Policy paper

Government response to the Lord Mann Review into antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS

Published 4 June 2026

Introduction

Antisemitism and other forms of racism of any kind are completely unacceptable and there is no place for it in the NHS. As the Prime Minister set out in his foreword to the recently published government social cohesion plan Protecting What Matters (2026), anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate crimes are at a record high in the United Kingdom - including the April 2026 attacks in Golders Green - and swift, meaningful action must be taken to stamp out all forms of racism and discrimination in all parts of our society. The NHS is the country’s largest employer, and it has a responsibility to not only take strong action to deal with any form of discrimination when it arises, but more than that, it should be a national champion of organisational culture that actively opposes and prevents discrimination.

The NHS is for everyone and was built on the premise of universal access to healthcare for all, and this foundational principle remains embedded at the very heart of all that our NHS stands for. It is therefore entirely unacceptable that anyone seeking healthcare in the NHS, or indeed anyone who is part of our committed and hardworking NHS workforce, should feel discriminated against or judged differently on account of their faith or ethnicity. This government therefore welcomes this timely review into antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS, which examines the end‑to‑end NHS system - from local employer action through to national oversight and professional regulation. We are grateful to the government’s independent advisor on antisemitism, Lord John Mann, for his work to examine what actions can be taken to improve how incidents of racism are addressed in the NHS and restore public confidence through fostering a more inclusive NHS and healthcare system that is better equipped to tackle incidents of discrimination.

Government response

Having considered the proposed measures contained in Lord Mann’s rapid review, the government is pleased to confirm support for the review recommendations. The government and the NHS are committed to taking action to deliver on the recommendations in the review which are for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England to act on. This will include clear accountability, culture and capability development, as well as reconfirming and emphasising consistent expectations of staff and employers based on well-defined guiding principles, with enhanced oversight of regulatory and employer processes.

The approach outlined in the review demonstrates a comprehensive commitment to anti-racism, equality and inclusion across the NHS and associated bodies and sets out robust recommendations for going further to achieve this. The recommendations draw upon sector expertise and stakeholder engagement to set out a series of changes to the way that NHS employers and healthcare regulators work to address racism, focusing on actions that will help to improve staff and patient safety and inclusion. This includes proposals such as:

• the adoption of the NHS Race and Health Observatory principles
• improvements in data collection and transparency
• robust accountability for race equality metrics
• the strengthening of training and guidance frameworks

These and other actions will serve to:

• enhance the experience of both staff and patients
• address persistent inequalities
• foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous improvement

As part of the government’s commitment to tackling discrimination in the NHS, the government is also asking NHS England to adopt the recently published government definition of anti-Muslim hostility and set clear expectations that every trust, integrated care board and arm’s length body does the same.

The government is already taking forward work to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS and in society more broadly. These recommendations build on that ongoing work. Within the NHS we have already committed to strengthening existing mandatory anti-racism training, which will include specific content on antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility developed with subject experts. A suite of NHS staff standards will be rolled out shortly, which will set minimum standards of employment and raise the profile of staff experience following the commitment set out in the 10 Year Health Plan. These standards will:

• set out expectations for employers to take sustained and meaningful action to prevent and root out racism and discrimination in the NHS workplace
• help to ensure that staff are working in a culture where they are supported and that there is clear accountability by managers in tackling racism

The NHS management and leadership framework will also be published shortly, which will include consistent standards and a code of practice for behaviours across all levels of leadership and management in the NHS.

Organisations within the wider healthcare system, such as the UK health regulators, are already taking forward programmes of work to debias their processes and improve how they handle incidents of racism. We welcome this work and will continue to support the regulators and other healthcare system partners as they consider how to further their actions in this area based on the recommendations from the Mann review.

These are all significant and necessary strides in anti-racism in the UK. However, we know there is more work to do to stamp out antisemitism and other forms of racism, and the review provides a road map to focus that work in areas where we can make a positive impact on furthering an anti-racist agenda in the NHS.

Some recommendations are subject to the need to consult, such as:

• the inclusion of Jewish and Sikh as ethnicities in NHS data collection standards
• amendments to the performers list regime
• potential changes to legislation

In these cases, we remain committed to inviting interested parties to share their views and considering responses to inform decisions on future action. In response to the Mann review we have already taken steps to consult on the recommendations which would require changes to be made to the legislative frameworks of the General Medical Council (GMC) and Professional Standards Authority, in relation to its oversight of GMC. These proposals are contained in the consultation on the GMC’s regulatory framework, which is currently open for consultation until 23 June 2026. We welcome all stakeholder views on these proposals.

Where recommendations are actionable by system partners such as regulatory bodies and other organisations rather than DHSC or NHS England, we support these recommendations in principle. We encourage these organisations to consider the recommendations of the review and ensure they are taking action to address racism. We will commit to working closely with NHS employers and system partners to ensure that they are supported in delivering meaningful changes in line with the review’s findings, to reduce incidents of racism and become equipped to effectively tackle incidents of racism when and where they occur.

The review has had a particular focus on anti-Jewish hatred, but the recommendations in the review represent meaningful action to tackle all forms of racism in the NHS. We are committed to working closely with stakeholders from wider faith and ethnicity representative groups ahead of implementing recommendations to ensure we are doing the very best work we can to deal with all kinds of racism and religious hatred that exist in our health service. While the recommendations contained in the review related to the NHS are for the NHS in England, this government will work with devolved administrations on those recommendations that have UK-wide implications.

Conclusion

This government is committed to engaging with the recommendations in the review and taking appropriate actions, recognising them as vital steps in:

• advancing the anti-racism agenda
• promoting equality and diversity
• driving measurable positive change within our sector

The review provides clear steps in going further on tackling racism in the NHS. We will begin work immediately to ensure the steps taken in the review can be implemented in close collaboration with partners and stakeholders to ensure their success. We are also committed to reporting back to Parliament on progress made against the recommendations in the review, providing an initial update by October 2026 and a detailed report within 12 months of publication of the review.