Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2025 to Question 52388 on Teachers: Religion, what the first degree subjects the 80 percent of entrants to RE Initial Teacher Training who did not have their first degree in Theology and Religious Studies were.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The following table shows the subject for the first degree of new entrants to religious education initial teacher training (ITT) in the 2024/25 academic year. Subject is as specified in the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s Common Aggregation Hierarchy. Trainees with unknown first degree subject are excluded. Where trainees have more than one first degree subject, they are listed as “joint honours”. Note that some degree subjects, such as philosophy that are not included within theology and religious studies, may contain relevant content for religious education. It is the responsibility of the accredited ITT provider to determine the suitability of a candidate applying for ITT. The department publishes the ITT criteria which sets out the minimum requirements that a candidate must meet to be eligible for ITT.
Degree subject | Number of trainees | Percentage of trainees |
Theology and religious studies | 89 | 20% |
Philosophy | 82 | 18% |
Sociology | 52 | 12% |
Joint honours | 47 | 11% |
History | 30 | 7% |
Law | 29 | 7% |
Psychology (non-specific) | 23 | 5% |
Education | 18 | 4% |
Politics | 14 | 3% |
Anthropology | 5 | 1% |
Childhood and youth studies | 5 | 1% |
Others in psychology | 5 | 1% |
Liberal arts (non-specific) | 4 | 1% |
Classics | 3 | 1% |
Media studies | 3 | 1% |
Social work | 3 | 1% |
Cinematics and photography | 2 | <1% |
Health studies | 2 | <1% |
Literature in English | 2 | <1% |
Management studies | 2 | <1% |
Music | 2 | <1% |
Social sciences (non-specific) | 2 | <1% |
Sport and exercise sciences | 2 | <1% |
American and Australasian studies | 1 | <1% |
Art | 1 | <1% |
Business and management (non-specific) | 1 | <1% |
Combined, general or negotiated studies | 1 | <1% |
Counselling, psychotherapy and occupational therapy | 1 | <1% |
Creative writing | 1 | <1% |
Development studies | 1 | <1% |
Developmental psychology | 1 | <1% |
Drama | 1 | <1% |
Economics | 1 | <1% |
English language | 1 | <1% |
Forensic and archaeological sciences | 1 | <1% |
Geography (non-specific) | 1 | <1% |
Health sciences (non-specific) | 1 | <1% |
Nursing (non-specific) | 1 | <1% |
Polymers and textiles | 1 | <1% |
Social policy | 1 | <1% |
Tourism, transport and travel | 1 | <1% |
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Egyptian counterpart on reports of (a) arbitrary arrests, (b) enforced disappearances and (c) threatened deportations of members of the Ahmadiyya community.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK. We regularly raise concerns with the Egyptian government, including on arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and issues related to freedom of religion or belief. At the UN Human Right's Council's Periodic Review in January, the UK expressed concerns over the detention of journalists, activists, media restrictions and pre-trial detention practices. We called for fair trial standards and detainee releases. The UK champions freedom of religion or belief and continue to work with Egypt to ensure they protect these rights. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting times were for patients requiring an organ transplant in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) religion and (b) ethnic group.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on waiting times is not held by year for religious or ethnic groups. Waiting times also vary between organ types.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation and managing the organ transplant waiting list across the United Kingdom. Information available on annual activity and the current waiting list is captured in the NHSBT Annual Activity Report, which is available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
Improving National Health Service Organ Donor Register registration rates overall and particularly for ethnic minority groups is a priority for the Government and NHSBT, to save and improve more lives.
NHSBT conducts marketing and communication activity throughout the year to increase organ donation particularly for underrepresented groups which includes but is not limited to: publication of the Annual Report of Ethnic Differences in Transplantation with supporting media coverage including on the BBC Asian Network; raising awareness during South Asian Heritage Month with charities and organisations; continued activity during Organ Donation Week 2024 with partners including Dalgety Tea and an exclusive screening of the living donation film ‘The Final Gift’ at Brixton’s Ritzy cinema.
NHSBT is committed to reducing health inequalities in treatment and health outcomes that see some people wait longer for life saving treatments, or in some cases miss out on them all together. Some of the priority areas to tackle health inequalities include reducing the waiting time for minority groups waiting for organs and increasing access to automated exchange transfusion by people with sickle cell disorder.
