Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote anti-racism in football.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. The sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’ has diversity and inclusion at its heart.
The Government continues to liaise closely and regularly with all the football authorities about their work to tackle discrimination. This includes actions targeted at and around football grounds, such as improving reporting systems, providing better training and support for referees and stewards, and improving the quality of CCTV around stadia.
We also welcomed the launch of The FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ last year which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch.
In January, the Government convened a roundtable with footballers, alongside the Chair of The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board and the Professional Footballers’ Association, to discuss social media abuse and the upcoming Online Safety Bill. There is still progress to be made and the Government will continue to press the football authorities to build on their work to date to tackle discrimination.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to tackle abuse and discrimination experienced by LGBTIQ+ people in the last three years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All forms of abuse and hatred are unacceptable.
The UK has a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes, which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity. The Government published the hate crime action plan (Action Against Hate: The UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime) in 2016 and refreshed this Plan in October 2018.
The Government has commissioned a Law Commission review of the adequacy of current hate crime legislation. The review will report this year and we will respond to it when it is complete.
Also, the Home Office has funded multiple projects aimed at tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime including:
Government action to tackle broader discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people includes:
The Government will continue to work with the police, stakeholders including Galop and Stonewall and others to understand the concerns of LGBTQ+ communities and what should be done to address those concerns.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle rising homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes and hate incidents in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All forms of abuse and hatred are unacceptable.
The UK has a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes, which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity. The Government published the hate crime action plan (Action Against Hate: The UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime) in 2016 and refreshed this Plan in October 2018.
The Government has commissioned a Law Commission review of the adequacy of current hate crime legislation. The review will report this year and we will respond to it when it is complete.
Also, the Home Office has funded multiple projects aimed at tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime including:
Government action to tackle broader discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people includes:
The Government will continue to work with relevant stakeholders, including Galop and Stonewall, to ensure that these actions are having a positive impact on the range of LGBTQ+ communities affected by hate crime and wider discrimination.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what legislative and other steps she is proposing to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes in the UK ahead of the UK’s Safe To Be Me international LGBT+ conference in 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All forms of abuse and hatred are unacceptable.
The UK has a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes, which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity. The Government published the hate crime action plan (Action Against Hate: The UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime) in 2016 and refreshed this Plan in October 2018.
The Government has commissioned a Law Commission review of the adequacy of current hate crime legislation. The review will report this year and we will respond to it when it is complete.
Also, the Home Office has funded multiple projects aimed at tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime including:
Government action to tackle broader discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people includes:
The Government will continue to work with relevant stakeholders, including Galop and Stonewall, to ensure that these actions are having a positive impact on the range of LGBTQ+ communities affected by hate crime and wider discrimination.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent reports he has received from the football authorities on the steps they were taking to eradicate racial abuse from the game.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to liaise closely and regularly with all the football authorities about their work to tackle discrimination. This includes actions targeted at and around football grounds, such as improving reporting systems, providing better training and support for referees and stewards, and improving the quality of CCTV around stadia.
We also welcomed the launch of The FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ last year which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch.
In January, the Government convened a roundtable with footballers, alongside the Chair of The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board and the Professional Footballers’ Association, to discuss social media abuse and the upcoming Online Safety Bill.
However, there is still progress to be made and the Government will continue to press the football authorities to build on their work to date to tackle discrimination.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he last requested a report from the football authorities on the steps they are taking to eradicate racism from the game.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to liaise closely and regularly with all the football authorities about their work to tackle discrimination. This includes actions targeted at and around football grounds, such as improving reporting systems, providing better training and support for referees and stewards, and improving the quality of CCTV around stadia.
We also welcomed the launch of The FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ last year which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch.
In January, the Government convened a roundtable with footballers, alongside the Chair of The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board and the Professional Footballers’ Association, to discuss social media abuse and the upcoming Online Safety Bill.
However, there is still progress to be made and the Government will continue to press the football authorities to build on their work to date to tackle discrimination.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he was made aware that Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts wrote in January 2021 to the (a) Premier League and (b) English Football League requesting that they work together to tackle racist abuse against players; and will he make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department is in regular contact with the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Lead, and the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) across a range of issues including tackling discrimination.
I understand the Premier League and English Football League also meet frequently with the UKFPU, including recently with social media companies to focus on tackling online abuse, and hope they will continue to do so as we work together to rid this abhorrent behaviour from the game and society.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he last had discussions with Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts on football matters.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department is in regular contact with the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Lead, and the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) across a range of issues including tackling discrimination.
I understand the Premier League and English Football League also meet frequently with the UKFPU, including recently with social media companies to focus on tackling online abuse, and hope they will continue to do so as we work together to rid this abhorrent behaviour from the game and society.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the way in which social media companies deal with racist abuse directed at footballers.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Culture Secretary and Sports Minister recently led a roundtable discussion with current and former players from the Premier League, English Football League (EFL), Women’s Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship, which discussed online racist abuse and players’ perspectives on tackling discrimination in the game.
We are clear that the online racist abuse of football players is unacceptable. We must do all we can to tackle it. We are taking steps through the online harms regulatory framework to ensure that online abuse, whether anonymous or not, is addressed. Under a new legal duty of care, companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including illegal online abuse. All companies will need to take swift and effective action against such content.
The police have a range of legal powers to identify individuals who attempt to use anonymity to escape sanctions for online abuse, where the activity is illegal. The government is working with law enforcement to review whether the current powers are sufficient to tackle illegal anonymous abuse online. The outcome of that work will inform the government’s future position in relation to illegal anonymous online abuse
Companies providing high-risk, high-reach services will also need to undertake regular risk assessments to identify legal but harmful material on their services. These companies will need to set clear terms and conditions which explicitly state what categories of legal but harmful material they accept (and do not accept) on their service. Companies will need to enforce these terms and conditions consistently and transparently and could face enforcement action if they do not. The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework, will be ready this year.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cooperation of social media companies with the police on incidents of online racist abuse.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Culture Secretary and Sports Minister recently led a roundtable discussion with current and former players from the Premier League, English Football League (EFL), Women’s Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship, which discussed online racist abuse and players’ perspectives on tackling discrimination in the game.
We are clear that the online racist abuse of football players is unacceptable. We must do all we can to tackle it. We are taking steps through the online harms regulatory framework to ensure that online abuse, whether anonymous or not, is addressed. Under a new legal duty of care, companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including illegal online abuse. All companies will need to take swift and effective action against such content.
The police have a range of legal powers to identify individuals who attempt to use anonymity to escape sanctions for online abuse, where the activity is illegal. The government is working with law enforcement to review whether the current powers are sufficient to tackle illegal anonymous abuse online. The outcome of that work will inform the government’s future position in relation to illegal anonymous online abuse
Companies providing high-risk, high-reach services will also need to undertake regular risk assessments to identify legal but harmful material on their services. These companies will need to set clear terms and conditions which explicitly state what categories of legal but harmful material they accept (and do not accept) on their service. Companies will need to enforce these terms and conditions consistently and transparently and could face enforcement action if they do not. The Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework, will be ready this year.