Lord Moraes

The Government recognises the importance of our EU adequacy decisions and continues to engage with the European Commission to support their successful renewal, acknowledging that this is a unilateral process undertaken by the EU.

The Government welcomed the publication of the European Commission’s draft adequacy decisions in July, which conclude that the UK continues to provide an adequate level of data protection, and looks forward to the completion of the adoption process ahead of the 27 December deadline.

Monitoring and evaluation are key to understanding the effectiveness of the online safety regime. The government and Ofcom are monitoring the regime’s impact through a programme of evaluation work to track the effect of the regime and feed into a statutory Post Implementation Review. The Online Safety Act applies to online user to user services and search services.

Further, Ofcom’s Online Experiences Tracker survey is issued twice a year. The most recent data was published in October covering the experiences of adults (aged 18+). The first wave of data from the new Children’s Online Safety Tracker will be published later this year, and the second wave will be published in Spring 2026.

We also engage with civil society and monitor research and reports they publish on online harms.

Any form of racism or discrimination is unacceptable and has no place in our National Health Service.

NHS Staff Survey data shows that disabled staff, staff from an ethnic minority background, and staff with other protected characteristics face greater challenges when it comes to abuse, bullying, harassment, and career progression.

Recent incidents of antisemitism and racism in the health service have drawn stark attention to problems of culture and in the healthcare professional regulatory system. Action is being taken to address these issues, including an urgent review of antisemitism, other forms of racism, and the oversight and regulation of healthcare professionals. The NHS is also strengthening mandatory anti-racism training across the NHS. Additionally, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment which will include reducing violence against staff and tackling racism and sexual harassment. They will underpin the NHS Oversight Framework and act as an early warning signal for the Care Quality Commission.

Whilst the information is obtainable, it is not currently available from published statistics. The relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Official statistics on the five racially or religiously aggravated offences defined in law are published on a quarterly basis. These data are quality assured with the forces prior to publication and released at the Police Force Area level in Home Office Open Data Tables.

The latest statistics show that in the year ending June 2025, the Metropolitan Police Service recorded 17,690, and the British Transport Police recorded 3,525 racially or religiously aggravated offences. For both forces, these were the highest annual totals recorded, with a spike seen in these offences during the disorder in August 2024 following the Southport murders.

Official statistics on the five racially or religiously aggravated offences defined in law are published on a quarterly basis. These data are quality assured with the forces prior to publication and released at the Police Force Area level in Home Office Open Data Tables.

The latest statistics show that in the year ending June 2025, the Metropolitan Police Service recorded 17,690, and the British Transport Police recorded 3,525 racially or religiously aggravated offences. For both forces, these were the highest annual totals recorded, with a spike seen in these offences during the disorder in August 2024 following the Southport murders.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The surge in anti-Muslim hatred is deeply alarming. Recent hate crime statistics showed 45% of religious hate crimes targeted Muslims – a record high. This is unacceptable, and we must have zero tolerance of anti-Muslim hatred in any form.

The Government established an independent working group to advise government on a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, and how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims or anyone who is perceived to be Muslim. The group have now provided their advice to Ministers who will rightly take the time to review and consider the advice carefully before confirming next steps in due course.

The British Muslim Trust will receive funding to provide a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and support victims.

Up to £39.4 million is available for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools in 2025/26. This includes additional funding announced by the Prime Minister of £10 million to further strengthen security at mosques and other Muslim community sites.

The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising the protection of abuse survivors going through the family court. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes safeguarding and supports victims of domestic abuse through early multi-agency collaboration and expert domestic abuse support.

The family court also has a range of powers to protect victims. These include prohibiting the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers and automatically deeming survivors eligible for special measures, such as giving evidence via video link or from behind a screen. Additionally, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) can attend court to provide support throughout proceedings.

The Government welcomes the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report. We are carefully considering the recommendations and will publish a full response in due course.

On 22 October we announced that, as part of the wider package of family court reforms, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement. Alongside this announcement, we have published the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement and the accompanying reports from the three commissioned research projects.

The Government recognises the impact family court proceedings can have on children and adult survivors of domestic abuse, which is why we are prioritising the protection of abuse survivors going through the family court. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes safeguarding and supports victims of domestic abuse through early multi-agency collaboration and expert domestic abuse support.

The family court also has a range of powers to protect victims. These include prohibiting the cross-examination of domestic abuse survivors by their abusers and automatically deeming survivors eligible for special measures, such as giving evidence via video link or from behind a screen. Additionally, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) can attend court to provide support throughout proceedings.

The Government welcomes the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report. We are carefully considering the recommendations and will publish a full response in due course.

On 22 October we announced that, as part of the wider package of family court reforms, we will repeal the presumption of parental involvement. Alongside this announcement, we have published the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement and the accompanying reports from the three commissioned research projects.