Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to increase funding for technology to detect early online radicalisation in rural communities.

The Home Office is strengthening action to tackle online radicalisation and protect young people from harm. The Independent Prevent Commissioner, Lord Anderson, recommended that we explore how evidence of online activity can be used to identify potential subjects for Prevent. To fulfil this, we will take steps to strengthen our approach to tackling online radicalisation through working with tech companies, like-minded international partners, and consider new approaches to identifying and supporting susceptible individuals online. This includes developing new capabilities to better equip Prevent to manage online radicalisation risks across all of our communities.

This renewed focus on online threats reflects the fact that the threat posed by radicalisation is not confined to a relatively small number of local authorities and is in fact increasingly diffuse. A local authority does not need to be high threat to be high risk. In response to this, we have evolved our Prevent local delivery model to ensure every local authority, including those in rural areas, has ready access to expertise, best practice, and support in tackling local radicalisation risks. Even while we continue to provide additional support and direct funding to those with the highest risk.