Written statement: Lord Mann’s review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS: update - Oct 27

Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care) (Karin Smyth): When Lord Mann's review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS was published in June this year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) committed to provide an initial update to Parliament in October on the progress made against his recommendations, followed by a detailed report within twelve months of publication. Today's update to the House discharges the first of those commitments.

As we said in June, there is no place for antisemitism or any other form of racism in the NHS. The NHS was built on the premise of universal access to healthcare regardless of background, and it is therefore wholly unacceptable that anyone using that service, or any member of the dedicated workforce that provides it, should face discrimination, intimidation or abuse based on their race, religion, or ethnicity. The Government therefore welcomed Lord Mann's important review, we accepted every one of his recommendations for DHSC and NHS England, and today we reiterate our commitment to implement each of those recommendations, and report on the progress already made in key areas.

In respect of Lord Mann's recommendations in the area of openness, accountability and the restoration of confidence, a suite of NHS Staff Standards was published in July, including a standard setting out minimum expectations for employers to take sustained and meaningful action to prevent and root out racism in the NHS. The NHS Leadership and Management framework was also published in July 2026, setting consistent expectations on behaviours across all levels of NHS management.

In respect of Lord Mann's recommendations on definitions, reporting and investigation of racist incidents, NHS England is delivering training for HR colleagues leading investigations into allegations of racism, and working to open up access to training to regulated health and care staff working outside of NHS settings. In addition, a large number of NHS trusts have now adopted both the IHRA definition of antisemitism and the government definition of anti-Muslim hostility, but we recognise that significant progress is still required to see those definitions comprehensively adopted across the NHS as a whole.

In respect of Lord Mann's recommendations on wider governance, regulation and oversight, the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) is progressing work to develop new guidance for regulators on good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. The PSA will convene fitness to practise leaders from across the regulators on 24 November to examine current approaches, identify any opportunities for greater consistency and inform further guidance and/or shared action. The PSA is also coordinating updates from regulators and will formally report progress to the Health and Social Care Committee in December. NHS Employers has worked closely with regulators and NHS organisations to understand how existing materials and support relating to regulatory referrals are used, and where visibility of existing guidance can be improved. They will take forward further work to deliver on these findings by March 2027. The Secretary of State will also be holding a roundtable with the UK health systems and professional regulators in the coming weeks to discuss their ongoing work to tackle racism.

In respect of Lord Mann's recommendations on protection and support for staff, NHS England will publish national safe working practices guidance and a violence prevention and reduction reporting framework in early 2027, supported by a national Violence Against NHS Staff awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the issue, and promoting a culture of prevention and support across the NHS. On Lord Mann's specific concern about the maintenance of a Jewish staff network within the DHSC and NHS England following the creation of the new Department, existing groups are being brought together bi-monthly as part of engagement activity on the transformation programme, and we are clear that those networking arrangements will continue after the merger.

In respect of Lord Mann's recommendations on education, training and development, a new NHS training module on equality, diversity and human rights is being finalised for delivery across the NHS over the coming months. The training includes content on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility, alongside guidance on challenging prejudice and discrimination. NHS senior leaders will be invited to take part in further antiracism training by the end of March 2027, developed by the NHS Race and Health Observatory. In addition to the £1m of government funding provided for antisemitism training for university and student union staff, the Medical Schools Council has undertaken specific antisemitism awareness training and is drafting anti-racism guidance for the medical schools. Lord Mann will be meeting with the heads of the Medical Schools in December to discuss their progress in this area.

In respect of Lord Mann's specific recommendations concerning the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the CQC has now strengthened its assessment of equality, diversity and inclusion through alignment with NHS workforce standards, the continued use of specialist EDI advisors, and enhanced learning for regulatory staff on anti-racism, antisemitism and the handling of racist incidents. It is also working with fellow health and care regulators to improve information sharing, support implementation of the Joint Regulators' Principles on Advancing Workforce Race Equity, and to promote consistent approaches to addressing discrimination and racist incidents across the sector.

There are other recommendations from Lord Mann's report that we said in June would require further work prior to implementation, and that work remains in progress.

In particular, a supplier has now been appointed to lead the public consultation and engagement on the Unified Information Standard on Protected Characteristics, and a public consultation is due to commence in early 2027 seeking views on equality monitoring, including on Lord Mann's recommendation to include Jewish and Sikh as ethnicities in NHS data collection. Work is also ongoing to consider how to provide clearer guidance regarding the issues raised by Lord Mann on staff uniforms. New national guidance will be published in due course, and all Trusts will be asked to review their current policies. In the interim, we have clarified guidance on the use of the NHS identity in personal' social media accounts. Finally, a public consultation will be launched in the coming months, seeking stakeholder views on potential reforms to the General Medical Council's regulatory framework, arising from Lord Mann's recommendations regarding their decision-making and appeals processes.

In these and other areas, there is still a need for extensive further work to implement all of Lord Mann's recommendations in full, and to produce the transformation in attitudes and action in respect of antisemitism and other forms of racism that his review was designed to achieve. That work remains a high priority both for the Government and for the NHS, and a comprehensive report on our progress against those objectives and recommendations will be provided to the House in June 2027.