Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to appoint an independent adviser on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the oral answer given by my Hon Friend, the Member for Kensington, on 4 March 2024 (Official Report, HC Volume 746, Column 628).
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to tackle Islamophobia.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the oral answer given by my Hon Friend, the Member for Kensington, on 4 March 2024 (Official Report, HC Volume 746, Column 628).
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the governance of the community interest company Faith Matters, which has been awarded more than £6 million in public funds for the Tell Mama project to monitor Islamophobia.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has funded Tell MAMA directly with over £6 million since 2012 (funding details are provided below) to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred, through a workplan agreed via a formal Grant Funding Agreement. The funding was increased to just over £1m for the 2023/24 financial year.
Tell MAMA is a project funded with the express remit of supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred and monitoring incidents. The department funds Tell MAMA as a project of Faith Matters directly.
Tell MAMA are subject to internal grant funding processes and due diligence checks. This is the case for all funded partners, before any funding agreement can be processed. Tell MAMA’s most significant expenses are staff related costs.
Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. Tell MAMA engages regularly with DLUHC officials to monitor progress and provide feedback on issues affecting Muslim communities and our response to anti-Muslim hatred.
Please see a formal breakdown of funding for Tell MAMA over the last 10 years:
Financial year | Funding amount |
2011/12 | £91,567 |
2012/13 | £223,517 |
2013/14 | £80,457 |
2014/15 | £0 |
2015/16 | £181,982 |
2016/17 | £503,620 |
2017/18 | £829,226 |
2018/19 | £892,151 |
2019/20 | £841,000 |
2020/21 | £841,000 |
2021/22 | £841,000 |
2022/23 | £841,000 |
2023/24 | £1,001,230 |
Total | £6,166,520 |
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the recently awarded more than £1 million grant to the community interest company Faith Matters is for the Tell Mama project which monitors Islamophobia; what proportion is for other initiatives; and what is the purpose of those other initiatives.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has funded Tell MAMA directly with over £6 million since 2012 (funding details are provided below) to monitor and support victims of anti-Muslim hatred, through a workplan agreed via a formal Grant Funding Agreement. The funding was increased to just over £1m for the 2023/24 financial year.
Tell MAMA is a project funded with the express remit of supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred and monitoring incidents. The department funds Tell MAMA as a project of Faith Matters directly.
Tell MAMA are subject to internal grant funding processes and due diligence checks. This is the case for all funded partners, before any funding agreement can be processed. Tell MAMA’s most significant expenses are staff related costs.
Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. Tell MAMA engages regularly with DLUHC officials to monitor progress and provide feedback on issues affecting Muslim communities and our response to anti-Muslim hatred.
Please see a formal breakdown of funding for Tell MAMA over the last 10 years:
Financial year | Funding amount |
2011/12 | £91,567 |
2012/13 | £223,517 |
2013/14 | £80,457 |
2014/15 | £0 |
2015/16 | £181,982 |
2016/17 | £503,620 |
2017/18 | £829,226 |
2018/19 | £892,151 |
2019/20 | £841,000 |
2020/21 | £841,000 |
2021/22 | £841,000 |
2022/23 | £841,000 |
2023/24 | £1,001,230 |
Total | £6,166,520 |
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 10238 on Islamophobia, whether his Department defines anti-Muslim hatred as a manifestation of (a) racial, (b) religious or (c) other discrimination as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement made on 14 March 2024 (Official Report, HC, Volume 747, Column 452).
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 10238 on Islamophobia, whether the Government has provided funding to organisations other than Tell MAMA to provide support to the victims of anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement made on 14 March 2024 (Official Report, HC, Volume 747, Column 452).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce cases of (a) anti-Semitism and (b) Islamophobia on university campuses.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This government condemns in the strongest possible terms any form of racial or religiously motivated harassment or violence. In the context of the conflict in the Middle East, there have been unprecedented rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, which are abhorrent on every level. Universities should be welcoming and inclusive environments and higher education (HE) providers have a responsibility to take a zero tolerance approach to any form of racial or religious harassment. They have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to adopt robust policies and procedures that enable them to investigate and swiftly address reports of racism.
The Community Security Trust has reported an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents, which is totally unacceptable.
To support Jewish students, the Secretary of State for Education and I wrote to all universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. I wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, emphasising that they must use disciplinary measures wherever appropriate, highlighting the importance of police engagement, and reiterating that student visas could be suspended where a foreign national is found to have committed or incited acts of racial hatred. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan also involves:
On 22 November 2023, the government announced in the Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The Quality Seal will be the cornerstone of this package for universities, providing a framework of measures that will make clear what good practice is in tackling antisemitism in HE, and making sure that universities are a safe and welcoming space for Jewish students and staff, as for all students and staff.
Anti-Muslim hatred is equally abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief and the government is continuing to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.
This government is proud to have funded Tell MAMA, a service that supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, with over £6 million since their inception in 2012. Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. The organisation has documented 2,010 Islamophobic incidents in the UK between 7 October 2023 and 7 February 2024. This represents a steep rise from the 600 it recorded for the same period the year previously. The government will not tolerate religious hatred towards Muslims and that is why the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities put in place an extra £4.9 million of protective security funding for Muslim mosques, faith schools and communities.
The new Protective Security for Mosques Scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) in both mosques and associated Muslim faith community centres. Protective security measures are also available to Muslim faith schools. Headteachers of eligible schools were contacted directly by the Home Office in January 2023 to register their interest.
Lastly, as my right hon. Friend, Minister Buchan stated on 4 March 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities plan to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, and it will update the house shortly.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 10238 on Islamophobia, whether he has taken steps to develop a definition of anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10238 on 23 January 2024.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled Draft terms of reference for the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, what updates her Department has provided on relevant developments in its area of work to that group since 2019.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government condemns and strives to tackle all forms of discrimination, prejudice, and harassment, and the department is committed to working with other government departments to achieve this. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over a range of issues. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 2 March 2024, Official Report, PQ 16019 on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Every school and further education provider should actively promote the shared values, including mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. The department has published advice on promoting these values and made resources available on challenging anti-Muslim hate on the Educate Against Hate website, which can be accessed here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.
The department has also published the ‘Preventing and Tackling Bullying’ guidance, which directs schools to organisations who can provide support with tackling bullying related to race, religion and nationality. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
The department is providing over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations, which includes projects to tackle hate-related bullying on the basis of race and faith.
Ministers and departmental officials continue to work closely with Muslim groups, such as Tell MAMA, as the leading national organisation monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred. The department is committed to understanding this issue and to actively assess incidents affecting the Muslim community. The department welcomes guidance produced by Universities UK, which focuses on tackling anti-Muslim hatred. Further information on tackling anti-Muslim hatred can be found here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/tackling-islamophobia-and-anti-muslim.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to respond to the letter of 29 November 2023 from the Hon. Member for Brent Central to the Prime Minister on Islamophobia.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
A response to the Hon Member’s letter was issued by my Hon Friend Baroness Penn on 1 March 2024.