Baroness Afshar

As with other degrees, since 2012, Higher Education Institutions with an Access Agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access have been able to charge up to £9,000 a year for an arts degree. This funding comes via student loans and universities compete on quality and their offer to students. The Government also supports specialist institutions such as art and music colleges through the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Institution-specific Funding.

We value the creative industries which is why we support them through these and other policies. We are working with industry to take forward the recommendations in *CreateUK, the strategy for the sector developed by industry members of the Creative Industries Council.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits unlawful discrimination in employment on grounds of gender, race and religion.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith’s recent report into the issues faced by business in developing Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) talent from recruitment through to the executive layer made a number of recommendations for both Government and business.

The Government welcomed Baroness McGregor-Smith’s report and is encouraging businesses to take forward her recommendations. The practicalities of implementation will differ depending on the business in question but we will be working with Business in the Community in supporting companies to make these changes. These include developing a simple guide on how to discuss race in the workplace, an online portal of best practice and celebrating success through a list of the top 100 BME employers.

Dame Louise’s Casey’s review of integration and opportunity, published in December 2016, also highlights the employment prospects and English language proficiency among certain groups, including minority women. The Government is currently reviewing its findings and will respond in the coming months.

Ensuring the labour market provides equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion or gender, will require a joint effort with Government working with the private sector and organisations like Business in the Community to deliver the lasting change needed.

The Government supports children from homes where English is not spoken in a number of ways. At present, it is up to local authorities to decide whether to include English as an Additional Language (EAL) as a factor in the local formulae for funding schools. 136 used an EAL factor in the current year, with per pupil values ranging from below £100 to over £3000. However, in our proposals for the National Funding Formula, currently under consultation, we have proposed that all children with EAL will attract an additional £515 (primary) or £1385 (secondary) to their school, for the first 3 years after they enter the state system, wherever they are in the country. This is proposed to come in from 2018-19.

Where children are educating at home instead of in school, parents who educate a child at home must provide a full-time education suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitudes, and it is likely that such an education would need to include lessons in English to meet that requirement.

The Government also supports training for adults in English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL): to enable unemployed people on benefits to get the skills they need to get into and stay in work; to support the integration of long-standing migrant communities and particularly those individuals most at risk of isolation from services and wider society; and to support refugees, especially Syrians, to resettle in the UK. DfE funds ESOL training through the Adult Education Budget, which is allocated to providers annually by the Skills Funding Agency. In 2015-16 just under £100m was devoted to ESOL provision.

SATs, now called national curriculum tests, were first introduced in 1991. In determining primary assessment policy, the Department considers the impact of testing on all children as a matter of course, which includes drawing on evidence from this country’s past national tests.

As part of our Public Sector Equality Duty, we also consider the impact of Government policy on different groups of pupils, including – but not limited to – those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Vulnerable children, such as those from disadvantaged backgrounds who qualify for free school meals, looked-after children who attract pupil premium plus funding, or those with special educational needs.

The Government believes that rigorous and appropriate assessment is in all pupils’ interests. National curriculum tests help teachers to understand how pupils are doing in relation to national expectations and identify where additional support is needed. They also hold schools to account for how well they support their pupils, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development concludes is particularly important for the least advantaged. The tests should not put undue pressure on any pupil and we trust teachers to approach them in a proportionate manner. Schools are also required to provide continuous and appropriate support for the wellbeing and resilience of all pupils.

For this year, we have introduced updated tests to align with the new National Curriculum which was introduced in 2014. In developing the curriculum we have been mindful of the possible impact on equalities and based on a wide range of evidence we have conducted a full equalities impact assessment. This paper has been attached to this answer.

The new tests will assess pupils’ attainment against the National Curriculum. In developing these tests, the Department has considered carefully their impact upon all pupils and we will continue to do so as they are introduced in schools.

The government wants all young people to benefit from a broad and balanced education that equips them with the knowledge, skills and character they need to thrive in modern Britain and realise their full potential. Arts and humanities subjects form part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Our expectation is that every child should experience a high quality arts and humanities education. That is why the national curriculum sets the expectation that pupils study these subjects in key stages 1 to 3.

At key stage 4, the government wants to increase the number of pupils who take GCSEs in the EBacc subjects of English, maths, science, history or geography and a language. These are the subjects that give young people the most options in their futures and will help to secure a place at university or in employment.

As the EBacc is a specific, limited measure consisting of five subject pillars and up to eight GCSEs, there is time in the curriculum for most pupils to study other valuable subjects. The proportion of pupils in state-funded schools taking at least one GCSE in an arts subject has increased since the EBacc was first introduced, rising from 46% in 2011 to 50% in 2015.

