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12 Jan 2009 : Column 228W—continued
Communities and Local Government
British Library: Exhibitions
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which towns in England the British Library’s Sacred exhibition is visiting. [245565]
Mr. Khan: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited the exhibition and said:
“The Sacred exhibition is a wonderful, tangible example of how to promote mutual understanding of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.”
However, Communities and Local Government does not have responsibility for the British Library’s ‘Sacred’ exhibition. Information about the touring exhibition is available on the British Library’s website, which states that the exhibition will visit Manchester, Leicester, Bradford, Leeds and Liverpool.
Community Development Foundation
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff the Community Development Foundation employs; how many of these work on cohesion and integration; and what funding her Department will provide to the Foundation in (a) 2008-09 and (b) each of the following two years. [245531]
Mr. Khan: Community Development Foundation (CDF) currently employs 64 staff: 55 full-time and nine part-time across offices in England, Scotland and Wales. CDF recently aligned its resources to meet its three strategic aims of Empowered, Cohesive and Strong Communities. As a result they employ a Head of Cohesion, and a policy officer is being recruited to work on cohesion policy. In addition a significant number of other programme-funded staff are also involved in cohesion-related work to varying degrees. Details can be found in CDF’s annual report at
CDF is receiving up to £1,500,000 grant in aid funding in 2008-09. This represents 40 per cent. of its projected unrestricted income for the year. Subject to parliamentary approval, funding allocated for 2009-10 is £1,545,000, and for 2010-11 is £1,590,000.
Community Network For Manchester: Finance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 11 November 2008, Official Report, column 958W, on Greater Manchester, how much funding has been given to the Community Network for Manchester through (a) the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and (b) the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. [245931]
Mr. Khan: CN4M were constituted as an organisation on 22 March 2007. They have received NRF and WNF from that date as follows:
For 2007-08, CN4M were allocated NRF of £805,000
For 2008-09, CN4M were allocated WNF of £677,300
Community Relations
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) when she expects the National Community Forum to publish research on the experience of poor white communities, referred to on page 29 of the report, The Government’s Response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion; [245546]
(2) when she expects the National Community Forum to publish a report on what works to promote interaction between neighbourhoods, as referred to on page 46 of the report, The Government’s Response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion. [245548]
Mr. Khan: The National Community Forum is an advisory non-departmental public body. It has told me that it expects to publish these reports shortly.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what further research she plans to commission to develop the Government's understanding of radicalisation and enhance its analytical powers; and what the timescale is for such research. [245555]
Mr. Khan: Our plans for further research are being developed currently. They contribute to a wider cross-government Prevent research programme and are likely to comprise a mix of classified and unclassified projects.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which are the countries with strong links to the UK referred to on page 7 of the report Preventing Violent Extremism: A Strategy for Delivery; and how these countries will implement work to support their communities overseas. [245557]
Mr. Khan: The UK, and some of the communities here, retains strong links with a number of countries due to historic migration. It is of course for the governments of such countries to decide how they maintain connections with their diaspora communities overseas, for example in order to promote commercial links.
In respect of the Prevent strategy, the Government's work to increase the resilience of communities to engage with and resist violent extremists includes work with diaspora communities in the UK. We will also work in partnership with other countries, in particular those with whom we have these strong ties, to reduce the threat from violent extremism. We will do this in various ways, including through ministerial and official meetings, sharing experience and best practice, and joint cooperation.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of the national de-radicalisation programme referred to on page 29 of the report The Prevent Strategy: A Guide for Local Partners in England is expected to be in the three years from 2008-09; how many such schemes are currently operational; and if she will make a statement. [245562]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The Office for Security and Counter Terrorism has approved £1.37 million over the CSR period for five projects delivering interventions for individuals vulnerable to recruitment by violent extremism, which involve a de-radicalisation element.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vulnerable individuals have been referred to the Channel Project referred to on page 28 of the report The Prevent Strategy: A Guide for Local Partners in England. [245563]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
Between April 2007 and September 2008 around 178 referrals have been made to the Channel Project.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who has responsibility for creating the points of referral for vulnerable individuals cited on page 27 of the report The Prevent Strategy: A Guide for Local Partners in England; where these points of referral will be; who will refer vulnerable individuals to these points of referral; what support will be available to those individuals referred; what safeguards will exist to ensure that individuals are not referred mistakenly; what rights of appeal individuals will have against erroneous referrals; and if she will make a statement. [245564]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The Prevent Strategy: a Guide for Local Partners in England makes it clear that local partners, including the police and local authorities need to develop local processes for referral of those vulnerable to radicalisation. A range of agencies and local organisations will refer individuals ranging from community organisations through to further and higher educational organisations and youth offending teams. Local areas should construct a programme of interventions that are appropriately tailored to an individual who has been identified as vulnerable to the pull of violent extremism. When an individual is referred they will be assessed for the level of risk they pose and suitable voluntary interventions, diversionary activity and support will be offered in response.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to set up the team to analyse Prevent issues referred to on page 41 of The Prevent Strategy: A Guide for Local Partners in England; how many people the team will comprise; and what estimate she has made of the annual cost of operating the team in the three years from 2008-09. [245595]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The JTAC Prevent analytical team was set up in March 2008 and currently comprises of seven team members. The approximate staffing costs for the team are £224,927 per annum. In addition to the salary costs, we have invested £405,098 in IT for the team.
