Inaction hampers fight against violent extremism
The government’s £45 million drive to combat violent extremism has been hampered by a lack of action from councils, ministers have said.
Communities secretary John Denham and junior Communities and Local Government department minister Shahid Malik were speaking at the final oral evidence session of a select committee enquiry into the Prevent agenda this week.
Mr Malik said councils were ‘risk averse’ and not putting the funding into the broader agenda. ‘Some authorities have been doing work on community cohesion. [But] other authorities have no real experience whatsoever,’ he said.
He added councils should be spreading the funding a ‘little bit wider’ to achieve the aims of the agenda.
Mr Denham said: ‘There are some local authorities who have done extraordinarily well very quickly and there are some others that are not doing so well at the moment.’
He added it was important for partners to share information and that ‘transparency seems to be the key to going forwards’.
This echoes the written evidence submitted by Birmingham council to the select committee. It reads: ‘We believe that other local authorities should recognise the threat/risk and embrace Prevent.
‘Those local authorities who refuse to accept Prevent, or through perceived sensitivities do not discuss the issues with their communities and therefore divert funding to broader community cohesion issues, make the task more difficult for all of us.’
Funding was originally given to councils across the country to stop radicalisation and reduce support for terrorism in communities in 2007.
Mr Denham announced this August that 94 local authorities would receive a further £7.5 million for the programme.
The controversial agenda has been criticised for being too focused on Muslim communities and asking people in the community to effectively spy.
The committee is expected to produce its report on the Prevent agenda before the end of March.
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Readers' comments (2)
The Sparkonomist | 22/01/2010 12:34 pm
There is a gaping socio-economic void amongst ethnic minority communities and, despite a growing middle class amongst the predominantly South Asian, - or Pakistani, - Muslim grouping, there exists severe disadvantage and lack of opportunity in parts of the UK.
Rather than being palliative, and prosecuting the misguided actions of a few hot heads, which has to be done - and quite rightly - why aren't we seeking to understand the driving force behind the embrace of radical, violent ideologies ? The factors here, in the UK, are no different to those in Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen, Pakistan and, now, modern day Iraq: severe economic hardship, lack of employment opportunities, manifest socio-economic, - and, as a result, socio-political - deprivation.
Unless we take an active step and try to understand the factors, negatively influencing communities subject to an agenda such as Prevent, we will always have a festering susceptibility, lurking amidst ostensible calm.
Okay, so we can't have 100% equality, all the time: accepted. However, let's start talking about making real change.
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Joe Halewood | 22/01/2010 5:38 pm
So its local councils fault we have extremists and cant get rid of them or brainwash them with good old-fashioned and of course morally superior Christianity? But hang on arent RSLs supposed to be responsible for community cohesion? It must be their fault too!
Muslim focus? Of course all white Indo-European Christians dont have extremists do they? Does that mean the BNP are paragons of civil society? Perhaps the IRA, RIRA, INLA, UDA and UVF have all been paragons of civil society and should act as role models too? Dont you know councils changed their views and brought them to their senses!!!!
When a knee-jerk policy such as this starts from the false and ludicrous premise that Muslim equals extremist it deserves to fail. Carry on promoting that message and you embed such narrow and racist perceptions in the 'white' psyche (ably abetted by the Dail Mail of course) - and thats the governments recipe for community cohesion!!!
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