Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to her Bangladeshi counterpart on reports of violence against Hindu communities and the safety of religious minorities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns all religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh.
We have consistently raised the importance of protecting religious minorities with the Bangladeshi authorities, including during visits by the UK Human Rights Ambassador in February 2025, and Baroness Chapman in November. The British High Commission also meets with civil society groups and minority communities.
Bangladesh's Interim Government has publicly reaffirmed its commitment to protecting communities-Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim-including in a statement on 10 January. This statement set out steps being taken by the Home Ministry to respond rapidly to incidents, protect victims and witnesses, and ensure the law is applied fairly.
Our commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is reflected through our engagement with civil society groups and minority communities as well as our £27 million Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme (2023-2028). The programme aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue, and address tensions that can lead to violence.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking, in collaboration with the Government of Iran, to preserve freedom of religion or belief amid ongoing protests in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in the subsequent debate.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by his Department.
Answered by Catherine West
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office follows the Government Statistical Service's harmonised standard for ethnicity classification. We will not unilaterally change our data categories as it would make our data inconsistent with wider Civil Service and Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of funding available to support cooperative models in international development programmes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or markets and strengthen their voice in local processes. Cooperatives can enable sustainable and inclusive development centred on self-help, democratic ownership, and concern for the community. The UK has supported cooperatives and producer organisations in developing countries, including, for example in agriculture through funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), which supports producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which partners with cooperatives and small agribusinesses in low-income countries to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made in efforts to decrease the number of instances of persecution on Bahai communities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions, and remains strongly committed to, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. Working with the Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, we are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral organisations, our bilateral work, and our programme funding,
The continued persecution of the Baha'i community including in Iran and Yemen, including unfair arrest and detention, land grabs, and denial of burial rights, is unacceptable. We are committed to working with international partners to hold countries to account for repression of the Bahai's, and other religious or belief minorities, including at the United Nations.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to integrate cooperative models into UK international development programmes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or markets and strengthen their voice in local processes. Cooperatives can enable sustainable and inclusive development centred on self-help, democratic ownership, and concern for the community. The UK has supported cooperatives and producer organisations in developing countries, including, for example in agriculture through funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), which supports producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which partners with cooperatives and small agribusinesses in low-income countries to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential role of cooperative models in strengthening economic resilience in developing countries.
Answered by Catherine West
Cooperatives and producer organisations have an important role to play in enabling smallholder farmers and communities to access services and markets and raise productivity sustainably. The UK has supported cooperatives and other forms of collective action through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) managed by the World Bank, which has a dedicated funding facility for producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which provides support to help producer organisations in Africa access markets.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting cooperatives in developing countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or markets and strengthen their voice in local processes. Cooperatives can enable sustainable and inclusive development centred on self-help, democratic ownership, and concern for the community. The UK has supported cooperatives and producer organisations in developing countries, including, for example in agriculture through funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), which supports producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which partners with cooperatives and small agribusinesses in low-income countries to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Yemen on the restriction of freedom of religion or belief for Baha’is in that country; and whether the John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief will be used to assist people facing persecution.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding, including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund (JBF), a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects.
The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.
We track the treatment of the Bahá'ís in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to condemn the continued persecution of the Bahá'ís and other religious minorities in Yemen.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what contribution he will make to the World Bank IDA's 21st replenishment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact on the UK contribution to the World Bank International Development Association's (IDA) 21st replenishment is being worked through following the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% in 2027. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money. We will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes.