To ask Her Majesty's Government what they are doing to combat radicalisation in Britain.
Answered on
2 July 2014
The revised Prevent strategy, launched on 7 June 2011 has three objectives: respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism; prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support; work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address.
We refocused the Prevent strategy in 2011 so that we confront the ideology behind extremism, and tackle non-violent extremism as well as violent extremism. Following the recommendations made by the Prime Minister's Task Force on Tackling Radicalisation and Extremism at the end of last year, the Government is now implementing a raft of practical measures to further strengthen our approach across a range of sectors including prisons, schools, universities and online.
Prevent practitioners across the country work with Local Authorities and key partners, such as the police and the Charity Commission, to provide targeted projects and outreach work.
One of our initiatives, the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP), has been delivered to over 24,000 front-line public sector staff. This teaches front-line staff who work in various sectors and institutions (such as in the education and health sectors) how to recognise people who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, and how to refer people who may need support to Channel.
We also have a multi-agency programme, Channel, which supports and protects individuals who may be vulnerable to being drawn into any form of terrorism.
In addition, my Department continues to work with the Department of Education on long-term efforts on reducing the risk of radicalisation in young people, particularly within the schools sector. Since June 2011, Prevent has committed £1.4 million to fund more than 50 projects in schools and madrassahs across the country. This includes projects to teach young people about the dangers of extremist online messaging, and interactive drama workshops that are a safe environment in which to discuss tackling extremist ideology.