Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of new research by Trussell which found that the impact of (a) hunger and (b) hardship drives an additional £6.3 billion in public service expenditure on healthcare each year.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government welcomes the Trussell report on the cost of hunger and hardship and recognises that poverty is a wider determinant of health. Under the Health Mission, the Government is committed to supporting people to stay healthier for longer, reducing health inequalities, easing the strain on the National Health Service and driving economic growth.
The Department is also working closely with the Child Poverty Taskforce to develop and deliver an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life. The Government is supporting those in need through the Healthy Start scheme and through the roll out of breakfast clubs. The Government is also expanding Free School Meals which will benefit over half a million more children and lift 100,000 children out of poverty.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase treatment options for people with Friedreich's Ataxia.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as Friedreich's Ataxia. One of the framework’s priorities is improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the framework, and published the fourth action plan for England on 28 February 2025.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle fly-tipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government will crack down on fly-tipping by supporting councils to seize and crush more vehicles of fly-tippers, forcing fly-tippers to clean up their mess and bringing in new prison sentences for those transporting waste illegally. We also taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently and effectively exercise their various enforcement powers.
In the meantime, Defra will continue to work with stakeholders through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, local authorities and police, to promote and disseminate good practice on tackling fly-tipping.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In Core Defra, as of 30 April 2025, there were 37 employees recording a religious belief of Sikh. 36 of these employees declare to be of an ethnic minority.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The number of DCMS Civil Servants who are recorded as Sikh is below 5.
In line with Civil Service Statistics guidance, DCMS records Sikh under the classification of Religion.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
According to the latest published Civil Service Statistics, as at 31 March 2024, 140 staff in the department, including associated executive agencies, recorded their religion as Sikh. These figures are published in Table A3 of the Civil Service Statistics 2024, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024.
Updated data as at 31 March 2025 is due to be published by the Cabinet Office in July 2025.
Those who are recorded as ‘Sikh’ are captured in the department’s HR system under ‘Religion’, not as an ethnic group.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero currently has 34 employees who have declared their religion as Sikh.
In the HR system religions such as Sikh, are recorded under ‘religion belief’ and not ethnicity.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice records Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Please refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments should be recording Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Departments are advised to refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP staff are not required to disclose details of any religion, however, the information can be voluntarily provided and based on those responses, DWP as of May 2025 has 1207 employees that have declared as being Sikh (paid staff only). This level of data is recorded as ‘Religious Belief Breakdown’.