Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2826), what steps they will take to increase the number of cases related to religion and belief handled by the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The service provides advice in relation to all the protected characteristics covered in the Equality Act 2010. EASS has a dedicated Stakeholder Engagement Manager who undertakes engagement with organisations that represent the interests of those with protected characteristics that have contacted the service and with organisations that wish to establish links with the service in the future.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2825), which organisation was awarded the contract to operate the Equality Advisory and Support Service in the most recent competitive tendering process; how much funding they have allocated to this organisation each year since 2022; and what the timeline is for the review and reopening of the next competitive tendering process.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

G4S was awarded the EASS contract in the last competitive tender process. The spend amount of the contract to date is £1,054,680 excl. VAT in the 2022/23 contract year, £1,104,180 excl. VAT in the 2023/24 contract year and £769,868 excl. VAT in the 2024/25 contract year. The reopening of the competitive tendering process will be ahead of the next contract juncture in June 2026.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2 December 2024 (HL2826), whether they collect data on the number of Muslims who contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service; and if not, what plans they have to do so.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The EASS collects statistics on the protected characteristics related to the issue raised with the service, this includes if the issue relates to religion or belief. The statistics for the percentage of the cases related to religion and belief that were received from those who identified as Muslim is not collected. Individual characteristics are recorded if disclosed during the conversation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total funding they allocated to Faith Matters for the Tell MAMA project for the 2025–26 financial year; what was the duration in months for which the funding was granted; and what specific activities will be supported by this funding.

Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to providing a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and providing support for victims, and on 2 April announced the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund. We are seeking grant applications to support organisations to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims. We welcome applications from Tell MAMA as well as alternative providers.

The government has also made available £500,000 for funding Tell MAMA in 2025/26, to support their work for Q1 and Q2 of 2025/26. This is subject to their signing of a Grant Funding Agreement for 2025/26 which will detail the specific activities the funding will support.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many calls the ACAS helpline received in each year between 2016 and 2024; of those, how many and what percentage of calls were about religion and belief; and how many and what percentage of calls were received from those who identified as Muslim.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Between the years 2016 and 2024, the Acas helpline received the following numbers of calls. Acas’ data on calls is not broken down into different religions and beliefs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 9 December 2024 (HL2824), what assessment they have made of the prevalence of transnational marriage abandonment cases for 2024 and 2025.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Since 31 January 2024 those who find themselves a victim of domestic abuse in the form of transnational marriage abandonment (TMA) can apply for entry clearance (Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE)) under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse to the Immigration Rules.

Data on the number of applications under the TMA route is published each quarter on gov.uk under the category ‘Settlement VDA LTE’: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/682b151450dbd3ce8372abb4/visas-status-and-immigration-data-q1-2025.ods.

The data shows there were 9 cases in 2024 Q1, 17 in Q2, 34 in Q3, 23 in Q4. For 2025 the data shows there were 12 cases in Q1.

Prior to this, cases of TMA were not distinguishable in published statistics. We will continue to monitor the prevalence of TMA cases over time.

Aid Match APPG
Monday 23rd June 2025

Found: Desai and its Co-chair Chis Law MP for their valuable review and guidance and thank Vice-chair Baroness Gohir

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Funding provided to tackle violence against women and girls through open application processes – Baroness Gohir

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: mortality rate of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women and the mortality rates of their babies – Baroness Gohir

Women affected by the Criminal Justice System APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Uncles, Women in Prison Apologies • Kate Osamor MP, Labour • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP • Baroness Gohir

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: APPG on PDRH members Baroness Uddin, Baroness Gohir and Baroness Thornton also spoke in the debate.

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Baroness Gohir OBE Baroness Shaista Gohir OBE entered the HoL in 2022 as a Crossbench peer.