Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1415708

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Bishop of Truro's Independent review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO support for persecuted Christians.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110360
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.</p><p>The Bishop of Truro's review provided recommendations for an enhanced Government response to support members of all faiths, beliefs, and those of no religious belief. We have achieved 16 of the recommendations, and are making good progress on the remaining six.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/02/2022 13:31:12 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1415709

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Religious Freedom: Internet
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to help counter international digital persecution of religious minorities through online surveillance and intimidation.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110361
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. No one should be excluded because of their religion or belief. Discrimination damages not only societies, but it also holds back economies. Countries cannot fully develop while they oppress members of minorities.</p><p>We are working closely with digital and social media platforms to help them identify and take action to mitigate the harmful spread of intimidation online. In addition, we actively support Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organisations in research to inform technology companies, partner governments and others about the misuse of online platforms.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/02/2022 15:00:42 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1415710

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to help ensure that the UK-hosted conference on freedom of religion or belief in July 2022 results in tangible outcomes.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in July 2022 will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally. Preparations for the conference are underway, including consultations with our international and domestic partners to consider a wide range of possible outcomes.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/02/2022 15:03:25 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1415711

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Maira Shahbaz
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to the Pakistani Government on the case of Maira Shahbaz.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110363
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>It is longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases, where to do so may put individuals or their family members in danger.</p><p>The UK strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief, women and girls' rights and gender equality at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, including on individual cases. During his visit to Pakistan in June 2021, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Foreign Minister Qureshi, and Human Rights Minister Mazari. During these meetings, Lord Ahmad highlighted the need to address persecution, promote respect for all religions and increase tolerance for religious minorities. He also met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage of young girls. Most recently, Lord Ahmad discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November, and on January 6 with Shaikh Hasan Haseeb Ur Rehman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, and Pir Naqeeb, custodian of the Eidgah Sharif Shrine in Rawalpindi. In addition to diplomatic engagement, the FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages, gender-based violence and modern slavery.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 01/02/2022 15:55:44 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1415712

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Ahmadiyya: Religious Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief for Ahmadiyya Muslims.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	110364
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.</p><p>We remain deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses towards Ahmadi Muslims in different parts of the world. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations whether publicly or in private. On 22 and 23 June 2021 during a visit to Pakistan, The Minister of State responsible for human rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised the treatment of minorities, including Ahmadi Muslims, with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari. He also raised the use of cybercrime laws against members of the Ahmadi community with Advisor to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, Shahzad Akbar.</p><p>In addition to meetings with the Government of Pakistan, Lord Ahmad met representatives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and took part in an interfaith roundtable to better understand the concerns of religious or belief minorities in Pakistan. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, has also been working closely with international actors and civil society to promote FoRB for all, including Ahmadi Muslims. On 12 April 2021, the Envoy met with representatives from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and reaffirmed the UK Government's ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB for all, including Ahmadi Muslims.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/02/2022 15:06:08 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1405148

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Religious Freedom: Sanctions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made on sanctioning perpetrators of freedom of religion or belief abuses.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	109225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. In addition to our bilateral and multilateral work, we use our Global Human Rights sanctions regime to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses around the world, including those carried out against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief.</p><p>On 10 December 2021, we used this regime to designate Furqan Bangalzai, a former commander of terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for his role in orchestrating the 2017 bombing of a Sufi shrine, which killed over 70 people in Pakistan. On 22 March 2021, alongside the EU, US and Canada, we imposed sanctions on four senior Chinese government officials and one entity for gross human rights violations taking place against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. We will continue to draw on our range of levers to address FoRB abuses and violations, including sanctions where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 31/01/2022 13:10:37 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1405149

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Yazidis: Missing Persons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking with its international counterparts to help trace missing Yazidi women.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	109226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The UK supports the implementation of Iraq's Yazidi Survivors law of March 2021, which includes provisions to search for missing survivors. We engage regularly with partner Governments, NGOs, survivor networks and Iraqi Government ministries to advocate for full financial provision of the law. Through the FCDO's Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) project funding, the UK is providing £70,000 to the International Organisation for Migration to provide technical and practical assistance to the Directorate of Yazidi Survivor Affairs, to ensure full implementation of the law. UK programme funding also supports psycho-social care for female survivors of conflict related sexual violence.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 31/01/2022 16:20:15 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1405150

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cost of Living
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support families who are not entitled to tax credits and whose wages have not risen to manage (a) energy costs and (b) the cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	109227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The UK has a strong welfare safety net that supports people whether they are in or out of work through Universal Credit and the legacy benefits it is replacing including tax credits, Employment and Support Allowance and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. In 2021/22, DWP will spend around £110bn on welfare benefits for people of working age.</p><p> </p><p>As our economic recovery continues and with around 1.25 million vacancies across the UK there are many further opportunities for people to move into and progress in work and increase their earnings. Building on our Plan for Jobs, we launched ‘Way to Work on 27 January, a new campaign to help more people into work by matching jobseekers to the thousands of jobs available across the country.</p><p> </p><p>We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. We are providing support worth around £12bn this financial year and the next, to help families - changing the Universal Credit taper and work allowance which means, nearly two million households will keep, on average, £1000 a year, freezing fuel duties to keep costs down, and providing targeted support to help households with their energy bills.</p><p> </p><p>For the lowest earners we are further increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, meaning a full-time worker on the National Living Wage will see their annual earnings rise by over £1,000; we have set a target for the National Living Wage to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, provided economic conditions allow.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country can access the £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive)</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 31/01/2022 17:52:26 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1405151

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Road Traffic Offences: Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to increase the penalty for driving without insurance.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	109228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>Road safety is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, so I can reply only for Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>The Government takes road safety seriously and driving without insurance is unacceptable behaviour. We always keep the law under review but currently there are no plans to increase the penalty for driving without insurance.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 31/01/2022 14:47:12 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1405152

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Sexual Harassment: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) tackle the matter of sexual harassment of young women in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	109229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2022 answer text <p>Every woman should be able to live without fear of harassment or violence in the workplace as much as anywhere else. In July 2021, as part of our strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, the Government announced a new package of measures which will strengthen protections for those affected by harassment at work.</p><p>We will introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as explicit protections against harassment by third parties. We are also supporting the Equality and Human Rights Commission to develop a statutory Code of Practice on workplace harassment, as well as preparing our own practical guidance for employers on preventing this issue.</p><p>In addition, the Government will be shortly launching a communications campaign to raise awareness and challenge behaviours that constitute violence against women and girls, including workplace harassment.</p><p>The steps we are taking will not only raise awareness of the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, but also motivate employers to prioritise prevention and ultimately improve workplace practices and culture.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 26/01/2022 14:46:18 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon