Home Office sets out terms of reference for review of Prevent programme

The Government has published the terms of reference for the independent review of the Prevent programme, which is meant to safeguard people from being drawn into terrorism.

The review will consider the present delivery of Prevent and recommendations for the future, rather than past delivery of Prevent, the Home Office said.

It will be led by Lord Carlile of Berriew, although charity Rights Watch UK has threatened to bring a legal challenge over his appointment.

The review in particular will consider the following:

  • is Prevent achieving its objectives? These are to: tackle the causes of radicalisation and respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism; safeguard and support those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention, identifying them and offering support; and enable those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate
  • how effectively is Prevent being delivered at both the local and national levels?
  • how effectively does Prevent interact with other safeguarding and vulnerability strategies, and what are the critical dependencies and common threads?
  • how effective is the Statutory Prevent Duty, and how effectively is it being implemented?
  • how could Prevent be improved to respond to justified criticisms and complaints?
  • what should the government consider in the development of Prevent over the next five years, as the threat evolves, in order to best engage with and support people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism?

The reviewer will be asked to provide a report which seeks to address these issues and make recommendations on improvements. The review will report to Parliament by August 2020.

Security Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Prevent is an absolutely vital part of our efforts to stop people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. Since 2012, more than 1,700 people have been steered away from terrorism via the Channel programme, which provides confidential, tailored support for individuals at risk of radicalisation.

“We know that Prevent is successfully stopping people being drawn into terrorism, and this review will give us further evidence of what works well, while also suggesting areas for improvements. I look forward to seeing these recommendations.”

Lord Carlile said: “This review is an opportunity to take stock of what Prevent looks like in practice, what’s working and what isn’t, and identify what improvements need to be made to respond to how the threat might change in the future.

“Making these terms of reference public is an important step. It paves the way to my engagement with a wide range of those interested in the UK’s strategy for safeguarding those vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism, both critics and supporters alike, in an independent and open way. This will include a formal call for evidence in the coming weeks and a series of roadshows over the Autumn and Winter.”

The Prevent duty came into force as part of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and ensures that specified authorities have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. It covers schools, colleges, universities, health, local authorities, police, and prisons.

Delivery of Prevent in these sectors will be considered as part of the review, the Home Office said.

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