Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to engage positively with Muslim communities, including the Muslim Council of Britain.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Government recognises the importance of engaging meaningfully with faith and belief groups. HMG does not engage with the Muslim Council of Britain. There has been no change to this policy. This has been set out consistently in Parliament.
Since being appointed Faith Minister, I have been engaging with Muslim communities nationwide, connecting with women, young people, and community leaders through extensive outreach efforts. This has included engagement with numerous Muslim leaders in the aftermath of the Southport incident and subsequent riots, hosting a Muslim women’s roundtable, and supporting a number of community-led initiatives including interfaith youth forums. Looking ahead, I am planning further engagement in preparation for Ramadan to continue fostering dialogue and strengthening collaboration.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for prohibiting the religious solemnisation of unregistered marriages to ensure that Muslim wives have the protection of divorce law.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The Marriage Act 1949 has long made provision for couples, including Muslim couples, to marry in their place of worship in a way that gives them legal rights and protections. While some couples intentionally choose to have a religious-only marriage, it is concerning that some individuals may not realise that their non-legally binding marriage lacks the legal protections that come with a legal marriage.
That is why the Government committed in its 2024 manifesto to ‘strengthen the rights and protections available to women in cohabiting couples’, including those in religious-only marriages. We will set out the next steps on delivering this manifesto commitment in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of Muslim women who have been discriminated in the workplace due to their (1) faith, and (2) race, in each of the past six years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government does not hold data on the number of Muslim women who have been discriminated against in the workplace due to their faith or race and as such no assessment has been made. We are committed to tackling all forms of workplace-based discrimination, including strengthening protections against combined discrimination.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking in response to the mass killing of Rohyinya people, including mainly women and children, in August by drone and artillery attacks in Maungdaw of the Rakhine State in Myanmar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We are deeply concerned about the Rohingya communities' situation in Rakhine state, Myanmar and were shocked by the attack on civilians fleeing Maungdaw in August. We continue to work with members of the United Nations Security Council and other international partners in calling for the protection of civilians by all parties and the need for unhindered humanitarian access to ensure support can reach the most vulnerable. We will continue to work with international partners to ensure there is accountability for acts committed against the Rohingya, including through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Since 2017, the UK has provided over £48 million in aid including cash assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene services to the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state. The UK has announced 19 rounds of targeted sanctions, most recently in October 2024 against suppliers of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar military.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide the finances for a Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum to those of a Muslim faith who gave their lives in two World Wars, as announced in the March Budget.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
Our country has a long history of commemorating and honouring the brave actions of service men and women during the two World Wars, and we will never forget the sacrifices they made for our future. The government will set out further details on our plans to commemorate and mark the service given by our Muslim communities in due course.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 7 August (HL344), how many staff in (1) the Treasury, (2) HM Revenue and Customs, and (3) Valuation Office Agency, are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; what is the percentage of overall working time they are permitted to spend on such network activity; how many hours are allocated in total; what are the names of each of the networks being funded; and what plans they have to (a) increase, or (b) reduce, such funding.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMT has eight diversity networks:
HMRC has seven Diversity Networks:
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has seven Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) networks:
It is expected that staff manage any network activity they engage in without detriment to their role. These networks are not centrally funded.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of (a) the report entitled A/HRC/55/80: Situation of human rights in Afghanistan - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 29 February 2024 and (b) allegations of human rights abuses against Shia Muslim (i) women and (ii) girls of Hazara ethnicity.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government notes the recommendations in the UN Special Rapporteur's latest report and will continue working closely with the international community, including the G7, G20 and through the UN, to promote and protect the human rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and to coordinate a consistent international response. More broadly, officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers to protect religious and ethnic minorities, including Shia Muslims and Hazara communities.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will hold discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential merits of appointing an independent adviser on tackling Islamophobia.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We continue to work closely with community groups, charities and schools to inform our position on tackling racially and religiously motivated discrimination as a whole – including anti-Muslim discrimination.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has held meetings in 2023 on (a) Islamophobia and (b) hate crime against Muslims.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
This Government is committed to doing everything we can to tackle anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of prejudice in our society. Ministers across Government regularly hold meetings covering these important issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will create an annual maternity survey specifically for Black women.
Answered by James Morris
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) undertakes a regular maternity survey of women giving give birth in all National Health Service acute trusts providing maternity services. In 2021, respondents could complete an online questionnaire, which increased the response rate, including from Asian and Asian British women and from those describing themselves as having ‘no religion’ or ‘Muslim’.
In preparing the 2023 survey, the CQC has engaged with other bodies to increase responses from black women and women from minority ethnic backgrounds. The CQC will also undertake engagement and communications activity to improve the survey’s profile and completion rate amongst ethnic minority groups with lower survey completion rates. The survey responses are analysed at a national level by ethnicity and other factors.