Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the suspension of student visas on Afghan women who are prohibited by the Taliban from accessing higher education in Afghanistan; and whether they will introduce an exemption for women offered places at UK universities.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no current plans to introduce exceptions to the visa brake. However, the government has recently announced the development of new safe and legal routes to offer sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution from around the world. We will ensure that these routes will be sustainable, well-managed and in line with UK capacity to support new refugees. It is expected that the student refugee route will be open for applications from Autumn 2026, with the first students arriving in Autumn 2027.
The visa brake is being kept under regular review. It is not intended to be permanent and will be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they will use to review the visa brake currently applying to Afghan students; and when they expect the first review to take place.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no current plans to introduce exceptions to the visa brake. However, the government has recently announced the development of new safe and legal routes to offer sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution from around the world. We will ensure that these routes will be sustainable, well-managed and in line with UK capacity to support new refugees. It is expected that the student refugee route will be open for applications from Autumn 2026, with the first students arriving in Autumn 2027.
The visa brake is being kept under regular review. It is not intended to be permanent and will be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will update and publish a new hate crime action plan.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 9 March 2026, the Government published Protecting What Matters, which outlines our approach to improving social cohesion, including the steps we are taking to combat hate crime.
The Government is currently prioritising the implementation of measures outlined in Protecting What Matters, as well as continuing existing programmes to address hate crime and religious hatred.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether all departments are currently using the non-statutory definition of anti‑Muslim hostility published in March; and, if not, when they expect all departments to implement and apply that definition.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.
More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the key drivers of the rise in anti-Muslim hostility; and what steps they are taking to address them.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.
More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address hate crime against Muslim women and to improve Muslim women's safety in public spaces.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.
More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the special representative on anti-Muslim hostility will be a paid position; if so, what remuneration will be provided; what the expected weekly time commitment for the role will be; what the remit of the role will be; whether the postholder will be allocated a budget; if so, what the budget will be used for; and whether funding for the role will be provided from the fund to tackle anti-Muslim hostility.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.
More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the marches in London led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in September, what assessment they have made of the security concerns and fears experienced by diverse communities, and what specific support and reassurance they are providing to those impacted.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democratic society. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. However, there is no excuse for violence or abuse driven by hatred and discrimination, and we support the police in taking strong action against those crimes.
The police have a range of powers to deal with any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to others. They also have the power to impose conditions on protests where they reasonably believe the protest may result in serious disorder, serious damage to property, serious disruption to the life of the community, or where the purpose of the protest is to intimidate others.
The government continues to work closely with police and community partners to strengthen protections for communities and challenge hatred. This includes providing up to £50.9 million of funding this year to protect faith communities and safeguard places of worship. We also work with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.
This government is absolutely committed to protecting our communities and making our streets safer, and we refuse to allow the intolerance of a few to impact the lives of our diverse communities.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications were shortlisted and interviewed for the Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund; what was the total scores for each application; and how many applications were presented to the Minster for Faith, Communities and Resettlement, Lord Khan of Burnley, to consider.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21st July 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total score awarded to the application of the British Muslim Trust to the Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21st July 2025.