Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
According to the latest published Civil Service Statistics, as at 31 March 2024, 140 staff in the department, including associated executive agencies, recorded their religion as Sikh. These figures are published in Table A3 of the Civil Service Statistics 2024, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024.
Updated data as at 31 March 2025 is due to be published by the Cabinet Office in July 2025.
Those who are recorded as ‘Sikh’ are captured in the department’s HR system under ‘Religion’, not as an ethnic group.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero currently has 34 employees who have declared their religion as Sikh.
In the HR system religions such as Sikh, are recorded under ‘religion belief’ and not ethnicity.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice records Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Please refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments should be recording Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Departments are advised to refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP staff are not required to disclose details of any religion, however, the information can be voluntarily provided and based on those responses, DWP as of May 2025 has 1207 employees that have declared as being Sikh (paid staff only). This level of data is recorded as ‘Religious Belief Breakdown’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Sikhism is recorded as a religion or belief. Annual statistics by department, as of 31 March, are available in the 2024 Civil Service Statistics (Table A3): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Statistics on religion or belief for the Attorney General’s Office, as at 31 March 2024, are published on the Civil Service Statistics 2024 (Table A3). The Cabinet Office publish the information annually.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of 31st May 2025, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) employs 63 civil servants who have self-declared as Sikhs. In DBT, Sikhs are recorded as a Religious Group, and not an Ethnic Group.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology records Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Please refer to Table A3 of the Civil Service Statistics 2024 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As at 1 June 2025, there were 177 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants who had reported a religion or belief of Sikh. Data for religion or belief is based on self-declarations by individuals on the MOD HR personnel systems. Figures include civil servants in MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas and the four Executive Agencies (DE&S. SDA, UKHO and Dstl).
Sikh category is recorded solely as a religious group, it is not an option for ethnicity.
Further published statistics can be found on the following link, tables 6.1 and 6.2 contain the full list of categories for religion and belief: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-diversity-dashboard-index