2nd Report - Employment opportunities for Muslims in the UK

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's work and agrees with a number of recommendations, but says it "does not accept at this stage" that a plan specifically focused on Muslims is needed.

• On data, it notes that employment data is published by ethnic group but not religion. It is introducing a Transparency Duty, "subject to the passage of the Higher Education and Research Bill", requiring universities to publish admissions data by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background.
• It agrees that English language proficiency is a core part of reducing inequality and is developing a new English language offer "worth £20 million over this Parliament", which it says will not be a "Muslim only" scheme.
• On Jobcentre Plus, it agrees that staff "must be equipped to understand the needs of its range of customers", and says it is carrying out fieldwork to share good practice.
• On name-blind recruitment, it wants to "encourage best practice, rather than mandate a specific process", and says it is "considering" an exercise to gather employer insight on recruitment practices.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error