NHSBT’s Community Grants Programme is part of NHSBT’s work to build support for organ donation amongst Black, Asian, mixed heritage and minority ethnic communities, working through faith groups to increase understanding and drive behavioural change on organ donation. In the latest funding round, we awarded 51 organisations funding to begin their work in September 2024. This included £150,000 to support deceased organ donation and £150,000 to support living kidney donation.
Projects range from local community charities, experienced blood/organ charities to universities and places of worship. For example, the South Asian Heritage Trust aims to raise awareness about organ donation and tackling health inequalities by empowering South Asian communities to make informed choices and increase the number of registered organ donors. NHSBT also works closely with patient groups and charities including the Sickle Cell Society, the National Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and Minority Ethnic Transplant Alliance (NBTA), the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, the NHS Race Health Observatory and many more.
NHSBT works closely with the NBTA to deliver culturally and religiously sensitive messaging about low donation rates amongst their communities.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 33865, on Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, if she will place a copy of the (a) internal Equality Impact Assessment and (b) equality screening in the Library of the House.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme including careful consideration of the potential equality impacts of the changes, in particular with regard to the protected characteristic of religion or belief. A separate equality screening or impact assessment document has not been produced, so will not be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22646 on MHCLG: Religion, if she will list each of the individual faith days or faith events recognised by her Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This department recognises that there are many different religious days and festivals throughout the year, and these can have different levels of significance for people of faith. For major religious festivals, the government aims to mark these appropriately through ministerial attendance at events, receptions or through the department’s social media channels.
This department also recognises the importance of meaningful engagement as an opportunity to reach out to our faith communities and celebrate their invaluable contribution to life in our country. My ministerial colleague, Lord Khan of Burnley, in his first six months as Faith Minister, was proud to have engaged with all faith groups in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing persecution of religious minorities and Catholic clergy in Belarus, including the sentencing of Father Henrykh Akalatovich; and what steps they are taking to support freedom of religion or belief in Belarus through diplomatic or international channels.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions freedom of religion or belief around the world. We closely monitor human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, in Belarus and condemn the sentencing of Father Henrykh Akalatovich in a closed-door trial. We work with likeminded partners to raise the human rights situation with the Belarusian authorities and demand the release of political prisoners. Our Embassy in Minsk demonstrates UK solidarity with political prisoners using social media campaigns to highlight ongoing human rights violations, including discrimination based on religion or belief.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make representations with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development to her French counterpart on the impact of the hijab ban in sports in France on freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport must be open to everyone. The UK will continue to champion freedom of religion or belief for all, both at home and abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.
The Government expects sports bodies in the UK to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.
We are working to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our positions at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. Ministers regularly engage with their French counterparts on a broad range of issues.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support freedom of religion or belief for athletes.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sport must be open to everyone. The UK will continue to champion freedom of religion or belief for all, both at home and abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.
The Government expects sports bodies in the UK to take robust action to tackle discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. The Government will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and sector organisations to fight all forms of discrimination at all levels of sport.
We are working to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our positions at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our important bilateral work. Ministers regularly engage with their French counterparts on a broad range of issues.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote (a) internet freedom and (b) access to information to advocate freedom of religion internationally.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The UK is committed to media freedom, and advocating freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The UK is a member of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), a partnership of 41 governments, co-ordinating diplomatic efforts and engaging with civil society and private sectors to support Internet freedom. We co-chaired the FOC's Task Force on Internet Shutdowns for the past two years. We also co-hosted the International Day for Universal Access to Information with UNESCO, in 2023. Internet freedom and access to information are important enablers of democracy and human rights, including the right to FoRB. We continue to promote FoRB internationally, by coordinating with partners at fora such as the UN, and bilaterally through our diplomatic network.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum claims her Department has (a) granted and (b) refused to non-religious people fleeing Afghanistan from fear of persecution in the latest period for which data is available; and whether her Department has issued guidance on handling asylum claims for (a) religious and (b) non-religious persecution.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. The Home Office does not publish initial decisions on asylum claims by religion.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2024. Data for the year ending September 2024 will be published on 28 November 2024.
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religious persecution, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, such as human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country, is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes.