Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 10 March (HL5444), whether the guidance found within the document she has cited, and which runs to more than 60,000 words, includes, or is intended to include, any effective measures relevant to protecting the rights and sensitivities of Christians: and if so, where in that document it might be found.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is very aware of concerns about freedom to hold and express religious beliefs and the guidance it produces does specifically cover these issues: for example in guidance about employment which can be found at http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/employing-people/religion-or-belief-guidance-employers . The EHRC recently completed a public consultation on this subject, which was its largest ever, and following that will be issuing further guidance and a report on the adequacy of the laws protecting religion or belief, to be issued later this year.