Counter-terrorism

(asked on 3rd June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the review of the Prevent strategy will explore the (a) human rights and (b) social effects of the strategy.


Answered by
Ben Wallace Portrait
Ben Wallace
This question was answered on 10th June 2019

On 22 January 2019, the Government announced that there would be an Independent Review of the Prevent programme. The purpose of the Independent Review, as set out in legislation, is to review the Government Strategy for supporting people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. Work is underway to appoint the independent Reviewer, define the Terms of Reference, and to recruit a secretariat to support this work.

To ensure this Review is open, transparent and objective, it will be conducted by a Reviewer who is independent from Government. The team which will support the work of the Review will sit outside the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, which has lead responsibility for Prevent.

Prevent covers a broad remit and this will be reflected in the Terms of Reference. The House will be informed of the arrangements for the Independent Review of the Prevent Strategy, including the Terms of Reference, by 12 August 2019, as required by the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 (six months from Royal Assent).

This review is an opportunity to further increase the transparency of the Prevent programme and engage with stakeholders. As I said in the House on 22 January 2019, I am happy to take suggestions on the Independent Review from Members of the House.

Once the Reviewer has been appointed, that person will have the discretion to decide how to engage stakeholders in the Review and how to draw on expert opinion on the wide range of issues involved in the delivery of Prevent.

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