Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group is obliged to take into consideration the views of adherents of any other religion besides Islam.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable and have no place in our communities.
In the most recently published Home Office statistics the number of religious hate crimes targeting Muslims accounted for 38% of all religious hate crimes. The number of religious hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 33%. These together make up 71%, and show government action here is urgently needed and whilst the government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition for antisemitism, it does not have an equivalent definition to aid its work in tackling hate directed towards Muslims.
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group’s objective is to develop a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia which is reflective of a wide range of perspectives and priorities for British Muslims. The Chair will agree a work and engagement plan with the Minister for Faith and Communities and will use this as the basis for the work of the Group.
The Group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies, including the police, with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
Full terms of reference for the Working Group have been published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group will meet with representatives of any other religion besides Islam.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable and have no place in our communities.
In the most recently published Home Office statistics the number of religious hate crimes targeting Muslims accounted for 38% of all religious hate crimes. The number of religious hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 33%. These together make up 71%, and show government action here is urgently needed and whilst the government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition for antisemitism, it does not have an equivalent definition to aid its work in tackling hate directed towards Muslims.
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group’s objective is to develop a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia which is reflective of a wide range of perspectives and priorities for British Muslims. The Chair will agree a work and engagement plan with the Minister for Faith and Communities and will use this as the basis for the work of the Group.
The Group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies, including the police, with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
Full terms of reference for the Working Group have been published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the police will be expected to use the working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia once it is formulated by the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable and have no place in our communities.
In the most recently published Home Office statistics the number of religious hate crimes targeting Muslims accounted for 38% of all religious hate crimes. The number of religious hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 33%. These together make up 71%, and show government action here is urgently needed and whilst the government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition for antisemitism, it does not have an equivalent definition to aid its work in tackling hate directed towards Muslims.
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group’s objective is to develop a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia which is reflective of a wide range of perspectives and priorities for British Muslims. The Chair will agree a work and engagement plan with the Minister for Faith and Communities and will use this as the basis for the work of the Group.
The Group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies, including the police, with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
Full terms of reference for the Working Group have been published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to formulate official definitions of hatred or abuse of adherents of Sikhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other religions besides Islam.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable and have no place in our communities.
In the most recently published Home Office statistics the number of religious hate crimes targeting Muslims accounted for 38% of all religious hate crimes. The number of religious hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 33%. These together make up 71%, and show government action here is urgently needed and whilst the government has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition for antisemitism, it does not have an equivalent definition to aid its work in tackling hate directed towards Muslims.
The Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group’s objective is to develop a working definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia which is reflective of a wide range of perspectives and priorities for British Muslims. The Chair will agree a work and engagement plan with the Minister for Faith and Communities and will use this as the basis for the work of the Group.
The Group’s proposed definition will be non-statutory and will provide the government and other relevant bodies, including the police, with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
Full terms of reference for the Working Group have been published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the independent investigation into the effectiveness of the Office for National Statistics will consider the impact of full-time remote working.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Sir Robert Devereux’s independent review of the ONS will take into account a wide range of factors relating to performance and culture in the organisation.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Christians have been recorded as victims of Islamophobic hate crimes in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG has policy responsibility for racial and religiously motivated hate crime, but all hate crime data recorded by the police is collected by the Home Office.
In the year ending March 2024, there were 140,561 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. There was a 5% decrease compared with the previous year on total hate crimes recorded, but there was a 25% increase in religious hate crimes compared with the previous year. 38% of religious hate crimes were targeted against Muslims, a 13% rise on the previous year.
The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on religious hate crimes which is recorded by the police in England and Wales. This is broken down by the perceived religion of the victim, but information is not collected on the actual religion/identity of the victim, so it is not possible to disaggregate the number of victims of Islamophobic hate crimes who were not Muslims.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many non-Muslims have been recorded as victims of Islamophobic hate crimes in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG has policy responsibility for racial and religiously motivated hate crime, but all hate crime data recorded by the police is collected by the Home Office.
In the year ending March 2024, there were 140,561 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. There was a 5% decrease compared with the previous year on total hate crimes recorded, but there was a 25% increase in religious hate crimes compared with the previous year. 38% of religious hate crimes were targeted against Muslims, a 13% rise on the previous year.
The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on religious hate crimes which is recorded by the police in England and Wales. This is broken down by the perceived religion of the victim, but information is not collected on the actual religion/identity of the victim, so it is not possible to disaggregate the number of victims of Islamophobic hate crimes who were not Muslims.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 February (HL5010), what plans they have to extend the Palace of Westminster controlled area created initially by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 so that the section of pavement adjoining both the Great George Street government offices and the section of the A302 that forms the north side of Parliament Square, rather than only the vehicular access points within that area, is subject to the same restrictions on amplified noise as the rest of Parliament Square.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps its public order legislation under constant review and where gaps are identified we will seek to address them.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to extend the Palace of Westminster controlled area created by section 143 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to include (1) the section of the A302 which forms the north side of Parliament Square, and (2) the public areas which adjoin.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through section 76 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act 2022), the previous Government amended section 142A of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to expand the “controlled area” of the Palace of Westminster to include the vehicular access points to the Parliamentary Estate. The amendment also added obstructing the passage of a vehicle into or out of the Parliamentary Estate to the list of prohibited activities.
The aim of the amendments was to prevent the impediment of Parliamentarians’ vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate via vehicular entrances. The scope of the amendment was determined in consultation with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and other key partners. The PCSC Act 2022 will be subject to post-legislative scrutiny between April 2025 and April 2027. We will carefully consider the findings of that review and should gaps in the legislation be identified, we will seek to address them.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the map on page 11 of the guidance issued by the Home Office in March 2023 on provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 relating to Parliament Square and the areas surrounding the Palace of Westminster, why the section of the A302 forming the north side of Parliament Square was not included in the controlled area.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through section 76 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act 2022), the previous Government amended section 142A of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to expand the “controlled area” of the Palace of Westminster to include the vehicular access points to the Parliamentary Estate. The amendment also added obstructing the passage of a vehicle into or out of the Parliamentary Estate to the list of prohibited activities.
The aim of the amendments was to prevent the impediment of Parliamentarians’ vehicular access to the Parliamentary Estate via vehicular entrances. The scope of the amendment was determined in consultation with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and other key partners. The PCSC Act 2022 will be subject to post-legislative scrutiny between April 2025 and April 2027. We will carefully consider the findings of that review and should gaps in the legislation be identified, we will seek to address them.