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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, for what reason his Department decided that the Independent Faith Engagement Review call for evidence should be open for 28 days; and whether he sought independent advice on this decision.

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%


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, how many and what proportion of (a) respondents to the call for evidence and (b) people who gave evidence in person to the Independent Faith Engagement Review were from the Sikh community.

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%


Written Question
Religion
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, with which faith organisations the Government has a policy of not engaging.

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%


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, who gave evidence in person to the Independent Faith Engagement Review; and how many and what proportion of those people also provided written evidence through the call for evidence.

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%


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, who responded to the call for evidence for the Independent Faith Engagement Review by (a) faith group and (b) organisation.

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%


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%


Written Question
Iran: Baha'i Faith
Thursday 7th January 2016

Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of protection of the civil and economic rights of the Bahá'í community in Iran; and what representations have been made to him on the violation of that community's human rights in that country.

Answered by Tobias Ellwood

The treatment of Baha’is remains of serious concern. We have repeatedly expressed our concern at the harassment faced by Baha’is in Iran, including the sentencing of seven Baha'i leaders to 20 years in prison. We continue to urge the Iranian Government to ensure that all Iranian citizens are able to practise their faith freely, as required by international conventions. I met with an Interfaith Delegation on freedom of religion or belief in Iran on 1 December, during which representations were made to him on the plight of the Baha'i community in Iran.


Written Question
Schools: Finance
Monday 28th April 2014

Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Iranian authorities about the persecution and detention of members of the Bahá'í faith in that country.

Answered by Hugh Robertson

We have repeatedly expressed our concern at the treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran, including the sentencing of seven Baha'i leaders in Iran to 20 years imprisonment and the regular harassment the community suffers from. We raised the treatment of Baha'is with the UN Special Rapporteur at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014, and in our contacts with the Iranian authorities. We will continue to call on the Iranian government to ensure that all its citizens are able to exercise their right to freedom of religion, free from persecution and harassment.