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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to tackle Islamophobia; and what plans he has to support Islamophobia Awareness Month in November 2020.

This Government has pledged to tackle prejudice, racism and discrimination. We recognise the discrimination and intolerance faced by Muslim communities.? Everyone in our country should be able to practice their faith in freedom.? We already have some of the strongest legislation in the world to tackle hate crime and, where groups incite racial hatred or are engaged in racially or religiously motivated criminal activity, we would expect them to be prosecuted.? This Government’s work to tackle the scourge of anti-Muslim hatred is extensive, and includes:

• Supporting Tell MAMA?(Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with more than £2.8 million since 2016, helping to monitor and combat anti-Muslim hatred
• Providing almost £5 million through our Places of Worship Security Grant in the last two years alone - helping to secure and protect mosques and other places of worship
• Supporting the work of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, which provides valuable advice on the challenges faced by Britain’s Muslim communities, and proposals on how to address them