Written questions by Gill.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard; and what evidence it submitted, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Communities and Local Government, when she expects to publish a response to the consultation seeking views on the implementation of measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which closed on 15 May 2025.

The government remains absolutely committed to improving the quality of supported housing and implementing the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. The government will publish its response to the consultation as soon as possible, ahead of consulting on draft licensing regulations and guidance. We are also pressing forward with implementing other measures in the Act including the duty on local authorities to produce supported housing strategies, for which guidance will be published in February.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of number of hate crimes reported to the a) Sikh Guard and b) Rakkha that were not passed on the police in the last three years.

The Government remains committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and will not tolerate anti-Sikh hatred in any form. We continue to work with the police and community partners to monitor and combat this.No assessment has been made of the number of hate crimes reported to the Sikh Guard and the Rakkha that were not passed on to the police, but we recommend that all reporting services direct reports of hate crime to the police where appropriate.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered (a) recognising and (b) establishing a definition of anti-Sikh hate.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Sikhs. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. We welcome the Sikh Guard initiative, a third-party reporting service specifically for the Sikh Community. Over the last 5 years, the Government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As a part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha initiatives to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities.

Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has provided to Sikh community organisations to address hate crimes in each of the last five years.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Sikhs. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. We welcome the Sikh Guard initiative, a third-party reporting service specifically for the Sikh Community. Over the last 5 years, the Government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As a part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha initiatives to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) prevalence and (b) potential impact on freehold property sales of restrictive rent-charge clauses used by developers.

My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures. The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect freeholders from excessive (a) delays and (b) charges imposed by private management companies during property transactions.

My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures. The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has received recent representations from relevant stakeholders on the potential impact of (a) rent charge clauses and (b) management company practices on homeowners’ ability to sell their properties.

My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures. The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of safeguards protecting residents of retirement homes from additional paid-for services from independent living providers.

The government is committed to ensuring that leaseholders, including those living in retirement homes, are protected from unfair and unreasonable practices.There are currently two government-approved codes of practice in force in relation to the residential leasehold sector and private retirement housing. These are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Management Service Charge Code and the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (AHRM) Code of Practice. The enforcement of standards set out in these codes can be taken into account as evidence, at court or tribunal hearings.Individual leases set out what services leaseholders may expect to receive, and what they should pay for. By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges, they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal. On 4 July, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here.The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report, including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on the number of people living in deprivation by ethnic group.

We do not hold or collect data specifically on people belonging to an ethnic minority who live in deprivation. The indices of deprivation (2019) are publicly available and show patterns of deprivation across England and Wales. These data could be cross-checked with the Census data to show the geographic locations of people from ethnic minority groups.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by her Department.

MHCLG do collect data on religion and/or belief. This includes Jewish and Sikh options. This data is collected separate to ethnic group dataWe 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. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish all (a) research and (b) reports (i) commissioned and (ii) requested by her Department on (A) the Sikh community and (B) Sikh groups and organisations in each of the last three years.

This Department has not commissioned any research or reports on the Sikh community, Sikh groups and organisations. The Department did commission some insight research during 2024 with members of the Jewish community in the aftermath of October 7th. We intend to publish the report from this work in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department collects on Sikh people in order to meet its public sector equality duty.

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public authorities to have due regard to certain equality considerations when exercising their functions, like making decisions. The Department applies the Cabinet Office's consultation principles when consulting as part of the policy making process. Individual assessments are made by specific policy teams, and any data involved in the assessment process is not held centrally. Details of MHCLG’s public consultations can be found at: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - Citizen Space.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department collects on Jewish people in order to meet its public sector equality duty.

The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public authorities to have due regard to certain equality considerations when exercising their functions, like making decisions. The Department applies the Cabinet Office's consultation principles when consulting as part of the policy making process. Individual assessments are made by specific policy teams, and any data involved in the assessment process is not held centrally. Details of MHCLG’s public consultations can be found at: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - Citizen Space.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish all (a) research and (b) reports (i) commissioned and (ii) requested by her Department on (A) the Jewish community and (B) Jewish groups and organisations in each of the last three years.

This Department has not commissioned any research or reports on the Sikh community, Sikh groups and organisations. The Department did commission some insight research during 2024 with members of the Jewish community in the aftermath of October 7th. We intend to publish the report from this work in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on how many and what proportion of the Jewish population (a) are living in (i) temporary accommodation, (ii) rented accommodation, and (iii) owner occupied housing and (b) are homeless.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) contains details on the demographic profile of households in England. In the published figures for 2022-23, there were 99,000 owner occupied households where the Household Reference Person (HRP) identified as Sikh. Within the rented sectors, there were 7000 private rented households and 15,000 social rented households where the HRP identified as Sikh. In the published figures for 2022-23, there were 88,000 owner occupied households where the HRP identified as Jewish. Within the rented sectors there were 21,000 private rented households and 6000 social rented households where the HRP identified as Jewish. The department does not hold information on the religion of households that are homeless or in temporary accommodation.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on the number of Sikh people living in deprivation.

We do not hold or collect data specifically on people from religious communities living in deprivation. The Indices of deprivation (2019) are publicly available and can be used to identify patterns of deprivation across England and Wales which could subsequently be cross-checked against Census data relating to the geographic locations of people who identified with a religion.

Communities and Local Government, what funding the Government has allocated to help increase levels of reporting of hate crimes by the Sikh community in each of the last five years.

All forms of racial and religious discrimination are completely unacceptable, including that directed at Sikhs. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this. Over the last 5 years, the government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As a part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha initiatives to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on how many and what proportion of the Sikh population (a) are living in (i) temporary accommodation, (ii) rented accommodation, and (iii) owner occupied housing and (b) are homeless.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) contains details on the demographic profile of households in England. In the published figures for 2022-23, there were 99,000 owner occupied households where the Household Reference Person (HRP) identified as Sikh. Within the rented sectors, there were 7000 private rented households and 15,000 social rented households where the HRP identified as Sikh. In the published figures for 2022-23, there were 88,000 owner occupied households where the HRP identified as Jewish. Within the rented sectors there were 21,000 private rented households and 6000 social rented households where the HRP identified as Jewish. The department does not hold information on the religion of households that are homeless or in temporary accommodation.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hate crimes based on religion in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Birmingham and (c) Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37961 on 20 March 2025.