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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to improve the recording of hate crimes against Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

We have one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry. Our Hate Crime Action Plan focuses on reducing hate crime, increasing reporting and improving support for victims.

We are aware that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities under-report hate crime, which is why we worked with the police and created a separate reporting page for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers on their hate crime reporting portal True Vision.

My Department also funds projects that encourage Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to report hate crime, including The Traveller Movement’s #OperationReportHate, and a dedicated third party reporting website run by Herts GATE.