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.