Adult social care workforce in England
An overview of key issues and policy concerning the adult social care workforce in England.
A Westminster Hall debate on religious persecution and the World Watch List 2024 is scheduled for Thursday 25 January 2024, from 1.30 to 4.30pm. The debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee and will be led by Fiona Bruce MP.
Religious persecution and the World Watch List 2024 (231 KB , PDF)
The World Watch list is an annual report published by Open Doors, an NGO which supports Christians worldwide, and lists the fifty countries in which Christians face the “most extreme persecution”. A parliamentary launch for the latest report, which covers 2023, was held on 17 January 2024.
There is no internationally agreed definition of persecution. Open Doors’ methodology defines persecution as:
Any hostility experienced as a result of one’s identification with Christ. This can include hostile attitudes, words and actions towards Christians.
This broad definition includes (but is not limited to) restrictions, pressure, discrimination, opposition, disinformation, injustice, intimidation, mistreatment, marginalisation, oppression, intolerance, infringement, violation, ostracism, hostilities, harassment, abuse, violence, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The report also assesses incidents of violence and acts affecting private, family, community, national and church life, and ranks each country based on the number and nature of reported incidents. The report for 2023 said that:
North Korea has been consistently ranked as having one of the highest rates of persecution since the World Watch List was first conducted in 1983. The number of countries ranked as conducting “extreme” or “very high” persecution has risen from 23 in 2015 to 55 in 2023.
Open Doors UK has also published an Advocacy report (PDF) in 2024, which makes several recommendations on UK Government action, including:
The UK Government says promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a priority in its human rights work internationally.
The Commons Library research briefing, The UK and global Freedom of Religion or Belief, September 2023, sets out UK Government and policy to promote and protect FoRB. This includes:
Fiona Bruce MP has also introduced a Private Member’s Bill, International Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill 2022-23 (Bill 373). This would put the role of Special Envoy for International Freedom of Religion or Belief onto a statutory footing and require the Government to provide staffing and other facilities to support the office.
Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK, has called upon the Government to place the office on a statutory footing. The Bishop of Truro’s report in 2020 also called for the role to put on a permanent footing.
The Government has said it is “committed” to the role but has not issued any statement on whether it should be put on a statutory basis.
Religious persecution and the World Watch List 2024 (231 KB , PDF)
An overview of key issues and policy concerning the adult social care workforce in England.
What Police and Crime Commissioners do, how they work with police forces and how they are held to account.
Information on the UK and international response to the 2023/24 Israel-Hezbollah conflict from October 2023