asked Her Majesty's Government:What strategies the Department of Health has in place to meet the needs of minority ethnic communities generally; what proportion are focused on meeting the needs of religious and faith communities; and, of those, what proportion are focused on Muslim communities. [HL1386]

The Department of Health's strategy for meeting the needs of minority ethnic communities is to mainstream race equality issues into all aspects of its work, including policy development, NHS and social care service delivery and workforce issues. This approach was set out in The Race Equality Agenda of the Department of Health, published in January, and copies have been placed in the Library. Staff will be equipped with the skills they need to develop and deliver services which meet the cultural, religious and linguistic needs of local black and minority ethnic populations.