Departmental Responsibilities: Religion
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Cabinet Office's news story entitled Machinery of Government changes: Fact Sheet, published on July 2026, whether responsibility for faith will be with (a) Office for Equality and Opportunity or (b) MHCLG.
Answered by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) leads the Government’s work to support and engage faith and belief groups, and coordinates the Government’s work to tackle religious hatred. Whilst the Minister for Homelessness, Democracy, Communities and Faith sits within MHCLG, other government departments will also undertake faith and belief engagement as part of their work.
As the department responsible for communities policy, MHCLG celebrates the central role of faith and belief in our national life, and its contribution to building a more cohesive society where all communities feel safe. MHCLG seeks to ensure that the voices of people of faith and belief are warmly welcomed and richly valued as we tackle the challenges we face together.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for the Equality Act 2010, including its protections against discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion or belief.
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