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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to address Islamophobia in the UK.

We remain deeply concerned at hatred directed against British Muslims and others because of their faith or heritage. This is utterly unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our country.

This Government has done more than any other to tackle Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred. In early March 2019, the Communities Secretary and Home Secretary chaired a high-level roundtable discussion on Islamophobia to hear directly from communities about their concerns. In addition, the Cross-Government Working Group to Tackle Anti-Muslim Hatred plays a critical role as the Government’s main forum for discussing issues of concern around Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

Alongside, we have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with over £2.5 million between 2016 and 2020 to monitor and combat anti-Muslim hatred. We have committed £1.6 million for the Places of Worship Security Grant this year, and a further £5 million over three years to support security training for places of worship.

To agree a formal definition of Islamophobia the government will be appointing two advisers, building on the important work already undertaken by the Anti Muslim Hatred Working Group.