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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has (a) commissioned or (b) procured third-party providers to (i) assess, (ii) index or (iii) identify (A) extremism and (B) disinformation.

The Government takes the threat of extremism very seriously and will continue to work with partners to tackle extremism in all its forms.

The Government is also alarmed by the unprecedented rate at which threats to information integrity are growing.

My department has not specifically commissioned or procured third party-providers on the matter in question.

We fund the National Community Tensions Team which send the department regular reports on hate crime and community tensions. Additionally, the Government’s Independent Antisemitism Adviser, Lord Mann sent the department reports on hate crime and community tensions.

DSIT and MHCLG have supported the Local Government Association to deliver training aimed at supporting frontline local authority practitioners to respond to acute information incidents.