Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 5 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to (a) bolster research into the critical intersection of freedom of religion and belief and minority rights with both broader human rights issues and other critical concerns such as security and economic activity and (b) use such research to articulate freedom of religion and belief focussed policies to address those matters; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 5, various research activities have already been funded, including establishing the John Bunyan Fund, which amongst other things, has looked at the links between gender and freedom of religion and belief. We continue to look for opportunities to support quality research.