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 (a) in Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) throughout England; and if he will make a statement.

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.

As part of our work to improve reporting of hate crime, my Department has worked with the police and created a dedicated reporting page tailored for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities on their hate crime reporting portal True Vision and also funded a dedicated third party reporting website run by Herts GATE. As well as this, my Department also funds projects that encourage these communities to report hate crime, including The Traveller Movement’s #OperationReportHate.

Data for racially motivated hatred towards Gypsies, Roma and Travellers is not disaggregated, and so we cannot provide more specific details on any specific areas.