated between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland up to the financial year 2018-2019 but not beyond this date and not on a sector breakdown basis. There are ONS statistics on the VAT that could be attributed to Northern Ireland for later years, but again this cannot be broken down by sector.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report The Strategic Dependence of UK Universities on China, published by Civitas on 2 November 2023, whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the proportion of funding universities receive from China.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards China.
The UK is a world-leading destination for foreign students, including from China, where they add to the academic richness of UK universities. However, a key part of the International Education Strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage the risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education sector and regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department has acted to remove government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK. The department will continue to take steps to significantly strengthen the UK’s protections from overseas interference in our higher education sector, helping to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive research.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will introduce increased transparency and the monitoring of certain overseas funding received by higher education providers in England. The protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK is taken very seriously. Attempts by foreign powers to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, in order to identify what more can be or should be done.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the implication for her policies of the proportion of funding from China for universities; and what guidance she issues to universities on sources of funding other than China.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards China.
The UK is a world-leading destination for foreign students, including from China, where they add to the academic richness of UK universities. However, a key part of the International Education Strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage the risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education sector and regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department has acted to remove government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK. The department will continue to take steps to significantly strengthen the UK’s protections from overseas interference in our higher education sector, helping to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive research.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will introduce increased transparency and the monitoring of certain overseas funding received by higher education providers in England. The protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK is taken very seriously. Attempts by foreign powers to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, in order to identify what more can be or should be done.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proportion of funding for universities from China on (a) academic freedoms and (b) student welfare.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards China.
The UK is a world-leading destination for foreign students, including from China, where they add to the academic richness of UK universities. However, a key part of the International Education Strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage the risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education sector and regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department has acted to remove government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK. The department will continue to take steps to significantly strengthen the UK’s protections from overseas interference in our higher education sector, helping to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive research.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will introduce increased transparency and the monitoring of certain overseas funding received by higher education providers in England. The protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK is taken very seriously. Attempts by foreign powers to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, in order to identify what more can be or should be done.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for national security of the proportion of funding for universities from China.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards China.
The UK is a world-leading destination for foreign students, including from China, where they add to the academic richness of UK universities. However, a key part of the International Education Strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage the risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education sector and regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department has acted to remove government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK. The department will continue to take steps to significantly strengthen the UK’s protections from overseas interference in our higher education sector, helping to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive research.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will introduce increased transparency and the monitoring of certain overseas funding received by higher education providers in England. The protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK is taken very seriously. Attempts by foreign powers to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, in order to identify what more can be or should be done.