Written Question

Independent Faith Engagement Review

Friday 14th July 2023

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what questions were asked to faith communities during interviews for the Independent Faith Engagement Review.

Answered by Dehenna Davison

In relation to the call for evidence, information is in the process of being deleted according to our published privacy notice.

In relation to additional in-person meetings and any written evidence submitted to the reviewer outside the call for evidence, I want to re-iterate that as an Independent reviewer, Colin Bloom was free to meet with any individuals or organisations he chose to inform his review. He was not under any obligation to inform officials of his meetings or to pass on any written evidence.

As an Independent reviewer, Colin Bloom met with a with a wide range of stakeholders - including charities, organisations, academics and other sectoral experts and key individuals of all faiths and none - whom he deemed to have relevant insight into particular themes relevant to his report. Given the sensitive issues covered in his review, Colin Bloom was committed to preserving respondents' anonymity so they could speak freely. While these anonymised sources and external analysis have informed the review, the views and recommendations expressed are Mr Bloom's own.

With this in mind, we can provide the following information:

1. The call for evidence was conducted in adherence with the Cabinet Office's consultation principles, including consideration of the length of the consultation. Given the sheer volume of responses (over 21,000), the length of the consultation period clearly provided sufficient time for individuals and organisations to respond.
2. The breakdown of respondents by declared faith was as follows:

Religion	Respondent Count	Percentage of Respondents
Christian	9874	47.01%
Muslim	4189	19.94%
Hindu	2522	12.01%
Atheist/Humanist	2466	11.74%
Pagan	381	1.81%
Sikh	354	1.69%
Jain	253	1.20%
Ahmadi Muslim	247	1.18%
Jewish	210	1.00%
Buddhist	71	0.34%
Bahá'í	47	0.22%
Quaker	38	0.18%
Spiritual	29	0.14%
Spiritualist	14	0.07%
Zoroastrian	10	0.05%
Taoist	4	0.02%
Dual religious identities	82	0.39%
Multiple religious identities	54	0.26%
Prefer not to say	80	0.38%
N/A	78	0.37%

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Non-Departmental Publication (Transparency)
Pension Protection Fund

Jul. 13 2023

Source Page: Pension Protection Fund annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023
Document: Pension Protection Fund annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 (print ready) (PDF)

Found: In his spare time David is a lifeboat volunteer for the RNLI in Wales and an accredited humanist funeral

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Non-Departmental Publication (Transparency)
Pension Protection Fund

Jul. 13 2023

Source Page: Pension Protection Fund annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023
Document: Pension Protection Fund annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 (PDF)

Found: In his spare time David is a lifeboat volunteer for the RNLI in Wales and an accredited humanist funeral

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Lords Chamber
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Report stage: Part 1 - Thu 13 Jul 2023
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

Mentions:
1: Baroness Burt of Solihull (LDEM - Life peer) My husband, himself a dedicated humanist, chipped in financially and helped with the construction, and - Speech Link

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Select Committee

Fifth Report - Species Reintroduction

Report Jul. 11 2023

Committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Found: Force ( SR0056 ) 21 Forestry Commission ( SR0035 ) 22 Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust ( SR0034 ) 23 Humanist

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Westminster Hall
Bishops in the House of Lords - Thu 06 Jul 2023
Cabinet Office

Mentions:
1: Tommy Sheppard (SNP - Edinburgh East) clear from the outset that my principal role here today is as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary humanist - Speech Link
2: Tommy Sheppard (SNP - Edinburgh East) the core of the argument I am about to make, but I start by thanking all the members of the all-party humanist - Speech Link
3: Rachel Hopkins (LAB - Luton South) I speak as a humanist —I declare that as an interest. - Speech Link
4: Tommy Sheppard (SNP - Edinburgh East) I say that as a humanist and an atheist, but I respect everyone’s right to practise their religion and - Speech Link
5: Andrew Selous (CON - South West Bedfordshire) I had an email from one of my humanist constituents a few days ago asking me to speak in this debate. - Speech Link

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Lords Chamber
Illegal Migration Bill
Report stage - Wed 05 Jul 2023
Home Office

Mentions:
1: None In Committee, I raised the case of Mubarak Bala, president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria. - Speech Link

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Select Committee

2023-06-20 16:15:00+01:00

Oral Evidence Jun. 20 2023

Inquiry: Proposals for backbench debates
Inquiry Status: Open
Committee: Backbench Business Committee

Found: I am the chair of the all-party parliamentary humanist group.

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Departmental Publication (Services)
Ministry of Defence

Jun. 19 2023

Source Page: Service Police Complaints Form
Document: (webpage)

Found: Religious belief/faith: ☐ Buddhist ☐ Christian ☐ Hindu ☐ Jewish ☐ Muslim ☐ Sikh ☐ Kirati ☐ Humanist

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