Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of underage Christian girls in northern Nigeria.
Answered by James Duddridge
We have received a number of reports on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of women and girls by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. These women and girls reportedly come from both Muslim and Christian communities. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to obtain precise data on such activities.
We welcome the progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours against Boko Haram, including the release of women and children. We regularly raise the issue of abducted women and girls with the Nigerian government at the highest levels, and have stressed the importance of providing appropriate support to those who are rescued.
The UK remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to tackle Boko Haram, support those targeted by its indiscriminate campaign of violence, and find those who are missing. We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on which dates the Community Engagement Forum met following the first meeting in October 2015; what were the main topics discussed at each meeting; and who attended each meeting.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Community Engagement Forum met on 19 November 2015 and focused on education and the role it can play in promoting integration. The following individuals attended:
Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities
Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College
Aina Khan, Head of Islamic Department, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at Jan Trust
Mary Ney, Supporting Commissioner, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Farook Yunus, Leader of Kumon Y’all
Sara Khan, Director and Co-founder of Inspire
Shaukat Warraich, Chief Executive, Faith Associates
Anil Bhanot OBE, Managing Trustee and Director of Hindu Council UK
Gillian Merron, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
William Nye, Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England
Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations
Christine Fischer, Catholic Education Service
Pascale Vassie, Executive Director, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education
Martin Pratt, Director of Children, Schools and Families, Camden Council
Matthew Coffey, Chief Operating Officer, Ofsted
Phil Champain, Director 3 Faiths Forum
Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Circuit Judge East London Family Court and Kingston Crown Court
Sue Robb, Head of Early Years, 4Children
The Community Engagement Forum also met on 14 January 2016 and focussed on the contribution of Muslim women in Britain. The following individuals attended:
Rt. Hon. David Cameron, Prime Minister
Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Baroness Williams, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities
Camilla Cavendish, Head of the No. 10 Policy Unit
Max Chambers, Special Adviser, Home Affairs and Justice, No.10
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN Trust
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Sara Khan, Director and co-founder of Inspire
Diana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation
Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of Odara
Fahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate Bristol
Faeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Network
Henna Rai, Director for the Association of British Muslims
Yasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-I
Hasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley Council
Nahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s Centre
Farmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.
Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TV
Farah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights Commission
Sarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5141), who the "sixteen influential Muslim Women" were who met the Prime Minister on 14 January at a Community Engagement Forum.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Those who attended were:
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN Trust
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Sara Khan, Director and co-founder of Inspire
Diana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation
Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of Odara
Fahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate Bristol
Faeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Network
Henna Rai, Director for the Association of British Muslims
Yasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-I
Hasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley Council
Nahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s Centre
Farmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.
Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TV
Farah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights Commission
Sarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5309), what assessment they have made of whether it will be legally possible to restrict their community-based language training offer to Muslim women.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The new English language scheme will not just be restricted to Muslim women. It will reach tens of thousands of the most isolated women and will be targeted to specific communities based on Louise Casey’s on-going review into integration in England.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the £20 million of funding for providing English tuition for speakers of other languages announced by the Prime Minister is new money, and if so, from which budget heading it will come; whether that additional provision will be available for (1) both Muslim men and women who come to the UK on spousal visas and whose English requires improvement; (2) persons of other religions, and none, who come to the UK on spousal visas; (3) persons who are living in the UK by virtue of other kinds of permissions, such as other types of visas or following applications for asylum; (4) Muslim women and other persons who have come to the UK from other countries in the EU; and (5) UK citizens, whether or not they are Muslims; and whether that additional provision will be restricted according to how long a person has lived in the UK or their age.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The £20 million community-based English language training offer is new funding which will be routed through DCLG and will form part of its Integration Programme. The detail of how the programme will be designed, targeted and delivered will be informed by the findings of Louise Casey's Review into boosting opportunity and integration amongst isolated groups and the learning from the six community projects we have funded as part of our current Integration Programme. In particular, we will work with Louise Casey to identify the most isolated communities in England to make sure this programme is targeted at those women who need it most. We are working to deliver as early a launch date as possible for the programme in 2016/17.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are their advisers on matters related to Muslim women.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Government Ministers and officials regularly speak with a range of British Muslim women to seek their views on key issues. The Prime Minister hosted a Community Engagement Forum on 14 January with sixteen influential Muslim women, to discuss their role in Britain today and the importance of tackling issues of forced gender segregation, discrimination and isolation. In addition, four of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group’s ten independent members are themselves Muslim women. The Group discusses a range of issues, for example, hate incidents on public transport which disproportionately affect visibly Muslim women.
My Department funds a number of projects that work with Muslim women including community based English language courses, women’s empowerment initiatives and the development of leadership and networking skills. As part of this, my officials regularly engage with the project leads, associated charities and participants on relevant issues affecting Muslim women.
My rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has commissioned Louise Casey to carry out a review on how to boost opportunity and integration in our most isolated and deprived communities. She will report on her findings in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what formal mechanisms they have in place to consult Muslim women.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Government Ministers and officials regularly speak with a range of British Muslim women to seek their views on key issues. The Prime Minister hosted a Community Engagement Forum on 14 January with sixteen influential Muslim women, to discuss their role in Britain today and the importance of tackling issues of forced gender segregation, discrimination and isolation. In addition, four of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group’s ten independent members are themselves Muslim women. The Group discusses a range of issues, for example, hate incidents on public transport which disproportionately affect visibly Muslim women.
My Department funds a number of projects that work with Muslim women including community based English language courses, women’s empowerment initiatives and the development of leadership and networking skills. As part of this, my officials regularly engage with the project leads, associated charities and participants on relevant issues affecting Muslim women.
My rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has commissioned Louise Casey to carry out a review on how to boost opportunity and integration in our most isolated and deprived communities. She will report on her findings in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of language classes for Muslim women in respect of radicalisation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Our new English language offer, worth £20 million over this Parliament, will help women in our most isolated communities get the training they need. This new programme will be informed by six projects we have funded as part of our current community-based English language programme. By the end of March this year the projects will have provided training to 33,500 adults – the majority women, with over half from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Somalian ethnic groups.
Community-based English language programmes can help build women’s confidence in using English in daily activities such as engaging with their children’s teachers, interacting with public services and playing a full part in the local community.
Asked by: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 18865, who has attended each meeting of the Community Engagement Forum to date; and who has been invited to attend future meetings.
Answered by Karen Bradley
In his speech on countering extremism in July 2015, the Prime Minister said that he wanted to hear directly from all those in our society who are tackling extremism. The Community Engagement Forum is one of the ways the Prime Minister is doing this. The Forums provide a platform for a wide range of partners to share their experiences and learn from each other. Attendance at the Forums is fluid to ensure Ministers can hear from a wide range of partners. To date, the Community Engagement Forum has met on 13 October 2015 and 19 November 2015. The attendees have been from a wide range of backgrounds and were representatives of all parts of the UK.
The following individuals attended the first meeting of the Community Engagement Forum on 13 October 2015
David Cameron, Prime Minister
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for Countering Extremism
Theresa May, Home Secretary
Louise Casey, Department for Communities and Local Government
Max Chambers, Special Adviser on Home Affairs
Camilla Cavendish, Number 10
Brendan Threlfall, Number 10
Arooj Shah, Councillor, St Mary’s Ward, Oldham
Sean Harriss, Chief Executive, Lambeth Council
Paul Martin, Chief Executive, Wandsworth Council
Sheikh Musa Admani, Imam and Muslim chaplain, City University, London
Fareed Ahmad, Ahmadiyya Muslim Association
Farooq Aftab, General Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association
Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester
Khatun Sapnara, circuit judge
Aina Khan, solicitor
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Director, Faith Matters
Sadja Mughal OBE, Director, Jan Trust
Haras Rafiq, Managing Director, Quilliam Foundation
Sara Khan, Co-founder and Director, Inspire
Wahida Shaffi, Near Neighbours Coordinator; National Women’s Programme Lead, Christian Muslim Forum
Faiza Vaid, Executive Director, Muslim Women’s Network
Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors, Odara
Kamal Hanif OBE, Executive Head, Waverley School, Birmingham
Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive, Oldham College
Imam Qari Asim, Chief Imam, Leeds Makkah Mosque (was invited but unable to attend)
The following individuals attended the second meeting of the Community Engagement Forum on 19 November 2015:
Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities
Lord Ahmad, Minister for Countering Extremism
Louise Casey, Independent review on isolated communities
Alun Francis, Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College
Aina Khan, Head of Islamic Department, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at Jan Trust
Mary Ney, Supporting Commissioner, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival
Farook Yunus, Leader of Kumon Y’all
Sara Khan, Director and Co-founder of Inspire
Shaukat Warraich, Chief Executive, Faith Associates
Anil Bhanot OBE, Managing Trustee and Director of Hindu Council UK
Gillian Merron, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
William Nye, Secretary General of the General Synod of the Church of England
Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations
Christine Fischer, Catholic Education Service
Pascale Vassie, Executive Director, National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education (NRCSE)
Martin Pratt, Director of Children, Schools and Families, Camden Council
Matthew Coffey, Chief Operating Officer, Ofsted
Phil Champain, Director 3 Faiths Forum
Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Circuit Judge East London Family Court and Kingston Crown Court
Sue Robb, Head of Early Years, 4Children
The next Community Engagement Forum is scheduled for 14 January 2016. The government is also engaging directly at ministerial level with representatives from community, faith and civil groups, and have engaged directly with both the Scottish and Welsh governments.
Asked by: Sadiq Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Muslim women reported being the victim of abuse or hate crime in each police authority area in England and Wales in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015; and how many such reports (i) have been investigated, (b) resulted in prosecution and (c) resulted in a conviction.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold the requested information. While the Home Office collects information on the number of recorded hate crimes by police force area, we cannot tell from these data the religion or the sex of the victim.
The Home Office does not hold information on prosecutions; these figures are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.
I refer the Right Honourable Member to my answer of 3 November in response to question 13254. In the future, we intend to collect a breakdown of religion-based hate crime data from the police to help forces build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to better hold them to account.