Found: Party Group Annual Return Name of Cross -Party Group Cross -Party Group on Challenging Racial and
Found: Party Group Annual Return Name of Cross -Party Group Cross -Party Group on Challenging Racial and
Mentions:
1: Felicity Buchan (Con - Kensington) I am grateful for all his work as chair of the all-party group on faith and society and as a long-standing - Speech Link
2: Stephen Timms (Lab - East Ham) the annual Inter Faith Week, and activities and dialogue undertaken by inter-faith groups across the - Speech Link
3: Felicity Buchan (Con - Kensington) I truly believe that inter-faith work makes a good contribution to our society. - Speech Link
4: Liz Twist (Lab - Blaydon) and multi-faith dialogue. - Speech Link
Mar. 01 2024
Source Page: PM address on extremism: 1 March 2024Found: Britain is a patriotic, liberal, democratic society with a proud past and a bright future.
Written Evidence Jan. 29 2024
Committee: Human Rights (Joint Committee)Found: We work to support lasting change for a better society, championing ideas for the one life we have
Found: , a new think tank from Phoenix Group focussed on catalysing the ch anges needed in society to respond
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, to ensure that the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance Ministerial Conference in Prague this November is (1) informed by the experiences of affected communities, and (2) includes freedom of religion or belief experts and representatives from relevant civil society and faith-based organisations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), Fiona Bruce, is working with Vice Chair of IRFBA, Ambassador Rehak of the Czech Republic, to ensure the Conference in Prague in November is inclusive, well informed by affected communities and includes FoRB experts, representatives from civil society and faith-based organisations. As outlined in our Written Ministerial Statement following the 2022 Conference [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-07-15/hlws204], we continue to build partnerships with civil society focussed on key themes from the Conference, drawing on the convening power of the IRFBA to promote FoRB for all.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 trends in the level of persecution of Christians in India; and what steps he is taking to help support persecuted Christians in India.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, discussed human rights with the Government of India, leaders of faith groups and others during his visit to India in May. Where we have issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India, consistently monitor human rights in the country, regularly engage with civil society and religious representatives, and have run projects supporting human rights.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the inclusivity of his Department’s LGBT+ policies.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence is proud of all our LGBT+ military and civilian personnel, and the significant contribution they make to ensure national security, support our national interests, and safeguard our prosperity. It is essential to Defence operational effectiveness that we build a more inclusive and diverse organisation to achieve a stronger, healthier, and more resilient workforce and maximise the talent of all our people.
We are committed to continue working with our LGBT+ networks to improve the lived experience of Service personnel and civilian staff. These networks provide excellent support to the LGBT+ community through conferences, communications, and engagement, and direct support to individuals as required.
Our Armed Forces and civilian personnel regularly take part in London Pride, in addition to other Pride events across the country. Attendance at Pride events by Defence LGBT+ personnel is a powerful demonstration of how inclusive an employer Defence is and the extent to which we represent UK society. Uniformed personnel make a very public statement that you can be LGBT+ and serve your country. This challenges stereotypes and misconceptions held by serving personnel, potential recruits and gatekeepers, veterans, and the public.
Defence is committed to taking forward restorative action for LGBT individuals who were impacted by historic policies. It is a priority for us to implement the vast majority of recommendations from the Lord Etherton report and guarantee that our LGBT+ personnel remain properly supported.
Work is ongoing to update internal Defence policies and processes. We have streamlined the process for registering Armed Forces Chapels for marriage of both opposite sex and same sex couples, making it quicker and easier. Given that only two Armed Forces Chapels in England and Wales are currently registered for same-sex couples’ marriage, this change will have a highly positive impact on our LGBT+ community. Looking to the future, we are working to ensure this process is as fast as it can be, to affirm equal opportunity for our serving personnel, their close family members and veterans. We are also working to update the online human resources system for the Armed Forces with more declaration categories for faith and belief, gender, and sexual orientation. This will help to improve declaration rates which will allow us to target support where it is most needed.