The Government has no current plans to introduce exceptions to the visa brake. However, the government has recently announced the development of new safe and legal routes to offer sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution from around the world. We will ensure that these routes will be sustainable, well-managed and in line with UK capacity to support new refugees. It is expected that the student refugee route will be open for applications from Autumn 2026, with the first students arriving in Autumn 2027.

The visa brake is being kept under regular review. It is not intended to be permanent and will be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.

The Government has no current plans to introduce exceptions to the visa brake. However, the government has recently announced the development of new safe and legal routes to offer sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution from around the world. We will ensure that these routes will be sustainable, well-managed and in line with UK capacity to support new refugees. It is expected that the student refugee route will be open for applications from Autumn 2026, with the first students arriving in Autumn 2027.

The visa brake is being kept under regular review. It is not intended to be permanent and will be released once the government considers it appropriate to do so.

On 9 March 2026, the Government published Protecting What Matters, which outlines our approach to improving social cohesion, including the steps we are taking to combat hate crime.

The Government is currently prioritising the implementation of measures outlined in Protecting What Matters, as well as continuing existing programmes to address hate crime and religious hatred.

The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.

More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.

The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.

More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.

The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.

More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.

The Government has adopted its definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments who will use the definition to guide relevant policy development and delivery. We are also engaging central and local public authorities to understand how the definition can be usefully applied in their contexts.

More broadly, the Government is taking sustained action to keep Muslims safe, support victims, and challenge hatred. This includes strengthening protective security through record funding of £40 million and committing £4 million to tackle anti-Muslim hostility as a first step. We will also appoint a special representative on anti-Muslim hostility, with further details on this role to be set out in due course.

My Lords, the Government are deeply concerned by the attacks in Edinburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured and the wider community, as well as the families of the injured. Investigations are live but I can confirm that a suspect has been arrested and charged. On behalf of the Government, I thank the police and the emergency services for their response. We are continuing close engagement with the Scottish Government on this concerning incident, and we are working with police partners and communities to tackle anti-Muslim hostility, support victims and strengthen cohesion.

The Government monitor data on applications under the transnational marriage abandonment route and publish quarterly data on GOV.UK under the “Settlement VDA” section. The latest data shows 82 applications in 2024 and 69 in 2025. Transnational marriage abuse behaviours are covered by a number of existing offences. As part of our work to tackle violence against women and girls, we are working with policing partners so that perpetrators are pursued and victims are protected.

My Lords, while there are outstanding examples of care, I know that there are serious issues in maternity services. That is why this Government launched an independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care, chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, which is expected to make recommendations this spring. Her interim report, published last Friday, reveals systemic, sustained and recurring failures in maternity and neonatal care. Due to the investigation’s ongoing work, there are currently no plans to appoint a maternity commissioner.

The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democratic society. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. However, there is no excuse for violence or abuse driven by hatred and discrimination, and we support the police in taking strong action against those crimes.

The police have a range of powers to deal with any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to others. They also have the power to impose conditions on protests where they reasonably believe the protest may result in serious disorder, serious damage to property, serious disruption to the life of the community, or where the purpose of the protest is to intimidate others.

The government continues to work closely with police and community partners to strengthen protections for communities and challenge hatred. This includes providing up to £50.9 million of funding this year to protect faith communities and safeguard places of worship. We also work 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.

This government is absolutely committed to protecting our communities and making our streets safer, and we refuse to allow the intolerance of a few to impact the lives of our diverse communities.

The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21^st July 2025.

The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21^st July 2025.

The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims fund received 34 applications between 02 April and 18 May. Three applicants were shortlisted and interviewed, including the British Muslim Trust, and formal advice was presented to ministers for final decision following assessment and scoring. Applications were assessed against 16 criteria which can be found on the fund’s prospectus - Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK. The British Muslim Trust was named as the preferred bidder on 21^st July 2025.

As per the Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund: prospectus - GOV.UK, the allocated funding for the Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund was £650,000 for financial year 2025/26.

The government will announce other measures to support community cohesion, including for Muslim communities, in due course.

The Home Office collects and publishes information about the number of anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, information about whether these incidents were associated with racism or religious hate is not separately identifiable.

The Protective Security for Mosques Scheme was introduced in 2024/25. Funding allocated for protective security at mosques and Muslim faith schools under the scheme in 2024/25 was £29,400,000, of which the full allocation was issued.

We are committed to developing the evidence base to improve our understanding of the triggers and causes of deaths related to domestic abuse, including for women from minority ethnic groups. This includes funding research by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project, which captures information on domestic abuse related deaths from all 43 polices forces across England and Wales and provides information on the ethnicity of both victims and perpetrators. The most recent report was published in March 2025: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) also allow for in-depth learning from these deaths. The Domestic Homicide Review Library holds all published DHRs to allow for more analysis of patterns and trends of domestic homicides and all deaths related to domestic abuse going forward.

Later this year, we will publish a new cross-government strategy on halving Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in a decade, which will set out the steps we are taking to prevent domestic abuse related deaths.

We are committed to developing the evidence base to improve our understanding of the triggers and causes of deaths related to domestic abuse, including for women from minority ethnic groups. This includes funding research by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project, which captures information on domestic abuse related deaths from all 43 polices forces across England and Wales and provides information on the ethnicity of both victims and perpetrators. The most recent report was published in March 2025: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) also allow for in-depth learning from these deaths. The Domestic Homicide Review Library holds all published DHRs to allow for more analysis of patterns and trends of domestic homicides and all deaths related to domestic abuse going forward.

Later this year, we will publish a new cross-government strategy on halving Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in a decade, which will set out the steps we are taking to prevent domestic abuse related deaths.

We are committed to developing the evidence base to improve our understanding of the triggers and causes of deaths related to domestic abuse, including for women from minority ethnic groups. This includes funding research by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project, which captures information on domestic abuse related deaths from all 43 polices forces across England and Wales and provides information on the ethnicity of both victims and perpetrators. The most recent report was published in March 2025: https://www.vkpp.org.uk/vkpp-work/domestic-homicide-project/.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) also allow for in-depth learning from these deaths. The Domestic Homicide Review Library holds all published DHRs to allow for more analysis of patterns and trends of domestic homicides and all deaths related to domestic abuse going forward.

Later this year, we will publish a new cross-government strategy on halving Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in a decade, which will set out the steps we are taking to prevent domestic abuse related deaths.