Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Selaine Saxby Excerpts
Wednesday 13th July 2022

(2 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Amanda Solloway Portrait The Minister for Equalities (Amanda Solloway)
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The Government take all hate crimes seriously, and we have robust laws to respond to them. While police have recorded an increase in hate crimes targeting LGBT communities, the biggest drivers for this are an improvement in police recording and the increased willingness of victims to come forward. It is taken very seriously by the Home Office, and we are working with the police on it.

Selaine Saxby Portrait Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)
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T2. The Devon local authorities on the Social Mobility Commission’s index start with South Hams, which is 49th out of 324, yet North Devon is 238th. What is my right hon. Friend doing to level up such regional inequalities?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right: one of the biggest issues that we face in this country is geographical inequality. That is why we have appointed Katharine Birbalsingh as head of the Social Mobility Commission. Her school, Michaela Community School in Brent, is fantastic at helping to level up among all groups of people. We want to see more of those types of schools all around our country.