Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support children from endangered (1) ethnic, and (2) religious, communities in securing scholarships that would enable them to be given comprehensive education outside their country of origin.

Defending and promoting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, has been a long-standing priority for the UK Government. The UK believes that no one should be excluded from education because of their religion or belief. Discrimination damages not only societies, but also holds back economies.

Religious or ethnic discrimination can force families to flee their homes, with refugees and displaced children now constituting the largest group of those out of school, and their number increasing. For this reason, the UK is the founding and leading donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies. The UK is providing £90 million of funding to ECW from 2019 to 2023. This investment is supporting ECW to expand its operations to more countries, respond to COVID-19, and will support up to 600,000 children living through conflict, and in areas of protracted crises, access education. For example, ECW's support includes the provision of basic education for 88,000 Rohingya children who are now living in refugee camps in Bangladesh.