Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle hate crime in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it.

We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October.  The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and upholding the right to lawful protest.

It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.

In addition, the government funds an online hate crime reporting portal, True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime, providing expert advice to police to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.