asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they intend to respond to the findings of the recent MORI poll commissioned by the BBC to mark the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell's “rivers of blood” speech that two out of three people polled believe there are too many immigrants in Britain and that race riots are likely to arise if community tensions increase; and [HL3159]

What action they are taking to avert the possibility of race riots; what advice they have received from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on that subject; when the advice was offered; how they have responded to it; and which areas or neighbourhoods have been identified as having a high risk of race riots occurring; and [HL3160]

Whether they have made representations to newspapers, television and radio companies about their coverage of immigration and race relations stories; and whether such coverage reduces racial prejudice and intolerance; and [HL3161]

What initiatives they are pursuing to promote better knowledge and understanding of the benefits of a diverse and multi-cultural society. [HL3162]

In February this year, the Government made a renewed commitment to build community cohesion, as part of our response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion's report. Community cohesion is about much more than preventing violence—it is part of building sustainable active and empowered communities. Central to this is the principle that cohesion must be understood and built locally by local authorities and the local partnerships which they lead. Central government's role is to set the national framework within which local authorities and their partners operate. We are working with EHRC in developing our policies and approach. We are providing both funding and support to do this: £50 million over the next three years and a cohesion delivery framework in the summer.

The findings of the MORI poll of just 1,000 people contrast sharply with those of the citizenship survey of 10,000 people. The citizenship survey found that 81 per cent of people feel that individuals from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area and that 83 per cent of people agree that people in their local area respect ethnic differences, an increase from 79 per cent in 2003. In its final report, published in June 2007, the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, also found that cohesion rates only fell below 60 per cent in 10 out of 387 areas in England.

We work routinely with local authorities and the police to assess where local tensions may arise and we encourage local areas to do the same. We will shortly be publishing guidance for local areas on tension monitoring and contingency planning.

The coverage of immigration and race relations stories by the media is a matter for the relevant regulatory bodies or the courts, not the Government. The Government strongly believe that a press free from state intervention is fundamental to democracy.