Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provisions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of (a) Jewish and (b) Muslim students on university campuses.
Answered by Robert Halfon
It has been deeply concerning to see the rises both in antisemitism and in Islamophobia since the 7 October terrorist attacks against Israel. Universities should be welcoming and inclusive environments. Higher education 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.
Given the particularly severe impact on Jewish students, the Secretary of State and I wrote to all schools, colleges and universities, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. On 5 November we published a five-point plan detailing further action to protect Jewish students in higher education, the details of the plan can be found here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/11/05/how-were-protecting-jewish-students-on-university-campuses/.
The department continues to engage both with Jewish and with Muslim groups, including the Union of Jewish Students and Tell MAMA, and actively monitors incidents affecting both communities. The department also welcomes the guidance produced by Universities UK, which focuses on tackling Islamophobia: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/tackling-islamophobia-and-anti-muslim.
The department has reminded providers of their obligations under the Prevent duty, where they should be working to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. Department officials have assessed evidence of antisemitism and racial hatred linked to incidents at English universities. There is an online "Reporting Extremism" form where members of the public can raise concerns to the Department directly. Where concerns arise, officials have reached out to relevant universities to understand what actions they have taken, including reporting issues to the police where appropriate.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle discrimination against black (a) players and (b) ex-players in football.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There is no place for discrimination in sport, or in wider society. I am committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination both domestically and internationally.
Fans can be charged with a Football Banning Order and fined if found to use racist slurs towards players at football games. Sentences can be more severe if it has been recorded as a hate crime.
The Government has also amended legislation to extend the use of Football Banning Orders, so that online abusers can be banned from stadiums for up to 10 years in the same way violent individuals are barred from grounds.
I would be happy to meet the Black Footballers Association to discuss black representation in football.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will meet the Black Footballers Partnership to discuss black representation in football.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There is no place for discrimination in sport, or in wider society. I am committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination both domestically and internationally.
Fans can be charged with a Football Banning Order and fined if found to use racist slurs towards players at football games. Sentences can be more severe if it has been recorded as a hate crime.
The Government has also amended legislation to extend the use of Football Banning Orders, so that online abusers can be banned from stadiums for up to 10 years in the same way violent individuals are barred from grounds.
I would be happy to meet the Black Footballers Association to discuss black representation in football.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their definition of the 'Global South' when they use that term.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The term 'Global South' is commonly used to refer to developing countries. However, we recognise that our lower- and middle-income partners are not a homogenous block. As set out in our response to the International Development Committee's report on Racism in the Aid Sector, published in December 2022, we continually review the impact of our language. This is an important part of how we will modernise our long-term partnerships, in line with the ambition set out by the Minister for Development and Africa in his Chatham House speech in April 2023.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) the ECB and (b) the MCC on that report's findings.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, if her Department will discuss recommendation 18 of that report with the MCC.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help implement the recommendations in the report of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket entitled Holding up a mirror to cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to support the foundation of a specialist charity for tackling all forms of discrimination in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. We are reviewing the findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, and we welcome the ECB’s commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully.
There are a number of organisations and initiatives that aim to tackle discrimination and improve diversity and inclusion in cricket.
This includes the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE), which addresses the decline in cricket participation by members of the Black community in cricket, and has received £540,000 of Sport England funding between 2020 and 2023.
The Chance to Shine foundation, which receives funding from Sport England, is focussed in areas with a lack of accessible clubs and green spaces, making cricket accessible to young people throughout England and Wales.