All human medicines marketed in the United Kingdom must meet stringent requirements for quality, safety and efficacy set out in UK medicines legislation and supporting guidelines. These apply regardless of the source of the medicine.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Government body responsible for the safety and licensing of medicines in the UK, regularly inspect pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the UK and in third countries.

Regardless of the location of the site of manufacture, the manufacturer must demonstrate to the MHRA that the product is manufactured according to the registered UK licence (marketing authorisation) and to at least the minimum standard detailed in the European Union Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice.

In addition, each batch of medicine manufactured in a third country is tested within the UK on import and the manufacturing document reviewed by the license holders Qualified Person before being certified for release to the market.

All these measures will remain in place if the UK leaves the EU.

The Department is committed to ensuring that the National Health Service fully embeds the Prevent Statutory Duty of 2015 within its safeguarding responsibilities.

Great strides have been taken to embed Prevent within the health sector to date. For example, since the Prevent Duty made training mandatory over 830,000 NHS staff have received Basic Prevent Awareness training and over 470,000 have attended advanced training.

The Department is committed to engaging with relevant professional bodies and ensure that further opportunities to develop bespoke training for health professionals are undertaken.

It has long been the Government’s view that Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is governed by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including settlements and the treatment of Palestinian children in military custody.

All of the projects the UK funds through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund in Syria incorporate awareness of gender equality issues and work to promote the empowerment of women. In particular, we have supported women-led projects through a governance programme, which has enabled women to participate in community engagement activities, project development and decision-making at the local level.

As mentioned in the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, women do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men in Iran and continue to face discrimination. There are continued restrictions on freedom of expression and belief. We repeatedly call on the Iranian government to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians and will continue to do so. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), most recently raised the issue of human rights with Foreign Minister Zarif when they met on the 17 May.

The Ministry of Justice provides funding to specialist sexual violence services to support victims to cope and, where possible, recover from the impact of crime. On 18 September, we announced an additional £5m to support victims of sexual violence, which commits £32m over three years.

In addition, local Commissioners (be they Police and Crime Commissioners, Local Authorities or health commissioners) will also seek to provide specialist support to victims in their area. To support this, in December 2016 we published the National Statement of Expectations, which sets out a blueprint for local service provision, including how Commissioners can best respond to the needs of minority or marginalised groups.

In 2016/17 MHCLG also provided £300k to Imkaan to build capacity and strengthen specialist BAME organisations, including through training, quality standard accreditation and access to the tools they need to measure their impact.

On 18^th September we appointed Nicole Jacobs as the first Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner, who will raise awareness of domestic abuse, stand up for victims, and drive up consistency in the response to domestic abuse. The Commissioner is required to appoint a specific thematic lead within her office to consider and address the needs of BAME victims.

We are also exploring ways to improve support for BAME victims as part of our work to tackle racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the ethnicity of police officers on an annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

The latest data show that, as at 31 March 2019, there were 8,329 BAME police officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales, representing 6.9% of all officers who stated their ethnicity.

Police professional training standards are set and maintained by the College of Policing which the Government established as the first professional body for the police in 2012.

Costs associated with the deportation/return of British citizens to the UK at the end of a criminal sentence abroad are borne by the country seeking to deport/return them.

Victims of forced marriage who are helped to return to the UK by the Forced Marriage Unit will no longer be asked to take out a loan for their repatriation costs. From now on, no one who is assisted by the Forced Marriage Unit - and would previously have been offered a loan - will have to cover the costs of their repatriation. Where possible, the Government will continue to seek to ensure the costs fall on the perpetrators by means of Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs). The Government has also agreed to ensure that those victims who have outstanding loans will have no further costs fall to them.

The Government is clear that domestic abuse is a crime irrespective of whether that abuse is claimed to be sanctioned by faith.

We will be publishing a response to our public consultation on domestic abuse, together with a draft Domestic Abuse Bill, later this Parliamentary session.

The draft Bill will clearly define the types of behaviours that comprise domestic abuse be they controlling, coercive, threatening or violent and recognise that abuse can encompass psychological, physical, sexual, economic and emotional harms.

Border Force expects high standards of professionalism of its officers in their dealings with all members of the public, regardless of their nationality or status.

Border Force follows strict guidelines with regards to discrimination, and officers undergo intensive training prior to taking up their positions. Border Force does not tolerate any breach of these principles.

Complaints about Border Force and the services it provides are treated seriously and are used as an opportunity to improve services.

The Government deplores all hate crime including Islamophobia and is committed to tackling it. Nobody should be a target for hate because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

We have a strong legal framework in place with criminal penalties for offences such as incitement to religious hatred, racially or religiously aggravated offences such as intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress, as well as increased sentences for offences motivated by prejudice hostility or prejudice based on a person’s real or perceived religion.

