Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Sara Khan, Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism to the Board.  Sara started by giving an overview of the Commission’s work, including:

·         The Commission was setup earlier this year following the series of terror attacks in London and Manchester in 2017.

·         The Commission’s overall aim is to build a societal response that challenges extremism, as well as building knowledge amongst the public so people can identify extremism. 

·         Sara stated that councils play a vital role in tackling extremism, and are on the front-line in seeing the impact of it in towns and cities. 

·         Sara stated that the Commission is currently building a robust set of recommendations for the government to act on, following in-depth conversations with over two hundred stakeholders, including the Special Interest Group on Counter Extremism.  This is via a study being conducted to pull in evidence, and will result in a public consultation.  Sara stated that her office has visited local communities and will continue to do so, as  local government had the best understanding of extremism at a local level because they know their residents and communities best.

·         Sara went on to outline three key themes the Commission has learnt so far:

o   There is a sense that we must and can do more to challenge extremism and the ideology behind it, which can inspire terrorism. Extremism can present in two ways; as an acute threat which provokes terrorism, but also in a chronic way that creates isolation and undermines democracy and our communities. 

o   There is an extremely strong will to do more to challenge extremism.  Sara also stated that people who have been willing to challenge extremism have received a significant amount of abuse, and that councils and civil society urgently require additional support to tackle this. 

o   There is an issue with identifying and naming Islamist extremists, compared to identifying and naming far-right extremists; people feel more comfortable addressing the latter– something that needs to change, with people having the confidence to talk about both. 

The Chair thanked Sara for the update and invited Members to comment:

·         Members recognised geographical / local differences in patterns of extremism (and whether it is recognised as such) and how this affects how much support and funding councils receive to tackle extremism.  . 

·         Members discussed the use of social media in extremism and how it can support demonstrations – Members gave the recent violent protest outside No. 10 Downing Street to release the far-right leader Tommy Robinson as an example.  Members stated that posting on social media allows extremist momentum to be built; that those who seek to challenge it are abused and that leading social media sites will not take these views down. 

·         Sara fed-back that she has met with social media providers, including Facebook, Google, and Microsoft; work is currently ongoing and the providers are engaged to take extremist material off their platforms, as well as tackling fake news items and providing positive content to counteract extremism. 

·         The Chair stated that the Serious Violence Taskforce had looked at the role of social media in   tackling knife and gun crime, and that the social media providers  had recognised they needed to do more.

·         Members also discussed that often, when you tackle online extremism, you become a victim of cyber-bullying and hate messages from so-called ‘trolls’. 

·      Members discussed gathering intelligence through front facing roles such as licensing officers, building inspectors, and the importance of community safety partnerships. 

·      Members suggested councillors should receive further advice and training – in a peer setting – to help combat extremism. 

·      Sara stated the need for further training in all areas of government, sharing best practices, including localised strategies.

·      Members discussed the possibility of forming a Task & Finish Group to join up the various pieces of work the LGA and wider organisations undertake in this area, including modern slavery and county lines. 

·      Sara stated that extremism is rising at an unprecedented rate, and perpetrators always seem to be five steps ahead.  The development of a whole society approach is key, with as many stakeholders engaged as possible. 

·      Members discussed the numerous agencies, and how to refer a case to the right one.  Members stated that this is a wider government problem, that too many agencies can cause confusion, and asked that the Commission ensures clear signposting towards the right agency. 

·      Members also discussed the differences between the Commission and Prevent agenda.   

·      Sara stated the remit of the Commission is trying to understand the relationship between extremism and violence, as well as integration and extremism, and while there was an overlap Prevent was not in the Commission’s remit. 

·      Members discussed the causes of extremism, the need to understand its underlying causes and how it manifests, as well as its partners in violence and the subjugation of women’s rights.

·      Sara stated that some driving factors include socio-economic circumstances, as well as the long-term development of fundamental, extreme religious views. 

The Chair introduced the Leader of Brent, Cllr Mohammed Butt (attending this item as an observer).  The Chair explained that as Leader of Brent, Cllr Butt had an interest in this area of work.  Cllr Butt made the following points:

·         Radicalisation is happening online rather than in mosques, but not enough work is being undertaken by social media providers, and work in this area is about safeguarding. 

·         It’s encouraging that the Commission wants to engage with councils, rather than adopting a top-down approach, as the Home Office has done previously. Councils know their communities best.  

·         The approach to extremism too often focuses on faith rather than communities. Muslim communities are often victims of extremism themselves, and there are concerning issues related to far right Polish nationalism and European based Nazi groups - a far-right Polish group ran for election in the recent Local Elections in May in the Brent area. 

In response to the Leader’s comments, Sara stated:

·      That her office does not represent the Home Office, and that she will be looking at all sorts of issues that exist in current legislation to tackle extremism, including Home Office strategies. 

·      Sara stated that it is all about promoting a better quality of conversation in the public domain regarding extremism.

·      Sara stated that the Commission has made it clear that engaging  local communities is a key part of the work being undertaken, and the activities of far right groups from other parts of Europe in the UK and its impact on extremism had already been raised with them. 

Sara concluded by thanking Members for their time and said that she will share evidence the Commission receives with the Board. 

The Chair thanked Sara for her attendance said the Board would  welcome her attendance  at a future meeting.

Action

·         Members noted the presentation. 

·         A future invitation to be extended to Sara to attend a Board meeting in the 2018/19 cycle.