Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 30 June 2025.
Charlie Maynard
Liberal Democrat, Witney
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what resources he plans to provide to the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The appointment of David Smith MP as UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a clear signal of the value placed by the UK on championing FoRB for all around the world.
The Envoy David works closely with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers in promoting FoRB and regularly meets with Lord Collins as the Minister for Human Rights on the issue. I met with the Envoy on 6 May to discuss his work. He is supported in his work by the FCDO FoRB team and other officials across the organisation.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
