Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Mental Health Act 2025 and accompanying statutory guidance adequately address disparities in access, quality of care, and outcomes in commissioned mental health services for Black and minoritised women who are survivors of VAWG.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that there are significant and concerning racial disparities in the rates of detention under the previous Mental Health Act and driving reductions in inequalities is a guiding principle for the Mental Health Act 2025. The Government will be working very carefully with the wider mental health system to support the effective implementation of the provisions in the 2025 act, to reduce racial disparities in decision making under the act. The updating of the Code of Practice will be a key way in which we achieve this, and we will be formally consulting on the updated code.
We also recognise that some of the disparities arise from social, economic, and environmental factors outside the scope of the act, and these are being addressed separately. For example, earlier access to mental health support prior to mental health crisis is being driven through improved community-based mental health services and NHS England’s Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework is looking at transforming culture in wider mental health services, not just under the Mental Health Act.
Domestic abuse, sexual violence, and other forms of trauma are known risk factors for mental ill health, and we are committed to improving our national response to trauma through cross-Government action. The Department is taking specific steps to improve trauma-informed support for victims and survivors of abuse. This includes implementing the “Steps to Safety” referral service for domestic abuse and sexual violence across all integrated care boards, and investing £5 million each year for the next three years to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department considers a person's potential impact on social cohesion and their likelihood of integration when assessing their asylum claim or visa application.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Every asylum claim is considered on its individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant in light of published country information guidance.
Refugee status is granted when someone has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. They must show that they cannot seek protection from the authorities in their country and cannot reasonably move to another part of their country to avoid persecution. However, we can deny protection to those who commit serious crimes or represent a threat to national security. Article 1F of the Refugee Convention allows signatory states to exclude those who would otherwise be refugees where there are serious reasons for considering they are guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, serious non-political crimes or acts contrary to the purpose and principles of the United Nations.
This Government has published an asylum policy statement, setting out a fair and firm approach to restoring order to the system, which is essential for building community cohesion. By increasing public confidence in the integrity of the asylum system, the reforms will help build trust and reduce tensions within communities. At the same time, they support successful integration for those granted protection, enabling them to contribute positively to society. Integration brings significant benefits for individuals, taxpayers, and communities. These measures will encourage and enable people granted protection to become self-sufficient, law-abiding members of UK society.
For visa applications, decisions are made against the specific suitability and eligibility requirements set out in the Immigration Rules for the relevant route.
In all cases, decisions are made on the basis of the law and published policy, ensuring that applications are considered fairly, consistently, and without discrimination.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Timms Review steering group reflects diverse representation across (a) types of impairment, (b) geographic region, (c) race and ethnicity, (d) gender, (e) sexual orientation, (f) age and (g) employment status.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Almost all steering group members have lived experience of disability, and the group is diverse in terms of geography, ethnicity, and sexuality. However, no single group can be fully representative of the UK’s disabled community. This is why the steering group will not work alone and will design a broader programme of participation to bring together the full range of views and voices to contribute to the Review. We are committed to transparency and there will be regular updates on the Review’s work as it progresses.
In regard to type of disability, employment status, and benefit claimant status, it is for steering group members to decide whether they want to share their own sensitive personal information. Some of our steering group members have shared this information in their public facing biographies, and some have not. It is important their choice and privacy is respected. Further information on steering group members can be found here: The Timms Review: Co-Chair Update, February 2026 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish a list of the organisations the Race Equality Engagement Group has (a) met with and (b) engaged with since it was appointed.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 25 September 2025 the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) held its first thematic roundtable covering tackling the barriers to accessing finance and investment for ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and the Police Race Action Plan.
On 9 December 2025 the REEG held its second thematic roundtable and community engagement session, focusing on racial inequalities in maternal and neonatal health and cardiovascular disease.
The Group has met with a broad range of stakeholders with lived experience, and from key government departments, civil society, community groups and institutions. In line with the REEG’s Terms of Reference, these meetings are supporting efforts to strengthen the government’s links with ethnic minority communities and enable constructive dialogue on the government’s plans to tackle race inequalities.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that young girls that are subject to online grooming in the UK are supported indiscriminately, regardless of their faith and race.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years, including funding to Police and Crime Commissioner areas to commission victims support services locally, as well asfunding to over 60 specialist support organisations through the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund. These organisations provide support for victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including recent and non-recent victims of child sexual abuse, to cope and move forward with their lives. The Home Office’s Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund also supports seven voluntary and community sector organisations to have national reach and supports victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with a range of one-to-one and peer and survivor led support groups. These services support all victims and survivors irrespective of personal characteristics such as faith and race.
In 2025 as part of our response to recommendation 16 of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Government set out ambitious proposals to strengthen therapeutic support for victims, announcing it will provide up to £50 million in new funding to expand the Child House (Barnahus) model to every NHS region in England. This internationally recognised model—rightly viewed as the gold standard for supporting children who have experienced sexual abuse—will ensure that wherever a child lives, they can access the specialist, trauma-informed care they need to begin recovering and rebuilding their lives.
Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advisor’s also provide practical and emotional support to children and young people aged 4 to 17 years, who have experienced rape, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation at any time during their life. They provide emotional and practical support and liaise between the police, courts and other agencies, acting as an advocate for the survivor.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help improve safety for the LGBT+ community.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that LGBT+ people are safe, supported and able to live their lives free from discrimination, prejudice and hate.
As set out in our manifesto, we are expanding the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 so that crimes motivated by hostility towards a person’s sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability attract tougher penalties, in line with existing aggravated offences for race and religion.
As my Hon. friend Dame Diana Johnson confirmed at Commons Report Stage on 18 June, the Government will implement this through an amendment in the Lords to the Crime and Policing Bill.
Through the Sentencing Act 2020, courts already apply enhanced sentencing where there is evidence of hostility based on sexual orientation or transgender identity. The expansion of aggravated offences will further reinforce the seriousness with which these crimes are treated, ensuring perpetrators face longer sentences and communities are better protected.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Race Equality Engagement Group has published any (a) reports and (b) other documents since March 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) held its first meeting in June 2025.
On 25 September 2025 the REEG held its first thematic roundtable covering tackling the barriers to accessing finance and investment for ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and the Police Race Action Plan.
On 9 December 2025 the REEG held its second thematic roundtable and community engagement session, focusing on racial inequalities in maternal and neonatal health and cardiovascular disease.
The Group has met with stakeholders with lived experience, and from key government departments, civil society, community groups and institutions.
In line with the REEG’s Terms of Reference, these meetings are supporting efforts to strengthen the Government’s links with ethnic minority communities and enable constructive dialogue on the Government’s plans to tackle race inequalities.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will list engagements that the Race Equality Engagement Group has had with (a) stakeholders and (b) community organisations since March 2025; and the output from these engagements.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) held its first meeting in June 2025.
On 25 September 2025 the REEG held its first thematic roundtable covering tackling the barriers to accessing finance and investment for ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and the Police Race Action Plan.
On 9 December 2025 the REEG held its second thematic roundtable and community engagement session, focusing on racial inequalities in maternal and neonatal health and cardiovascular disease.
The Group has met with stakeholders with lived experience, and from key government departments, civil society, community groups and institutions.
In line with the REEG’s Terms of Reference, these meetings are supporting efforts to strengthen the Government’s links with ethnic minority communities and enable constructive dialogue on the Government’s plans to tackle race inequalities.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has conducted an analysis of the potential impact of the use of stop and search on (a) young people, (b) their immediate family, and (c) in their wider community on (i) the educational attainment, (ii) well-being, and (iii) life chances of children, especially those from racialised backgrounds.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime, but it must be exercised fairly and lawfully. Using ethnicity as a factor in deciding whether to stop and search someone, except where pursuing a specific description, is unlawful. Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, referencing the Equality Act 2010, prohibits stops based on physical appearance. Supervision of officers and their use of stop and search powers rests with chief constables.
The Government supports the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Police Race Action Plan, which promotes an anti-racist culture and commits chief constables to address disproportionality, ensuring decisions are based on evidence, not ethnicity. On stop and search in particular, the plan commits that chief constables will identify and address disproportionality in the use of stop and search, particularly in relation to searches of children.
Police performance is assessed by HMICFRS, which reviews stop and search as part of its inspection framework. Where misconduct is identified, the Independent Office for Police Conduct can impose sanctions, ensuring poor performance is addressed.
Stop and search disproportionately impacts particular ethnic groups, disparity rates have fallen recently. Last year, Black people were 3.8 times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people, 9.7 times in 2018/19. Data is key to tackling disparities, and the Home Office continues to work with forces to improve the collection and accuracy of ethnicity data. I am also aware that stop and search has the potential to impact young people, their families and educational attainment. We continue to monitor research on police powers to inform policy development.
Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police, and the Government is clear that such searches must only be conducted when absolutely necessary. While there will be circumstances in which such searches are required in order to protect people, prevent harm, or secure evidence, this must be done with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual involved, particularly where the individual is a child.
As set out in the Government’s Manifesto, we are committed to introducing new legal safeguards around the strip search of children. We are working closely with policing stakeholders to deliver this commitment.
The Government recognises the importance of transparency in ensuring that police powers, particularly those involving children, are properly used and subject to effective public scrutiny. Data on strip search is published by the Home Office on an annual basis. The latest data can be found here:
Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK
Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK
We keep this under regular review.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in levels of (a) Hinduphobia and (b) anti-Hindu sentiment.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There was a 3% increase in police recorded religious hate crime in the year ending March 2025. Of the total number of religiously motivated hate crimes, 2% targeted Hindus (a total of 182 hate crimes).
We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this.
The Government also recognises that Hindus can experience anti-Muslim hate, and that the misidentification of Hindus as Muslims can compound the burden of religious hatred and discrimination faced by Hindus.