Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to youth participation and youth inactivity when developing proposals for English devolution; and what role they envisage strategic authorities playing in reducing the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the value Strategic Authorities can offer in the leadership, co-ordination and provision of services in their areas to support young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or who are at risk of becoming NEET.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education work closely with Strategic Authorities to deliver activity to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. For example, eight Mayoral Strategic Authority are delivering Youth Trailblazers to test localised approaches to reduce the number of young people who are or are at risk of becoming NEET.
The role of Strategic Authorities in youth participation and youth inactivity long-term will be informed by learning from localised approaches, wider delivery evidence and the recommendations from the independent report into Young People and Work led by Alan Milburn.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will continue to work closely with central and local government to improve the lives of young people across the UK, supported by stronger data sharing and clearer local accountability.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 1 June (HL Deb col 642), what is the evidential basis that there was extensive consultation with political parties during the course of the drawing up of the Representation of the People Bill.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has undertaken consultation on the Representation of the People Bill over the whole length of its development. In July 2025 the then-Minister for Homelessness and Democracy, the Hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney, wrote to all frontbenchers inviting them to meet with her about the recently published Strategy for Elections, which forms the basis for the Bill and hosted discussions on the document open to all Members of both Houses.
Since then, the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy has consulted with political parties throughout the passage of the Bill, including inviting frontbenchers to meet with her to discuss the Bill upon its introduction in the Other Place. Officials from my department have also met with the Parliamentary Parties Panel during the development of the Bill, most recently on 2 June.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of local government reorganisation on the ability of councils to support young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The reorganisation programme is designed to support stronger, more joined up local services. By bringing services such as employment support, education, youth services, children’s social care, and housing together within a single council, councils are better able to coordinate services and identify need early to improve outcomes for young people.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - 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 Taylor of Stevenage on 24 April (HL16496), and to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 16 March (HL Deb col 728), whether they will name the selected stakeholders who officials undertook informal engagement with following the advice submitted by the working group on the Islamophobia definition.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No. As is standard practice in government policy making, officials undertook limited and focused informal engagement with selected stakeholders as the government considered the advice submitted by the Working Group.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 April (HL Deb col 201), whether the Muslim Council of Britain has received grants under the Windrush grant scheme.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Muslim Council of Britain has not received funding under the Windrush Day Grant Scheme. Funding is awarded through an open and competitive process.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to page 27 of the policy paper Protecting What Matters, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 9 March, for what reason the paper refers to "genders" rather than sex, given the Supreme Court judgement in the For Women Scotland case.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Government is firmly committed to upholding the legal protections established by the Equality Act 2010, including those which protect people against unlawful discrimination and harassment based on the characteristics of sex and gender reassignment.
We have always been clear that the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling brought clarity to the definition of ‘sex’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.
Protecting What Matters makes clear that the UK is a diverse, pluralistic, and equal society. Its reference to “people of all races, religions, sexualities, and genders” refers to the fact that UK society respects and values people of all backgrounds.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the press release British Muslim Trust appointed as new partner to monitor and tackle anti-Muslim hatred published on 21 July 2025, what assessment they made of any conflict of interest of the Chief Executive of the trust also serving on the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Working Group operated independently, and members were required to abide by the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies and follow the Seven Principles of Public Life. All members were required to declare any conflicts of interest. The British Muslim Trust’s (BMT) role is separate from the definition work and focused on monitoring anti-Muslim hate and supporting victims. The grant competition was open, transparent, and assessed against 16 published criteria. BMT was the highest scoring applicant and brings together two charitable foundations with over twenty years of experience serving Muslim communities and key personnel with a track record of successful delivery.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to carry out a review of local authorities who pass boycott, divestment and sanctions motions, and of the consequences of those motions on community cohesion and integration in England.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has consistently opposed the BDS movement and does not consider such motions to further community cohesion or integration. While we have no plans to carry out a formal review of local authorities on this matter, we have been clear that councils must operate within existing procurement law and guidance, which prevents the use of procurement or investment decisions to pursue politically motivated boycotts.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to page 36 of the policy paper Protecting What Matters, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 9 March, whether the Special Representative on anti-Muslim hostility will be (1) a regulated public appointment, (2) appointed by open and fair competition, and (3) paid a salary.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Terms of Reference and appointment process for the Special Representative on anti-Muslim hostility will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 16 March (HL Deb col 728), which stakeholders they consulted.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As is standard practice in government policy making, officials undertook limited and focused informal engagement with selected stakeholders as the government considered the advice submitted by the Working Group.