Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in attacks on mosques; and if he will make a statement.

Attacks on any place of worship are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our communities. We know there have been incidents at mosques following the New Zealand attacks, and we are aware of anxieties within communities around safety and security at places of worship.

The police continue to protect places of worship as part of their core priorities, and following the recent attacks on mosques, these patrols have been increased to provide enhanced safety and reassurance to all places of worship.

We recently announced an increase in funding for the Places of Worship Protective Security Fund to £1.6 million for 2019-20. This is double the amount awarded last year. This is the fourth year of the scheme, with just under 50 mosques granted funded over the first three years. In addition, we have committed £5 million over three years for the provision of security training to places of worship. We will be consulting with communities and faith groups to develop and deliver this new scheme as well as review what more should be done.