Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking against those within the NHS who subject patients, nurses, and doctors to anti-Jewish abuse.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer I gave on 25 August in response to Question HL1796, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.
In October 2025, Lord John Mann was asked to undertake an urgent review into how the health system, including National Health Service employers and United Kingdom health professional regulators, are dealing with incidents of antisemitism and other forms of racism.
On 4 June 2026, the Government published Lord Mann’s review, alongside a Government response, which, accepted all recommendations for the Department and NHS England, subject to consultation where appropriate. We are taking action to deliver these recommendations, to help protect all patients and staff from hatred and discrimination.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 16 July (HL1590), whether criticism is Islamist practices is deemed to fall within the definition of racism.
Answered by Baroness Blake of Leeds - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Matters relating to discrimination, harassment and hate crime are governed by legislation, and the Government recognises the fundamental right to freedom of expression within the law. The Government has adopted a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility. The definition does not restrict lawful criticism, debate or even ridicule of religious ideas, including Islam, and is concerned with unacceptable behaviour towards people rather than the protection of belief systems.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove and Portslade)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his policy is on participating in anniversary events connected with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK reaffirms our commitment to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), and remains committed to combating racism, racial discrimination, antisemitism, xenophobia and related intolerance.
However, following historic concerns regarding antisemitism at the 2001 Durban Conference, the Government's longstanding position is that it will not attend anniversary events connected with the Conference.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve protection for frontline NHS staff from (a) racism and (b) discrimination on the basis of any other protected characteristic.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 16 September in response to Question 28051 and on 19 June in response to Question 3468.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England provides training on (a) unconscious bias, (b) anti-racism, and (c) white privilege.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Paulette Hamilton (Labour - Birmingham Erdington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the number of trusts where maternity services have had culturally sensitive training on racism and discrimination on Black women’s experiences and engagement with maternity care.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are rolling out an anti-discrimination programme to all trusts by the end of this year, to be completed by the end of 2027, which will equip leaders and frontline staff to use tried and tested approaches to tackle discriminatory practices. A robust, independent evaluation of this programme has been commissioned and is being undertaken.
This is part of a broader set of actions to tackle the root causes of racism and discrimination. We have also established an inequalities dashboard, to identify areas where specific populations face the greatest disparities, enabling tailored interventions and more equitable support.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Greater Manchester Police Federation on racism experienced by police officers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There have been no recent discussions between the Home Secretary and the Greater Manchester Police Federation.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations of antisemitic behaviour and racism perpetrated by UK doctors and other healthcare professionals in the workplace; and what steps they are taking to protect Jewish patients and doctors seeking care and working within the NHS.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2025, Lord John Mann was asked to undertake an urgent review into how the health system, including National Health Service employers and United Kingdom health professional regulators, are dealing with incidents of antisemitism and other forms of racism.
On 4 June 2026, the Government published Lord Mann’s review, alongside a Government response, which, accepted all recommendations for the Department and NHS England, subject to consultation where appropriate. We are taking action to deliver these recommendations, to help protect all patients and staff from hatred and discrimination.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targeted interventions are in place to help reduce inequalities in maternal outcomes .
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is working closely with NHS England, and the wider sector, to identify the right actions and interventions to tackle the stark inequalities that exist for women and babies. We are ensuring that we take an evidence-based approach, and that any targets set are women and baby-centred.
On 30 June, Baroness Amos published her national independent report into National Health Service maternity and neonatal care. Her investigation found that women and families are not being listened to, accountability is not being delivered when things go wrong, and that racism and discrimination are driving inequalities in outcomes. We will take further action to tackle unacceptable inequalities affecting Black, Asian, and disadvantaged women from all backgrounds. The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will translate the recommendations from Baroness Amos’ investigation into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care.
We are already taking a range of immediate actions to address inequalities in maternal outcomes, including an inequalities dashboard, which brings together a range of inequalities metrics to allow NHS trusts to see data relating to disparities in one place to identify, understand, and eliminate disparities, rolling out the Perinatal Equity and Anti-Discrimination Programme to every maternity and neonatal service in England to tackle discrimination and racism, and we have launched a Maternal Care Bundle which includes best practice for clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death for women from Black and Asian backgrounds.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to prevent a recurrence of the riots in Ballymena in which members of the Roma community were targeted.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The disorder in Ballymena last year was shocking and unacceptable. There is no place for racism or violence of any kind in Northern Ireland. One of the characteristics of this country is that we treat people with equality, respect and dignity, regardless of where they come from.
Following the disorder in Ballymena, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland spoke with community organisations supporting the Roma community and the Romanian Ambassador to the UK to ensure those impacted were receiving appropriate support. Following the disorder in June of this year, he has also spoken directly with Northern Ireland Party Leaders, and Northern Ireland Office officials engaged with the Consulate General of Romania. I have also visited Ballymena since the riots and met with community groups.
Northern Ireland Office officials remain active in cross-Government forums to prevent the recurrence of unrest. The UK Government is committed to supporting the Northern Ireland Executive to develop strategies to strengthen community cohesion and prevent disorder in future.