Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Security and Economic Crime on 18 March 2019, Official Report, column 793, whether he has reviewed the funding for protected security measures for mosques.

On 19 March 2019, the Home Secretary announced a boost in funding for the hate crime Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme to £1.6 million for 2019/20 (including for Mosques). This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19. £5 million over three years has also been committed to providing security training to places of worship in England and Wales. This will enable staff and volunteers to develop the security understanding necessary to make physical security measures work effectively.

In addition to this, the Home Office announced on 19 April 2019 that it is supporting Faith Associates to provide security training and advice to Muslim places of worship in advance of Ramadan. This short-term, two-month project sits alongside the wider £5m fund for security training.

More widely, the Home Secretary has committed to consulting with faith communities to understand what more could and should be done to help protect faith communities at their places of worship. We are working with groups such as the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, Tell Mama and those representing other faiths as part of this consultation.

This increase in funding marks a significant change in our funding for protective security for Mosques and other places of worship. If the threat changes or there is a sense that more money is needed, we will always look at how we should respond.