Written question asked by Gareth Thomas (Labour) on Monday, 21 October 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 October 2019. It was answered by Conor Burns (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 October 2019 on behalf of the Department for International Trade.

Department for International Trade: Jainism and Zoroastrianism

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when representatives of the (a) Jain and (b) Zoroastrian community were invited to national events organised by her Department in each of the last two years.

Answer: The Department for International Trade has held many business events in each of the last two years, to support businesses to trade internationally, to promote the UK as a leading destination for foreign investment and to promote the message of free trade. Attendees were invited based on their relevance to these objectives, and focused primarily on business, diplomatic, and policy representatives as well as organisations representing civil society, particularly those that reflected interests across consumer, trade union, academia, regional and devolved areas. Attendees were not invited on the basis of representing religious or cultural communities.

Secondary information