Submitted by Carrie Brookes on 15 Dec 2023 - 8:20am
The following is information we have been asked to share from Middlesbrough Council:
Middlesbrough Council continue to support voluntary and community sector organisations through a variety of community grants to help improve life for the residents of Middlesbrough.
The responsibility of overseeing the community grants programme lies with the local authority and as such the council takes this responsibility seriously ensuring the best value for the community whilst supporting those applicants through the process.
As part of the authority’s responsibility, we have a statutory obligation to ensure that any funds managed, and processes related to community grants are not misused for criminal purposes and this can include supporting terrorism.
Local Authorities, along with other public sectors, have a statutory safeguarding responsibility under the Prevent Duty to safeguarding people at risk of radicalisation.
Prevent is a part of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Prevent helps to protect society from terrorism by supporting people who are at risk of radicalisation and offering them appropriate interventions.
Radicalisation means someone is being encouraged to develop extreme views or beliefs in support of terrorist groups and activities. There are many different types of radicalisation and Prevent deals with all of them.
If someone is at risk of radicalisation, they should be referred to Prevent’s support programme, Channel. Channel is confidential and voluntary, and offers support including:
- mentoring
- mental health support such as counselling
- education or career development support
- online safety training for parents
To learn more about Prevent please consider completing the free eLearning courses Prevent Awareness and Prevent Referrals (both accessible via this link Prevent duty training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) )
If you have concerns and believe a young person or adult is at risk of radicalisation, please contact Cleveland police on 101.In an emergency please contact 999.
You can also scan the QR Code below to access the Cleveland Police Prevent page and national referral form.
You can obtain more advice and guidance from the national advice line 0800 011 3764 Mon-Fri 9-5pm or the web site ACT Early | Prevent radicalisation or alternatively from the gov.uk web page Get help if you’re worried about someone being radicalised - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
