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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group’s report entitled Coronavirus, fear and how Islamophobia spreads on social media, what steps his Department is taking to work with (a) social media companies and (b) relevant statutory bodies to (i) address a potential rise in Islamophobia as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and (ii) prevent a future increase in hate crimes when the covid-19 lockdown comes to an end.

The Government takes hate crime and discrimination of any kind very seriously.

The Government is working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), civil society partners and social media platforms to encourage victim reporting of both online and offline hate crime and ensure social media companies continue to prioritise the removal of hateful content during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government is also working with communities, civil society partners and the police to monitor and address any developments in hate crime as government Covid-19 restrictions change.