Written questions by Athwal.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle antisemitism.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Jewish people in the UK.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, whether data recorded by the department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as religious or ethnic groups.

As is usual practice for public bodies, the data recorded by this department is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) harmonised standard and therefore classifies Sikhs and Jews as religious groups. The ONS current harmonised standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS, which produces official statistics independently, launched a consultation to gather views on whether additional response options should be included in a future version of the ethnicity standard. This consultation has now closed, and the responses will be considered carefully.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment their Department has made of trends in the level of discrimination faced by (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as ethnic groups in the provision of their Department's services.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. In October 2025, the ONS launched its ‘Harmonisation Ethnicity consultation’ on user needs for additional response options in a future ethnicity standard.All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Sikhs and Jewish people. The Government continues to work closely with the police and community partners to combat these forms of hatred, wherever and however it manifests.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the consultation, Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Assessing user needs for additional response options for the new ethnicity harmonisation standard, published on 28 October 2025, whether his Department plans to make a submission.

My department notes plans by the Office for National Statistics for an updated harmonised standard, which will be applied to our departmental statistics where applicable in due course. This is an open consultation so anyone can provide a response on an individual basis. Those from my department with responsibilities and expertise in this subject are considering the consultation and will respond if necessary.

Communities and Local Government, what steps is he taking to ensure that all leaseholders, including existing leaseholders, have their ground rent reduced to a peppercorn.

Through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill published on 27 January 2026, the government is proposing to cap ground rent at £250 per year, before changing to a peppercorn in 40 years. For further information, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278).

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that Leasehold reform will include reductions in ground levels of ground rent.

Through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill published on 27 January 2026, the government is proposing to cap ground rent at £250 per year, before changing to a peppercorn in 40 years. For further information, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278).

Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on ending the leasehold system.

Over the course of this parliament, the government is determined to honour the commitments made in our manifesto and do what is necessary to finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end. We continue to progressively implement the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Yesterday, the government published its draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made (HCWS1278).

Communities and Local Government, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Sikhism is recorded as a religion or belief. Annual statistics by department, as of 31 March, are available in the 2024 Civil Service Statistics (Table A3): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help support councils to provide temporary accommodation in London.

Homelessness levels are far too high, and we are taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. This Government has inherited record levels of temporary accommodation, and we recognise the pressure this has put on councils. The government regularly takes a wide range of evidence into account when determining the overall level of funding available for local government services, including expected temporary accommodation pressures in 202/26. The majority of funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is un-ringfenced in recognition that local councils are best placed to understand the needs of their communities. The Government has confirmed there will be over £5 billion additional government grant funding available for local government services in 2025/26, over and above increases to council tax. Of this, over £2 billion is being made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26. The Government is clear that, in the short-term, we must prioritise eliminating the worst forms of temporary accommodation such as families in Bed and Breakfast (B&B), other than in genuine emergencies. We have also launched Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £8 million, to work with 20 local councils with the highest use of B&B accommodation for homeless families, including 11 London Boroughs. This will support LAs to move families into more suitable accommodation.  Redbridge is one of the pilot areas we’re working with to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives; sharing the learning across the country. In addition, the £1.25 billion Local Authority Housing Fund will provide capital funding directly to English councils and is expected to around 7,700 homes by 2026. It will create a lasting asset for UK nationals by building a sustainable stock of affordable housing and better-quality temporary accommodation for local communities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to reform the leasehold system.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes based on religion in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Ilford South constituency.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, and the Government continues to work closely with community partners to tackle it. The Government has worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The Government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences. In 2024/25, up to £50.9 million is available to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and for security at Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths. The Government established a new working group to provide government with a definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, advising government and other bodies on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims. Since his appointment, the Minister for Faith, Communities and Resettlement has made it a priority to meet with people of all major faiths and beliefs across our diverse country.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in high streets in (a) London and (b) Ilford South constituency.

The government is fully committed to revitalising our high streets and supporting businesses to make our towns, including those in London and Ilford South constituency, successful. We recognise the important role Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) provide, such as Ilford BID, that attract investment and improve trade in local town centres. We have introduced High Street Rental Auctions, which give local authorities the power to auction off the lease of persistently vacant commercial premises, to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants. Through our UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the London Borough of Redbridge is providing support for local businesses and has invested in improvements to Ilford town centre public realm. The Small Business Strategy Command Paper, to be published in 2025, will set out this Government’s plans to improve access to finance and inward investment to foster thriving high streets.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure areas with higher levels of deprivation receive adequate funding.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government in England, which is a cash-terms increase of 6.8% in Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The most relatively deprived areas of England will receive 23% more per dwelling in Settlement funding than the least deprived areas.The government is directly accounting for deprivation in the way it allocates funding, such as through the new one-off ‘Recovery Grant’, worth £600 million. The Recovery Grant will start to correct the unfairness of the current system by putting councils in the areas with greater need and demand for services on a more stable footing. This will lay the foundations for more fundamental funding reform, including an updated assessment of need, from 2026/27.