By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
The Home Office has given Nottingham City Council £127,000 to help fund jobs to prevent radical extremism and terrorism after the city was identified as a “priority area”.
Money will cover two staff members working for the Prevent programme, which aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.
It will help the city protect itself against radicalisation risks, according to the council.
A report on the funding says: “The funding amount will support the extension of the two roles currently in post with the benefit of retained knowledge and continuity.
“The team are required to facilitate and develop action plans which mitigate against the threat of radical extremism in Nottingham city.”
The council documents state Nottingham is a priority-funded area, and it is expected more funding will be provided to cover projects until 2024/25.
A second portion of the grant, up to £67,421, is anticipated in the near future.
However the funding does not cover severance costs for staff, office costs or administrative support for the multi-agency case conference, known as Channel.
The council says there is an expectation from the Home Office the funding supports Prevent delivery rather than covering all projects to help prevent terror in the city.
The funding comes at the same time as the publication of the Government’s Counter Terrorism Strategy, CONTEST, released on July 20.
Since the introduction of the Prevent Duty in 2015, more than 3,800 referrals have resulted in individuals receiving radicalisation support.
In the year ending March 31, 2022, there were 6,406 referrals to Prevent, the Government says.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP says the terrorist threat to the UK “is unrelenting and evolving”.
“Since we last published CONTEST in 2018, we have seen nine declared terrorist attacks, and 39 disrupted attacks, averaging almost eight attempted attacks per year,” she says.
“It is also increasingly unpredictable, making it harder to detect and investigate.
“We therefore judge that the risk is rising and I will continue to do everything within my power to disrupt and curtail this threat.”
