Written questions by Gill.

If he 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 his Department.

The merits of including Jewish or Sikh as an option when recording ethnicity in National Health Service data, and other issues relating to how the NHS records information on protected characteristics, are being considered by the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UISPC) programme. The UISPC programme is a wide-ranging NHS England and Department led review of equality monitoring that examines workforce, employment, and patient datasets and national surveys. It explores how best to update equality monitoring arrangements by reference to the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he 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 his Department.

Defra 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.

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.

The department collects ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS).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.

If he 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 his Department.

Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics. The Cabinet Office also uses these standards to collect diversity data.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.

What data he holds on the number of people with late stage cancer diagnoses broken down by religious group.

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects and analyses diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. The religion of patients is not collected or stored by the NDRS. Further information on the NDRS is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs

What data his Department holds on late stage cancer diagnoses, by ethnic group.

The National Disease Registration Service in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects and analyses diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. Further information on the National Disease Registration Service is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs The following estimates are taken from the data used in Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registration for 2022, the most recent diagnosis year available, with further information available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2022 The estimates apply the 2021 census ethnic groups for England and Wales, namely:Asian or Asian British;black, black British, Caribbean, or African;mixed or multiple ethnic groups;white; andother ethnic groupFurther information on the ethnic groups used is available at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021 Where an ethnicity is not stated on the data sources that are used to compile the cancer registration statistics, these are given the label “Unknown (not stated)”. The proportions given are on a complete case basis, which compares known stage at diagnosis, and stageable diagnoses for which insufficient data has been reported to the National Disease Registration Service are not included. The definition of early and late stage diagnoses are those used in the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for cancer, specifically that diagnoses at stages 1 and 2 are considered to be early, and diagnoses at stages 3 and 4 are considered to be late. Further information on the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions for cancer is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/cancer/strategy/ The following table shows the number and proportion of cancers diagnosed early and late for all stageable diagnoses combined, by ethnic group, in 2022, in England: Ethnic groupNumber of early stage diagnosesProportion of early stage diagnosesNumber of early stage diagnosesProportion of late stage diagnosesAsian or Asian British4,12657%3,12243%Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African3,49957%2,61243%Mixed or multiple ethnic groups80458%57142%White112,39155%93,08545%Other ethnic group2,03555%1,65445%Unknown (not stated)11,69758%8,34542%All ethnicities combined134,55255%109,38945% Not every cancer is stageable, and some types of cancer do not have a staging system, so the tabulations above are for a subset of the reported total number of diagnoses of cancer.

What assessment he has made of (a) trends in the number of and (b) outcomes from type 2 diabetes among Sikh people.

The Government is committed to ensuring fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease. That is why our Health Mission sets an ambition to reduce premature death from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade.Currently, no assessment has been made on the trends or outcomes of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Sikh people, as we do not collect information on religion.

What data his Department holds on maternal mortality in Sikh women.

The Department does not hold data on maternal mortality rates in Jewish or Sikh women. Maternity data broken down by several factors including maternal age and ethnicity is published by NHS England.

What data his Department holds on maternal mortality rates in Jewish women.

The Department does not hold data on maternal mortality rates in Jewish or Sikh women. Maternity data broken down by several factors including maternal age and ethnicity is published by NHS England.

What assessment he has made of (a) trends in the number of and (b) outcomes from cardiovascular disease among Sikh people.

The Government is committed to ensuring fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease. That is why our Health Mission sets an ambition to reduce premature death from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade.Currently, no assessment has been made on the trends or outcomes of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Sikh people, as we do not collect information on religion.

How many children under 16 are recorded as missing in (a) Birmingham and (b) the west midlands.

The Home Office does not hold this data centrally. Individual police forces hold information about current missing persons incidents.Annual missing people statistics, broken down to police force level, are published by the National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Person’s Unit (UKMPU) (Downloads - National Crime Agency). According to the most recent UKMPU data report, in 2022/23 there were 10,899 incidents of children under 18 reported missing to West Midlands Police, which related to 3,940 individual children.

What information her Department holds on the definition of child sexual exploitation that is used by (a) the police and (b) children's services.

‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is the statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, support and protect children. This guidance includes a definition of child sexual exploitation to inform the practice of all multi-agency partners, including police and children’s services: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

What information her Department holds on the number of classifications that children's services use to record child sexual abuse.

The number of episodes of children in need with the ‘sexual abuse’ and ‘child sexual exploitation’ factors identified in an assessment in the year ending 31 March 2024 can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/12ce1c63-e357-4177-3d87-08ddae36ea5c. Factors identified at the end of assessment are additional factors that social workers record as being relevant in a case.These figures are based on assessment factors recorded against individual episodes of need, which begin when a child is referred to children’s social care services and is assessed as being in need of children’s social care services. Each unique factor is counted once against a given episode, irrespective of the number of times the same factor was recorded in that episode. However, as a child can have more than one episode of need during the year ending 31 March, the same child can be recorded more than once for a given factor.The majority of children have more than one unique factor recorded for each episode of need. It should be noted that not all episodes have factors recorded, but this has improved over time. Nonetheless, there can be differences in the recording practices between local authorities. Therefore this data should be treated with caution and should not be taken to represent the national, regional or local authority prevalence of particular issues.The number of child protection plans as at 31 March 2024 where sexual abuse was the initial or latest category of abuse is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a9a79795-cdd0-42fc-8333-08ddaf142d69.

With reference to the annual population survey, what estimates he has made of the number of people who reported their religion as (a) Sikh and (b) Judaism in each of the past five years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 10th June is attached.

What data her Department holds on the number of people living in deprivation, by ethnic group.

Statistics on the number of individuals in material deprivation in the UK by ethnic group are published annually. The latest available data can be found on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) in the Households Below Average Income dataset. The latest statistics were published on 21 March 2025 and are for the financial period 2023/24. We are committed to tackling poverty and we know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by £240 million investment, will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities. Alongside this, we are reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work with our new Fair Repayment Rate which will help around 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year.

How many emergency hospital admissions for (a) infectious diseases and (b) infections among Sikh people were recorded between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024.

The data is not available in the format requested as it is not collected centrally.

How many emergency hospital admissions for (a) infectious diseases and (b) infections among Jewish people were recorded between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024.

The data is not available in the format requested as it is not collected centrally.

What estimate she has made of the contribution of the Sikh population to GDP.

The Office for National Statistics is responsible for producing estimates of Gross Domestic Product. However, GDP data do not allow conclusions to be drawn on the impact of specific religious or ethnic demographics, and it is not therefore possible to observe the contribution of the Sikh population to GDP from this data.

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.

What estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) answered no religion and (b) did not answer the optional religious question in the 2021 census who belong to (i) the Sikh ethnic group and (ii) the Jewish ethnic group.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 22nd May is attached.