WEC to hear evidence on community cohesion
The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) will hear from experts and professionals from various organisations on barriers and aids to community cohesion on Wednesday, 19 March.
Meeting details
For the second session of its inquiry, MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, will look at some of the barriers and aids to community cohesion within the UK. As part of this, the Committee will hear about the experiences of Jewish and Muslim communities, including their respective experiences with antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred/Islamophobia, within the UK. Additionally, the session will look more broadly at the challenges and solutions for achieving community cohesion, particularly at the local government level.
The first panel consists of the Antisemitism Policy Trust and Community Security Trust, organisations that work on supporting the Jewish community and combatting antisemitism. The second panel includes the Muslim Council of Britain, a Muslim representative organisation, and Equi, a think tank that draws on Muslim insight.* On the third panel, the Local Government Association and the Belong Network, an organisation dedicated to improving social cohesion, will assist the Committee to understand the barriers to community cohesion in a broader sense and to identify possible solutions, particularly through local government.
Discussion is expected to focus on hate crime and discrimination, social media, and the roles of central and local government in combatting discrimination and promoting community cohesion.
*Please note that the second panel, comprising of the Muslim Council of Britain and Equi, has been rescheduled to a later date. The session had to be suspended for a period of time as Members were voting within the House of Commons Chamber, which caused a delay. Due to the resulting timing constraints and Member and witness availability, it was agreed that the second panel would be rescheduled.