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Government steps up the fight against Extremism
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears today stepped up the fight against extremism, challenging the rhetoric of extremists, calling for a stronger civil response and pledging a further £13.8 million to disrupt radicalisers and support vulnerable individuals at a local level.
Speaking to representatives from local government, police and community groups at a conference on ways to prevent violent extremism, Ministers announced that the new money will fund a range of initiatives to help tackle extremism by strengthening public institutions and empowering community leaders to stop radicalisers from taking advantage of vulnerable individuals.
Speaking at the Prevent Extremism 08 conference, Ministers also challenged those who create an environment in which violent extremism can be accepted through the promotion of division, isolation and hate. The Home Secretary urged local communities to address the ideology and arguments of extremists.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:
"Preventing people becoming terrorists in the first place is one of the most important challenges this Government faces and recent events in India underline that point only too well.
"I am delighted to announce the extra funding of £13.8 million to the Prevent strategy. The extra money will be used at local level to fund a wide range of projects to disrupt radicalisers, strengthen institutions and support vulnerable individuals.
"Tackling extremists cannot just be about legal solutions. That is why we are calling for a civic, as well as a legal challenge against those who seek to undermine us. All of these elements are central to the Prevent strategy."
The Communities Secretary Hazel Blears emphasised that confronting violent extremism is about more than just community cohesion and urged local authorities to put a bigger focus on tackling the 'sharper end' of Prevent.
A new report 'Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund: Mapping of Project Activities 2007/08' published today, points to the wide range of innovative projects currently underway that are estimated to have reached over 44,000 people and include training courses for Imams in English language and better community engagement, a range of arts and sporting activities, as well discussion groups to address grievances and issues of vulnerable young people.
Blears praised the excellent work as evidence of the way in which many people have risen to the challenges of this difficult agenda but also stressed that a point has been reached where work needs to be stepped up, hardened, the challenge better understood and responses tailored accordingly.
Hazel Blears said:
"We have seen how even the most cohesive communities can harbour extremist activity. Building community cohesion is not the cure all in protecting vulnerable young people or wider society from the threat of violent extremism. That means working with the whole community and a focus on shared values alongside activity targeted specifically at individuals who are most at risk.
"That requires tough decisions, difficult debates, moving into uncomfortable and new territory and going beyond the usual people, usual ways of doing things and usual places of doing them. But that is the challenge and one that we have already seen many people rise to."
The pathfinder year was intended to support local authorities in getting to grips with what is a still a new agenda. In many cases, getting this work underway meant understanding the make up Muslim communities, building relationships with community leaders and generating the trust and understanding that would enable this work to happen. But that work is the start, not the end point and there is now a need to get a better balance.
The report examines all 261 projects and looks at how those projects fit into the wider prevent objectives. The report concludes that there has been less of a focus on what is considered to be at the 'sharper end'. Whilst work at this end is more difficult and can cause tensions, this is a serious agenda and the consequences of getting it wrong, or failing to tackle problems, are high. Whilst the majority of areas have and will continue to produce good work, a small minority of local authorities getting to the next level will require significant efforts. That means learning lessons, developing more distinct responses and going further in their work to confront and isolate violent extremism.
In a letter to local authorities, Ministers will warn that everyone needs to be taking this agenda seriously and will note that they are currently reviewing the way funding is delivered to local authorities to support this agenda and to ensure maximum impact and coherence.
However there is no expectation that local authorities will be left to do this work on their own. Government has a clear role in supporting local areas and can and will do more to support this. Ministers today announced:
- £13.8m funding including an extra £5 million for local authorities, Government offices and the police in support of work in schools, colleges and Universities; a new £5.8 million fund a local level and regional level to disrupt and a new £3m 'challenge and innovation' fund that local authorities will be invited to apply for to promote more innovative and challenging approaches.
- Better sharing of security and wider intelligence information - local authorities will have routine briefings about the threat within their local area. Local leaders will now have a more informed sense of the problem and will therefore be better placed to come up with the solutions.
In addition, we know that communities here maintain strong links with their country of origin. International issues can have an impact and influence on British communities. We will work with FCO to ensure local leaders are better briefed on these issues, and are alive to events overseas that might have an impact in the UK.
Central government will also share more information and research about the demographics, economic status, educational attainment and challenges experienced by various ethnic groups in order to help increase understanding.
- Improving local and international links. Preventing extremism is a global challenge. Countries around the world are developing responses and ministers frequently meet with counterparts overseas to share information and ideas. We want to replicate this at local level. An initiative is already up and running that brings together UK and US Muslims and representatives from Holland will be attending today's conference to talk to local authorities here about their work.
- A new centre of excellence. We have listened to practitioners and have heard their call for greater support on Prevent and greater clarity about where to turn for help. We intend to develop a real centre of excellence, readily accessible to them, and will work with local partners to get this in place early in 2009.
The long-term challenge is stopping people getting to the point where they can contemplate cruel and desperate acts. Getting that right requires several steps to be taken. Getting the right foundations is crucial but the Government is clear that we must all have our eyes firmly fixed on the threat and that everyone has a role to play in defeating it.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Government recently published new guidance that offers all those working in our local communities advice and support on how to turn the Prevent strategy into practical measures and solutions that will make a real difference
2. Communities and Local Government launched the Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) Pathfinder Fund in 2007. This was a £6m fund to support around 70 priority local authorities to work in partnership (for example with the police) to facilitate community-based, community-led responses to the challenge of violent extremism. The Pathfinder fund has helped us to build capacity to tackle extremism within local communities. Local areas brought forward a wide range of ambitious and innovative proposals.
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