Community Relations: Islam
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 June 2008, Official Report, column 340W, on community relations: religion, when she expects to announce an independent review to examine with communities how to build the capacity of Islamic seminaries; who she expects to carry out the review; when she plans that it should report; what she estimates it will cost; and if she will make a statement. [245509]
Mr. Khan: The university of Gloucestershire has been contracted to undertake the independent review of training for Muslim faith leaders. The review will work with training institutions in the UK to assess current provision for training Muslim faith leaders, and will also consider best practice models in the UK and internationally. It will then make recommendations for the education and training sector and Muslim communities to take forward, and Government to facilitate where appropriate.
The estimated cost of the review is £139,000 (excluding VAT). We expect the review to report in summer 2009.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what role the Mosque and Imams National Advisory Body will play in assisting the UK Border Agency to develop pre-entry requirements for ministers of religion coming from abroad; what these requirements are likely to be; when they are likely to be implemented; and if she will make a statement. [245540]
Mr. Khan: Under the new points based system, religious workers will be able to apply to enter the UK by using either a sub-category of Tier 2 (skilled workers) or a sub-category of Tier 5 (temporary workers). Tier 2 and Tier 5 were launched on 27 November 2008.
During the development of this policy UKBA engaged with a wide number of religious stakeholders, including the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, and will continue to work closely with them.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 23 June 2008, Official Report, column 19W, on community relations: Islam, what the cost was of developing the framework of minimum standards for all imams and Muslim chaplains engaged in public service; and how much the pilots will cost in (a) 2008-09 and (b) each of the two subsequent years. [245541]
Mr. Khan: The Experience Corps were awarded £89,708 (excluding VAT) to produce a report based on assessment, collation and analysis of data to establish an evidence base on the existing provision of chaplaincy including standards and recruitment processes, and to develop a draft framework of standards and recruitment process to be used voluntarily by institutions when engaging Muslim chaplains in public service.
Following a tendering process in August 2008, Faith Matters have been contracted to carry out pilots of these draft standards and recruitment framework. The
pilots are projected to cost £80,000 in 2008-09 and £30,000 in 2009-10. No money is forecast to be spent on this project in 2010-11.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which areas she plans to pilot a framework of recruitment standards for Muslim faith leaders in chaplaincy roles in public institutions; how the pilots will be evaluated; when this framework will be rolled out nationally; and if she will make a statement. [245542]
Mr. Khan: Following a tendering process in August 2008, the contract to pilot the draft framework of standards and recruitment framework for institutions engaging Muslim chaplains in public service has been awarded to Faith Matters. Faith Matters will carry out a number of pilots in different institutions across the country over the next six months. The evaluation of the pilots will incorporate the views of relevant officers within participating institutions, as well as wider stakeholder consultation with Imams, other faith leaders, chaplains, and officials from other Government Departments and relevant associated agencies.
Using key findings from evaluation of the pilots and stakeholder consultation, Faith Matters will produce updated versions of the standards framework and recruitment process, with accompanying notes and a report listing key actions that need to be taken when implementing the documents. These finalised documents will be promoted by Faith Matters for voluntary use in public institutions from early summer 2009.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Muslim organisations have received funding from the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund since June 2007. [245549]
Mr. Khan: The list of all organisations who received funding through the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund in 2007-08 has been placed in the House Library.
The list of all organisations currently receiving funding through the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund in 2008-09 to 2010-11 is set out as follows:
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