Motion that this House has considered Sikh and Jewish ethnicity data collection by public bodies. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered Sikh and Jewish ethnicity data collection by public bodies. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Sikh and Jewish ethnicity data collection by public bodies.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I welcome my hon. Friend the Minister to her role. For more than 40 years, Sikhs and Jews have been recognised in law...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Sikh and Jewish ethnicity data collection by public bodies.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I welcome my hon. Friend the Minister to her role. For more than 40 years, Sikhs and Jews have been recognised in law...

I commend the hon. Lady on all that she does on behalf of the Sikh community. I am very happy that we have developed a friendship over the years through freedom of religious belief and that we are able to stand together for each other, and that is something that...

I commend the hon. Lady on all that she does on behalf of the Sikh community. I am very happy that we have developed a friendship over the years through freedom of religious belief and that we are able to stand together for each other, and that is something that...

The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point, and I will come on to why this is important in practice. We are both legislators in this House, and he is right: we both take our responsibilities very seriously and want to see all communities treated fairly under the law, so...

The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point, and I will come on to why this is important in practice. We are both legislators in this House, and he is right: we both take our responsibilities very seriously and want to see all communities treated fairly under the law, so...

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. My constituent Dan has written to me to express his strong support for Sikhs and Jews being able to identify as an ethnic group. He is Jewish, but not religious, and says it is important for him to be able to...

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. My constituent Dan has written to me to express his strong support for Sikhs and Jews being able to identify as an ethnic group. He is Jewish, but not religious, and says it is important for him to be able to...

Absolutely; I think that is really important. I have a staffer who, equally, is Jewish and does not feel that he is religious, and he wants the option to tick his ethnicity because, as he says, “I am Jewish.” This is simply giving people the option; no one is forcing...

Absolutely; I think that is really important. I have a staffer who, equally, is Jewish and does not feel that he is religious, and he wants the option to tick his ethnicity because, as he says, “I am Jewish.” This is simply giving people the option; no one is forcing...

I wish to make a medical point. Considering the clear evidence for the genetic propensity of Jews to develop certain medical conditions and diseases, is it not right that, in terms of data, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care treat Jews as both a religious and...

I wish to make a medical point. Considering the clear evidence for the genetic propensity of Jews to develop certain medical conditions and diseases, is it not right that, in terms of data, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care treat Jews as both a religious and...

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I really value his expertise in this House. Health inequalities are an area where we really see this issue being played out. The NHS is doing some directed work with the Jewish community; I know that, because it is happening in my...

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I really value his expertise in this House. Health inequalities are an area where we really see this issue being played out. The NHS is doing some directed work with the Jewish community; I know that, because it is happening in my...

I am proud to represent a very large Sikh community in Sandwell, which is near my hon. Friend’s constituency. What she campaigns for—for ethnicity data about the Sikh community to be recorded—is really important for organisations such as the NHS as well as for Home Office data and crime data....

I am proud to represent a very large Sikh community in Sandwell, which is near my hon. Friend’s constituency. What she campaigns for—for ethnicity data about the Sikh community to be recorded—is really important for organisations such as the NHS as well as for Home Office data and crime data....

My hon. Friend does some fantastic work locally with her communities, and I know that she supports this campaign and really understands the real-life impact it has. She talked about anti-Sikh hate. We have seen a rise in hate crime across communities, but it is especially marked in the latest...

My hon. Friend does some fantastic work locally with her communities, and I know that she supports this campaign and really understands the real-life impact it has. She talked about anti-Sikh hate. We have seen a rise in hate crime across communities, but it is especially marked in the latest...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill) for tabling this important debate, and I thank other Members for joining us. Over many years my hon. Friend has championed the rights of Sikh and...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill) for tabling this important debate, and I thank other Members for joining us. Over many years my hon. Friend has championed the rights of Sikh and...

Can I seek clarity from the Minister? All the correspondence I have had from the Home Office says that it has been told to use existing categories in the census, according to the ONS, and that is why it does not collect the data.

Can I seek clarity from the Minister? All the correspondence I have had from the Home Office says that it has been told to use existing categories in the census, according to the ONS, and that is why it does not collect the data.

I am happy to take that away.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important topic, and for her ongoing hard work advocating for the Sikh and Jewish communities. I am keen to emphasise that whether Sikh and Jewish ethnicity tick boxes should be introduced is an open question. I...

I am happy to take that away.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important topic, and for her ongoing hard work advocating for the Sikh and Jewish communities. I am keen to emphasise that whether Sikh and Jewish ethnicity tick boxes should be introduced is an open question. I...

A debate on new towns has been scheduled in the Commons Chamber for 15 January 2026. The subject for the debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, and it will be opened by Katrina Murray MP.

A debate on new towns has been scheduled in the Commons Chamber for 15 January 2026. The subject for the debate has been chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, and it will be opened by Katrina Murray MP.

Lords motion to take note of the Common Good Foundation and Centre for Policy Studies report Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, published in July 2025, and of the implications of projected population growth for the UK's demographic future. Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to take note of the Common Good Foundation and Centre for Policy Studies report Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, published in July 2025, and of the implications of projected population growth for the UK's demographic future. Agreed to on question.

I thank the noble Baroness for her good wishes; I hope she will still feel the same at the end of my speech.

The issue of population change and its consequences has long been an interest of mine, because I believe that successive Governments have failed to give the topic sufficient...

I thank the noble Baroness for her good wishes; I hope she will still feel the same at the end of my speech.

The issue of population change and its consequences has long been an interest of mine, because I believe that successive Governments have failed to give the topic sufficient...

My Lords, it is an honour and a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbott, opening this debate, and I add my admiration for his work over the years. Although in those years when I was a party-political politician we were “on the other side” in...

My Lords, it is an honour and a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbott, opening this debate, and I add my admiration for his work over the years. Although in those years when I was a party-political politician we were “on the other side” in...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, for his work in bringing together this report and giving us the opportunity to debate it. I add my thanks to him for his fascinating speech today and his wider contribution to this House, and I wish him well...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, for his work in bringing together this report and giving us the opportunity to debate it. I add my thanks to him for his fascinating speech today and his wider contribution to this House, and I wish him well...