Written Question

Pakistan: Christianity

Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart on the persecution of Christians in that country.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan.  The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September.  On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala.  Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.

Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.

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Written Question

Pakistan: Christianity

Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent (a) violence against and (b) the persecution of Christians in Pakistan.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan.  The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September.  On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala.  Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.

Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.

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Lords Chamber
Poverty Reduction - Thu 22 Feb 2024
Department for Work and Pensions

Mentions:
1: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab - Life peer) provide genuine financial security; attention to diversity, including the particular needs of racialised minorities - Speech Link
2: Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab - Life peer) Shockingly, some 50% of people in Pakistani or Bangladeshi households live in poverty, compared with - Speech Link

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Westminster Hall
Balochistan: Human Rights - Tue 20 Feb 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Mentions:
1: Zarah Sultana (Lab - Coventry South) There are reports that Pakistani authorities have subjected them to arbitrary arrest, detention, harassment - Speech Link
2: John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) The issue for us now is how we move forward to have effective influence on the Pakistani Government to - Speech Link
3: Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con - Berwick-upon-Tweed) I will try to address that in a little more detail.The Pakistani military maintains a strong presence - Speech Link
4: Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Con - Berwick-upon-Tweed) Sadly, it is not only with the Pakistani authorities that we see the inability to understand and respect - Speech Link

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Departmental Publication (Statistics)
Ministry of Defence

Feb. 15 2024

Source Page: Career Transition Partnership ex-service personnel employment outcomes: financial year 2022/23
Document: Career Transition Partnership annual statistics: UK Regular Service Personnel Employment Outcomes, 2022/23 (PDF)

Found: UK Ethnic Minority (excluding white minorities) refers to service leavers of all ethnic groups except

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Departmental Publication (Statistics)
Department for Work and Pensions

Feb. 06 2024

Source Page: Engaging with Pensions at timely moments
Document: Technical report: Engaging with Pensions at timely moments (PDF)

Found: Male Min 20 23 Other / prefer not to say - 0 Ethnicity White British or Irish 36 Ethnic Minorities

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Departmental Publication (Statistics)
Department for Work and Pensions

Feb. 06 2024

Source Page: Engaging with Pensions at timely moments
Document: Final report: Engaging with Pensions at timely moments (PDF)

Found: Male Min 20 23 Other / prefer not to say - 0 Ethnicity White British or Irish 36 Ethnic Minorities

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Non-Departmental Publication (Transparency)
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel

Jan. 30 2024

Source Page: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: annual report 2022 to 2023
Document: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel: annual report 2022 to 2023 (PDF)

Found: Pakistani 13 3.5% 4.5% 11. Bangladeshi 6 1.6% 1.8% 12. Chinese 2 0.5% 0.6% 13.

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Written Question

Army: Training

Thursday 25th January 2024

Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of army recruits from (a) Black,(b) Asian and (c) minority ethnic backgrounds complete their Phase (i) 1 and (ii) 2 training.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The tables below show Regular Army Other Rank Untrained Intake actuals and proportion completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 Training by Financial Year and Ethnicity, 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Regular Army Other Rank Untrained Intake proportion completing Phase 1 Training by Financial Year and Ethnicity, 2018-19 to 2022-23

% of untrained Phase 1 intake by ethnicity	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Total Ethnic Minority Untrained Intake	92%	93%	88%	86%	82%
Asian Ethnicity Untrained Intake	94%	88%	91%	86%	79%
Black Ethnicity Untrained Intake	95%	95%	92%	89%	87%
Mixed Ethnicity Untrained Intake	84%	86%	77%	78%	74%
Other Ethnic Minority Untrained Intake	96%	97%	92%	89%	90%

Regular Army Other Rank Untrained Intake proportion completing Phase 2 Training by Financial Year and Ethnicity, 2018-19 to 2022-23

Phase 2 completion figures in the most recent Financial Years are subject to change due to personnel still in the training pipeline who may either complete Phase 2 training or leave the Regular Army during training.

% of untrained Phase 2 intake by ethnicity	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Total Ethnic Minority Untrained Intake	89%	90%	82%	76%	36%
Asian Ethnicity Untrained Intake	94%	87%	85%	80%	33%
Black Ethnicity Untrained Intake	94%	93%	87%	80%	39%
Mixed Ethnicity Untrained Intake	76%	82%	69%	63%	29%
Other Ethnic Minority Untrained Intake	85%	95%	85%	79%	49%

Notes/Caveats:

1. The figures are for the Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.

2. All intake figures are for Untrained Intake which includes all Other Ranks joining the Army and starting Phase 1 Training. All intake figures exclude personnel who have joined Phase 1 Training from another Service.

3. These percentages include those still in the training pipeline. This refers to individuals who have not yet completed Phase 1 or 2 training and who have also not left the Regular Army. They are therefore still undertaking some elements of training, and could either still leave the Army as Untrained or become trained hence affecting the overall percentages.

4. These percentages include individuals who have left the Army without completing either Phase 1 or Phase 2 training as a Regular. This includes personnel who may have transferred to another population (e.g. Reserve FR20, etc.) but excludes individuals who have transferred to another Service.

5. Ethnicity is an individual's latest recorded Ethnicity on the Army's administrative systems. Mixed Ethnicity comprises Mixed Black African and White, Mixed Asian and White, Mixed Black Caribbean and White and other Mixed Ethnic Backgrounds. Asian comprises Asian Bangladeshi, Asian Pakistani, Asian Indian and other Asian Backgrounds, and reflecting changes made in the 2011 Census, now includes Chinese. Black comprises Black Caribbean, Black African and other Black Backgrounds. Other is defined as "Other Ethnic Background" and includes Arab. Ethnic Minority includes all of the previously mentioned Ethnicities.

6. Personnel with an unknown Ethnicity on Intake to the Regular Army have not been included in the above figures. Approximately 5% of all Total Other Rank Untrained Intake over the time period had an unknown Ethnicity. Some of these unknown values may be Ethnic Minorities.

7. Ethnicity intake figures will not match the published Biannual Diversity Statistics as figures above are only for untrained intake and exclude individuals joining the Army Phase 1 or Phase 2 Trained.

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