Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities meet the statutory duties imposed on them by the Counter Terrorism Act 2015.

My Department and the Home Office have worked with the Local Government Association to raise awareness of the responsibilities local authorities will have under the duty. These are detailed in the statutory guidance published in March setting out the types of activity we expect specified authorities to consider when complying with the duty, which includes a chapter aimed specifically at local authorities: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/417943/Prevent_Duty_Guidance_England_Wales.pdf

A training package called the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent (WRAP) has been provided to public sector workers and others in the community since 2007, including local authorities. It is designed to help identify when people may be vulnerable to radicalisation, how to raise concerns and what proportionate responses should be taken. It is regularly updated and refreshed to deal with any emerging issues.