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 diplomatic steps they have taken to protect Christian communities in Syria following reports in September of Christians from six churches in Suweida fleeing violence.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 26 September 2025 to Question HL10173.
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 assessment they have made of the implications for the right to freedom of religion or belief of the potential forced displacement of the Protestant pastor Aristides Chocue from the Caldono Municipality in Colombia; and whether they have made representations to the government of Colombia on this matter.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is concerned about threats to religious freedom around the world, including forced displacement of religious leaders in Colombia. The UK supports human rights defenders and victims through programming and diplomatic engagement, and UK officials regularly raise concerns with the Colombian Government and at the UN. We fund protection mechanisms for at-risk individuals, including religious leaders. The UK urges Colombian institutions to act on early warnings and protect those at risk. We remain committed to defending freedom of religion or belief globally.
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 recent discussions they have had with the government of Algeria about the use of (1) anti-proselytism, and (2) blasphemy, laws to target Christian communities; and what steps they are taking to promote religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28th July to Question HL9457.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NATO allies following the announcement that the United States intends to phase out security assistance programmes for European countries bordering Russia.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Government is aware of the Trump Administration’s intention to cut funding for the Baltic Security Initiative. Recent airspace violations in Estonia, Poland and Romania by Russia demonstrate that we must do all that we can to support our allies. That’s why NATO Allies agreed to increase their spending at this year’s Summit in The Hague. The UK’s commitment to NATO remains unshakeable.
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 recent discussions they have had with the government of Iran about the increasing targeting of religious minorities, including reports of unlawful deaths, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances; and what steps they are taking to ensure protection for religious minorities across Iran.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK strongly condemns the repression of religious minorities in Iran. On 18 March, the UK highlighted the continued systematic targeting and repression of religious minorities at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). We were integral to the delivery of a UNHRC resolution on human rights in Iran on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to investigate a wider breadth of violations, and to establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. On 23 April, the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, hosted an event in Parliament on Freedom of Religion or Belief violations in Iran in partnership with Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Our Ambassador in Iran and the Foreign Secretary continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian government.
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 steps they are taking to ensure the protection of minority Christian communities in Iraq, following the attack on Assyrian Christians in Duhok on 1 April.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government was deeply concerned by this attack. We champion freedom of religion or belief for all and remain firmly committed to protecting ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, including Christian communities. The UK regularly raises threats to minority faith communities when engaging with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and in multilateral fora. At Iraq's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in June, we recommended that Iraq upholds the right for minorities to freely practice their religion or belief, without fear of persecution. Our programme work supports civil society groups advocating for minority rights and promotes local cohesion. We continue to press for justice and accountability for all communities affected by violence and are working with international partners to ensure the safety and dignity of minority groups across Iraq.
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 recent discussions they have had with the government of Eritrea about the 21-year imprisonment of seven Christian pastors, and what steps they are taking to increase efforts for the release of those pastors.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We continue to raise the issue of human rights with the Eritrean government, including on religious freedoms, both through our Embassy in Asmara and through multilateral fora. We advocate for the end of all discriminatory detentions based on religion or belief, as we have stated at the UN Human Rights Council, and call for all those unjustly incarcerated to be released. The UK's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea raised human rights during her most recent visit to Eritrea in April 2025 and the UK supports the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2025.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what comparative analysis they have made of the total effective tax burden on the hospitality sector versus other UK sectors.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that the nature and rate of taxes on business is important to the hospitality sector, and the success and competitiveness of the UK.
The UK hospitality sector is largely made up of small businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on employment levels in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government protected the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. With all policies considered, the OBR's March 2025 EFO forecasts the employment level to increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish an impact assessment of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on low-income and middle-income workers in the hospitality industry.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government protected the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.