Oral Answers to Questions

Gerry Sutcliffe Excerpts

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of disability hate crimes.

[Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of disability hate crimes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)]

Until recently there has been no formal collection of data on disability hate crime. We are committed to promoting better recording of it, and from April this year forces started collecting the relevant data. When the statistics are published next summer we will have a clearer picture of local patterns and trends, which will help the police target their resources in the most effective way.

[Maria Miller]

I am sure the right hon. Gentleman will be relieved to know that we are already having such conversations with ACPO. It is very important that those discussions include disabled people and the organisations that represent them, because they have an important role to play.

[Mr Sutcliffe]

I welcome the Minister’s comments on reporting, but how can we give disability organisations and disabled people themselves the confidence to report crime? What work can take place on that?

[Maria Miller]

I reiterate the role that user-led organisations can have, such as the one in Blackpool, BSafe, that I visited with my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard). Such organisations can have a real effect by giving people the confidence to report. If they have the right systems in place—we are helping RADAR develop those systems—third-party reporting can be effective as well.