Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the collection of data on people affected by hate crime by (a) religion and (b) ethnicity.

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of religious hate crimes by the perceived targeted religion of the victim and on the ethnicity of victims in racially or religiously aggravated crimes that occur in England and Wales. The latest information can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

The Home Office is continuously working with Police Forces to improve the quality and coverage of these data. Home Office crime and policing data collections are reviewed annually via the Annual Data Requirement board consisting of Home Office and police force representatives. Ways to improve quality and coverage of data collections are considered as part of the review process.