New measures to tackle extremism at universities and in charity sector unveiled
A raft of measures to tackle extremism at universities and charities have been announced in a bid to “social cohesion” across communities in the UK.
The government is launching a new action plan to highlight the “commonalities” of people in Britain and strengthen social ties.
The measures announced include giving the Charity Commission extra powers to close charities found to be promoting extremism and developing a reporting route for university staff to raise issues.
The plan also includes measures to combat religious hatred and the publication of the annual ‘State of Extremism’ report.
Communities minister Steve Reed said the plan would work to promote “shared values that unite us as a nation” and “unite people around a love of their local area”.
“While there are many forces in the world that want to divide communities from each other, in reality we have much more in common,” he added.
“The UK is a diverse, multi-ethnic society and we should celebrate each other’s cultures, traditions and the shared values that unite us as a nation.
“We must listen to people’s concerns about growing divisions and take action to bring our communities back together.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the government was “clear-eyed about the forces that fuel division and hatred in our society”.
“This plan heralds a patriotic renewal of our communities and the connections within them, a driving mission for this government,” he said. “Communities do not become stronger and closer by chance; they need support to thrive.”
The action plan, called ‘Protecting What Matters’, will be published on Monday afternoon.
The government has announced additional support of £5 million to the Common Ground Resilience Fund, on top of the £5.8 billion previously committed through the Pride in Place programme.
Last week, it was reported that plans to create an “anti-Muslim hostility” czar were expected to be announced as part of the government’s social cohesion strategy.
The leaked draft of the proposals suggested that a “special representative” role would be introduced to “support efforts to combat hostility and hatred towards Muslims and those perceived to be Muslims across the UK”.
The plan will include measures to tackle religious hatred and racial discrimination and curb extremism in charities and universities.
The Charity Commission will be given the power to close down charities found to be promoting extremism, and authorities will seek to speed up the process of investigating organisations.
The Charity Commission has brought more than 400 regulatory actions relating to hate speech since October 2023 and referred around 70 people to the police for whom criminal offenses may have been committed.
Other measures being considered include mandatory trustee authentication, digitization of charity accounts and strengthening local authorities’ powers to impose fines and take other enforcement measures to combat unlicensed street fundraising.
At British universities, the Office for Students will strengthen the way it monitors whether universities are meeting their Prevent responsibilities. Where universities fail to comply with their statutory duties, the regulator has the power to intervene, including imposing sanctions or deregistering providers.
The government has said it will work to make the Office for Students the reporting body for registered higher education providers. He will also work with students to co-design the Campus Compliance Charter, setting clearer expectations for behavior, respect, and shared values throughout college life.
Responding to the plan, shadow minister Sir James Cleverly claimed the government was “too weak to take the action that is required”.
“After the by-elections in Gorton and Denton, it is clear that Labor would rather go to extremes than confront the hard causes of growing separatism in Britain,” he said.
“As Kemi Badenoch made clear last week, people who come to Britain should participate in our shared national culture, not live apart from it.”
