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 9 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to establish a John Bunyan freedom of religion and belief stream within his Department's Magna Carta Fund; 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 9, The John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion or Belief was launched in August 2019, funding 15 research projects FY 2019-20. These projects have all concluded, and work is in hand to implement some of the key recommendations. Subsequently we have used the Fund to deepen understanding of the intersecting vulnerabilities experienced by religious minorities living in poverty in the shadows of Covid-19, providing training to local data gatherers in two affected countries and producing reports on the scale of the problem.