Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the marches in London led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon in September, what assessment they have made of the security concerns and fears experienced by diverse communities, and what specific support and reassurance they are providing to those impacted.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democratic society. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. However, there is no excuse for violence or abuse driven by hatred and discrimination, and we support the police in taking strong action against those crimes.
The police have a range of powers to deal with any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to others. They also have the power to impose conditions on protests where they reasonably believe the protest may result in serious disorder, serious damage to property, serious disruption to the life of the community, or where the purpose of the protest is to intimidate others.
The government continues to work closely with police and community partners to strengthen protections for communities and challenge hatred. This includes providing up to £50.9 million of funding this year to protect faith communities and safeguard places of worship. We also work with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.
This government is absolutely committed to protecting our communities and making our streets safer, and we refuse to allow the intolerance of a few to impact the lives of our diverse communities.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications were shortlisted and interviewed for the Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund; what was the total scores for each application; and how many applications were presented to the Minster for Faith, Communities and Resettlement, Lord Khan of Burnley, to consider.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21st July 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total score awarded to the application of the British Muslim Trust to the Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21st July 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications for funding were received for the Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund by 18 May.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21st July 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Khan of Burnley on 13 March (HL Deb col 821), how they will allocate the remaining £350,000 of the £1 million committed to programmes to combat hatred against Muslims, following the allocation of £650,000 to the British Muslim Trust; and what plans they have to allocate these remaining funds to Muslim communities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As per the Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK, the allocated funding for the Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund was £650,000 for financial year 2025/26.
The government will announce other measures to support community cohesion, including for Muslim communities, in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total funding they allocated to Faith Matters for the Tell MAMA project for the 2025–26 financial year; what was the duration in months for which the funding was granted; and what specific activities will be supported by this funding.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The government is committed to providing a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and providing support for victims, and on 2 April announced the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund. We are seeking grant applications to support organisations to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims. We welcome applications from Tell MAMA as well as alternative providers.
The government has also made available £500,000 for funding Tell MAMA in 2025/26, to support their work for Q1 and Q2 of 2025/26. This is subject to their signing of a Grant Funding Agreement for 2025/26 which will detail the specific activities the funding will support.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made regarding the prevalence and trends of spiritual abuse affecting both adults and children.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The government condemns acts of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse against adults and children, as well as acts of coercive control - including where they occur in a religious setting or context. Where a crime is suspected to have taken place it is right that this is reported to the police. The Government is committed to tackling all forms of abuse against children. There are legal powers in place to protect children; and local authorities have a legal duty to investigate where they believe that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. And the Government is redoubling efforts to keep children safe in all settings – this includes updating guidance for staff and parents regarding out-of-school settings, strengthening guidance for local authorities on their legal powers to intervene, and an upcoming Call-for-Evidence to inform long-term proposals for safeguarding reform.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 4 April (HL3324), how much of the funding provided to Faith Matters for its Tell Mama project in each year from 2016 to 2024 (1) has been spent on legal expenses and litigation, and (2) how much of that has been spent on cases involving potential libel and defamation.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Government has funded Tell MAMA since 2012 to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred. It is important that any organisation the department works with is aligned with our commitment to tackling all forms of hate crime and extremism.
As is the case for all partners funded by the Department, Tell MAMA are subject to regular internal grant funding processes and due diligence checks.
Each year, the Department and Tell MAMA sign a grant funding agreement which details objectives, deliverables and legitimate spend to deliver Anti-Muslim Hatred reporting services.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 4 April (HL3324), how much of the funding provided to Faith Matters for its Tell Mama project in each year from 2016 to 2024 was spent on consultancy fees, who were those fees paid to; and what for.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Government has funded Tell MAMA since 2012 to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred. It is important that any organisation the department works with is aligned with our commitment to tackling all forms of hate crime and extremism.
As is the case for all partners funded by the Department, Tell MAMA are subject to regular internal grant funding processes and due diligence checks.
Each year, the Department and Tell MAMA sign a grant funding agreement which details objectives, deliverables and legitimate spend to deliver Anti-Muslim Hatred reporting services.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 4 April (HL3324), what type of extremism or hatred Faith Matters is being funded to address via its Tell Mama project, whether it includes (1) right-wing extremism against Muslims, (2) Islamic extremism, (3) anti-Semitism, (4) homophobia, or (5) a combination of these, and what was the expenditure on each of these for each year from 2016 to 2024.
Answered by Lord Khan of Burnley
The Government has funded Tell MAMA since 2012 to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred. It is important that any organisation the department works with is aligned with our commitment to tackling all forms of hate crime and extremism.
As is the case for all partners funded by the Department, Tell MAMA are subject to regular internal grant funding processes and due diligence checks.
Each year, the Department and Tell MAMA sign a grant funding agreement which details objectives, deliverables and legitimate spend to deliver Anti-Muslim Hatred reporting services.