We support Tell MAMA in their work to encourage greater reporting of anti-Muslim hatred and to support victims of hate crime. We also fund projects such as Streetwise and the Anne Frank Trust to work with young people to tackle prejudice and discrimination which may lay the foundations for hate crime in the future.

If anyone feels they have been a victim of hate crime, they should report this directly to their local police force, through the online True Vision portal or to Tell MAMA, who will be able to provide assistance and proceed appropriately.

The Government has issued no such guidance and has no plans to do so.

Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. There is no place for hatred against people because of their race, gender, ethnic origin, faith, sexual orientation, age or disability.

Anti-Muslim attacks rose 30-40% in the first two weeks after the Paris attacks. These attacks are unacceptable in Britain. The Government funds Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) to encourage reporting of these crimes and to support victims. We have also set up the first cross Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group to raise awareness of Islamaphobic attacks. In addition, the Prime Minister announced that the police will disaggregate hate crime by religion beginning in April 2016. This will help the police to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account.

This Government has done more than any other to tackle anti-Muslim hatred:

• We have set up the first ever cross-government working group on anti-Muslim hatred which was established to consider and take forward proposals to tackle anti-Muslim hatred. The Group engages with Muslim communities and advises Government on how best to take forward key priorities;
• Provided start-up funding to the Tell MAMA initiative to record incidents and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred;
• Established a UK Srebrenica Memorial Day which recognises the fatal consequences of hatred and division;
• Run social media workshops to build the capacity of community organisations to use social media effectively;
• Held 8 integration roadshows with communities to find out what more Government can do to integrate communities and tackle anti-Muslim hatred. Further roadshows are planned throughout 2015;
• Following the attacks in Paris, My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and I wrote on 16 January to mosques across England reassuring them of Government help if they experience anti-Muslim hatred. The Department has also assured faith and community leaders of its support to their commendable efforts to foster mutual understanding and shared respect;
• Proactive engagement with the police to combat anti-Muslim hatred;
• Initiated roundtable discussions with representatives of Muslim communities, including Imams and Muslim youth leaders;
• Regular ministerial engagement and attendance at Muslim community events.

My rt hon friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Eric Pickles) made a Written Ministerial Statement on 18 December, Official Report Column 110WS, setting out the Government’s work on integration. As the Statement notes since 2010 the Department for Communities and Local Government has spent £45 million on supporting integration projects. It also makes clear that we are rising to the challenges, championing what unites our country across class, colour and creed and making clear that Britain is a stronger nation because of its faith communities. We are also taking initiatives and supporting communities in addressing anti-Muslim hatred.

We are clear that British values are Muslim values and there are incredible and powerful examples of Muslim social action and charitable contributions made by Britain's Muslim communities. Britain has a proud track record of multi-faith cooperation and we are confident that our communities work together in strengthening society. This cannot be achieved by Government alone and local communities and faith leaders are in a unique position in working with Government in ensuring that no British citizen feels marginalised.

The table below shows the number of cases subject to suspended committals for non-payment of Council Tax over the last three years by gender. There are a few cases where the gender is not known. Data relating to age is not held centrally.

It is possible that one defendant may have more than one case.

Although suspended committals are reported as occurring within a particular year, the non-payment of Council Tax itself may be from a previous year or even a period covering more than one year.

This data is sourced from the HMCTS Libra Management Information System (MIS), and does not form part of the statistics for England and Wales published by the Ministry of Justice, which can be found at: www.justice.gov.uk. As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance.

We have given Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) the flexibility to innovate and do what works to reduce reoffending, including tailoring rehabilitative support to offenders based on their individual needs. To promote equality of opportunity and avoid discrimination against offenders on the grounds of protected characteristics, CRCs are required to comply with relevant equalities and human rights legislation as they work with offenders.

Whilst not defined in law as a protected characteristic, we have taken steps to ensure that language is not a barrier to an individual’s rehabilitation. At the beginning of each sentence, CRCs are contractually required to arrange a face to face interview to assess each offender’s risk profile and rehabilitative needs. This informs the initial sentence plan, which the CRC must explain to the offender verbally and in writing to ensure they understand how they must behave and what they must do to comply with their sentence. The CRC must also seek confirmation that the offender has understood this explanation. Where the offender understands insufficient English to enable this, CRC must undertake the initial interview and provide confirmation of the sentence plan in a language they were able to understand.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for theft offences, and begging and sleeping out, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2014 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.

Information on the value of the items involved in each individual theft offence is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The figures in the table can also be found in the Outcomes by Offence tables in the annual publication on the Government website.

Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

It should be noted that there are a few cases where the gender of the defendant has not been specified and these have been shown separately in the table above.

These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.