Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle Islamophobia; and if she will make a statement.

The Coalition Government takes seriously all forms of hate crime, including anti-Muslim hatred, seriously and we have legislation in place to protect people from hostility, hatred and violence.

In May, we published our refreshed cross-Government hate crime action plan - Challenge it, Report it, Stop it, setting out the progress we have made and further steps we will take to address the issue. Specific actions to tackle anti-Muslim hatred include supporting educational workshops for young people, running a series of regional roadshows across the country in the spring to engage with communities, and publishing new hate crime guidance for police officers which provides advice on dealing with anti-Muslim hatred.

We also continue to support the work of cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, which includes community representatives, to identify what more can be done to prevent anti-Muslim hatred, and respond to any emerging issues.