Places of worship vulnerable to hate crimes are being encouraged to register their interest in government-funded protection, in a scheme announced ahead of major religious occasions including Ramadan and Passover.
A £1.6 million Home Office grant is on offer for a firm to centrally manage the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme, following targeted attacks on mosques in New Zealand and Birmingham last month.
The latest round of the scheme, now in its fourth year, is the biggest invitation to tender from the government regarding the issue of hate crimes in recent years, said Tussell, a data provider on UK government contracts.
The Home Office will appoint a single firm who will centrally manage applications from places of worship, and supply and install equipment including CCTV, cameras, locks, and fencing.
The scheme will then open up to applications from places of worship across England in July. The department says funding will now be “easier than ever” to apply for.
The announcement follows the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque attacks which claimed the lives of 50 people last month.
The attack led to Home Secretary Sajid Javid announcing an increased investment in the grant funding.
The Christchurch shooting was followed by a spate of attacks on six separate mosques across Birmingham, in which they had windows smashed in the middle of the night.
Five of the six incidents were not terror-related, West Midlands Police said, while an investigation into a sixth, separate attack is ongoing.
Javid said at the start of the month that Muslim community in Britain “will get the protection that they deserve”, in the wake of both attacks.
“At this time of reflection, devotion and celebration, it’s vital everyone feels safe and protected in the places of worship they attend”
- Sajid Javid
The Home Office said in a release: “The government recognises that Muslim communities remain anxious following the horrendous attacks in New Zealand, and particularly in advance of Ramadan.
“The police and their partners are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of the public, particularly around religious festivals, and holy days. This will include operational policing plans for the Ramadan period.”
The Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the move, but added: “British Muslim communities may still question why the funding is not proportionate to the risks they face, given the Home Office’s own figures last year showing that over half of religious hate crime is targeted at Muslims.
“We hope the consultation with faith representatives will be inclusive of all organisations investing efforts to ensure British Muslims are safe in the UK”.
ONS figures last year showed that of all categories of hate crime, religious hate crimes saw the sharpest rise, up 40% in 2017/18 from 5,949 incidents in 2016/17.
There were 8,336 religious hate crimes in England and Wales last year.
Gus Tugendhat, founder of Tussell, a data provider on UK government contracts, said: “This is the largest Invitation to Tender mentioning ‘hate crime’ posted by the UK public sector in the past five years.
“While it is tragic that a scheme such as this is necessary, it’s encouraging to see the government taking the proper steps to protect vulnerable faith groups across the UK.”
As the grant was announced, Javid said: “In the coming days and weeks, millions of people from different faiths will be marking religious festivals up and down the UK.
“At this time of reflection, devotion and celebration, it’s vital everyone feels safe and protected in the places of worship they attend.
“That’s why we’ve invested another £1.6 million into our Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme and are encouraging religious organisations to apply.
The deadline to apply for the grant is May 20, for completion by March 2020.
Since 2016, the scheme has awarded 134 grants worth a total of £1.5 million to places of worship “from all major religions”, the Home Office said.
Organisation wanting to register an interest should do so by emailing securityfundingced@homeoffice.gov.uk.