Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 7 July (HL1510), what steps they are taking to collaborate with faith-based international partners to help civilians who have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and disaster.
Answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government works with faith-based partners as well as civil society, and local, national, and international organisations, to support people displaced by conflict and disasters. A range of faith-based organisations have participated in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office-funded humanitarian and development programmes. These programmes include support for displaced people and assistance to affected communities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Cabinet Office's news story entitled Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet, published on July 2026, whether responsibility for faith will be with (a) Office for Equality and Opportunity or (b) MHCLG.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) leads the Government’s work to support and engage faith and belief groups, and coordinates the Government’s work to tackle religious hatred. Whilst the Minister for Homelessness, Democracy, Communities and Faith sits within MHCLG, other government departments will also undertake faith and belief engagement as part of their work.
As the department responsible for communities policy, MHCLG celebrates the central role of faith and belief in our national life, and its contribution to building a more cohesive society where all communities feel safe. MHCLG seeks to ensure that the voices of people of faith and belief are warmly welcomed and richly valued as we tackle the challenges we face together.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for the Equality Act 2010, including its protections against discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion or belief.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered introducing a statutory Code of Practice on Sikh articles of faith to improve understanding among public authorities.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
British Sikhs are an integral part of this country, and this Government refuses to allow intolerance to impact the lives of any people of faith. We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion – including the wearing of the Sikh articles of faith – and we do not tolerate anti-Sikh hatred or discrimination in any form.
Earlier this year, we committed in Protecting What Matters to boost faith and belief literacy. This will include gauging our current levels of faith and belief literacy in government identifying ways to upskill, and developing an approach that improves the quality and inclusivity of policy making. We will also consider how to strengthen faith and belief literacy across society as a whole.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason religion and belief is not included in the remit of the Office for Equality and Opportunity.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for the Equality Act 2010, including its protections against discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion or belief.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) leads the Government’s work to support and engage faith and belief groups and coordinates the Government’s work to tackle religious hatred.
This government celebrates the central role of faith and belief in our national life, and its contribution to building a more cohesive society where all communities feel safe. We seek to ensure that the voices of people of faith and belief are warmly welcomed and richly valued as we tackle the challenges we face together.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, we launched the UK's Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Strategy, focusing our efforts where we can work with partners to drive positive change.
Since then, our Special Envoy has engaged governments, faith leaders and civil society across FoRB focus countries, including visits to Nigeria and Ukraine, and working with other partners such as the Holy See to strengthen international cooperation.
We continue to raise concerns directly with countries where violations occur and work through the UN and international partners to defend this fundamental human right.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what independent external evaluation arrangements have been established for the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Details of the monitoring and evaluation arrangements for the Child Poverty Strategy are available in Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty: Monitoring and Evaluation - Baseline Report - GOV.UK.
As set out in the Baseline Report, we are committed to wide-reaching engagement with external stakeholders and experts to inform delivery and evaluation of the Strategy and support wider anti-poverty work.
This includes structured engagement through stakeholder and delivery partner forums, including with local partners, business, faith and civil society groups with lived experience, a programme of place-based research to capture regional and community level insights, and ongoing guidance from our Expert Analytical Panel to provide their independent expertise. Furthermore, we encourage ongoing evidence submissions and shaping of future research priorities.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with European counterparts in the past 12 months on the impact of religious registration requirements on smaller religious or belief communities in Slovakia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister for Multilateral and Human Rights on 18 March to Question 119359, which I have included below for ease:
The UK is committed to championing Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We recognise that every day, people around the world face persecution or discrimination on the basis of their religion or belief, including Christians. The UK's FoRB Strategy, set out by the Special Envoy last July, continues to guide our international engagement. We regularly raise FoRB concerns with governments worldwide and support locally led interfaith initiatives in regions experiencing acute religious persecution.
Through the UN, G7, and the Article 18 Alliance, the UK works with partners to highlight violations, promote reform of discriminatory laws, and advocate for individuals facing persecution. At the Alliance's fifth‑anniversary event in November, the Special Envoy called for deeper collective action and greater integration of FoRB into responses to global challenges such as conflict, development, and displacement.
We are strengthening coordination with international partners, including the United States and European counterparts, to ensure more coherent global advocacy and more responsive mechanisms to address emerging FoRB crises. We also work closely with civil society, faith leaders and human rights defenders to ensure that the experiences of those most at risk shape our policy and international advocacy.
The UK will continue to champion the right to freedom of religion or belief for everyone, everywhere.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 10 September 2025 (HL10181), what progress they have made in relation to plans to provide up £1 million to build a War Memorial to those of Muslim faith who gave their lives in two World Wars.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Muslims made a vital contribution to the defence of this country in both World Wars, including an estimated 400,000 who served during the First World War. Their courage and sacrifice helped protect the freedoms and values that underpin our society today.
The government is progressing plans to provide up to ÂŁ970,000 in funding, through a competitive process, to build a Muslim War Memorial to honour these contributions. The competition opened on 10 June 2026 and will close on 21 July 2026.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his department has had with faith groups and local authorities promoting faith covenants since the Prime Minister’s commitment in June 2024.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
This Government recognises the value of partnership working at the local level to support communities, including between faith and belief groups and local authorities. Faith Covenants are an important example of such partnerships.
The Civil Society Covenant is a principles-based foundation for resetting the relationship between the public sector and civil society. Faith and belief groups are explicitly recognised as valued partners within the Civil Society Covenant.
The new Civil Society Council, which includes representatives from the Voluntary, Community, and Faith sectors, provides a central forum to identify opportunities for civil society to play a greater role in the design and delivery of policies and services.
Our recently launched £11.59 million Local Covenant Partnerships (LCP) Fund puts many of the Covenant’s principles into practice. The LCP Fund will invest in 15 places across England to develop innovative partnership models between civil society organisations and local public sector bodies.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking in response to the implementation of anti-conversion laws in India.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
The UK continues to track these issues and to promote religious freedom and tolerance. Our High Commission in New Delhi, along with our network of Deputy High Commissions, monitors the human rights situation closely. We also engage with civil society and faith leaders to support efforts to promote tolerance and respect between communities.