Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart on the recent arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We monitor human rights in Bangladesh closely, including following student-led protests in Bangladesh. I understand the concerns about the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das. In November, during my visit to Bangladesh, I discussed the importance of protecting religious minorities, including the Hindu community with Chief Adviser Yunus. I underlined the UK Government's commitment to religious freedom in Bangladesh. We will continue to engage with the Interim Government of Bangladesh on the importance of FoRB.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that planning reforms balance new housing development with the protection of (a) green spaces and (b) local heritage in (i) Leicester and (ii) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework on 12 December. The Framework reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring the historic environment, both at a local and national level, and local green space are appropriately protected.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the two child benefit cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty before publishing a strategy in Spring 2025.