Agenda item

The Chair introduced the report and invited Sara Khan, Government Independent Adviser for Social Cohesion and Resilience to present to the Board.

Sara introduced herself and thanked the Board for inviting her to the Safer and Stronger Communities Board meeting, building on her earlier engagement with the Board as Counter-Extremism Commissioner. She informed the Board that she would update members on her plans for her role, explore members’ concerns about extremism and cohesion issues and outline her plans for the coming year.

Sara emphasised that she was a firm believer in the role of local authorities in promoting cohesion, strengthening resilience and tackling division, intolerance and extremism.

As Commissioner, one of her reports had focused on the  broad question of what a whole society response to extremism looks like and looked at the issue of cohesion. The report showed that there was still a serious gap in knowledge about social cohesion and how local areas were targeted by extremists. Sara also noted that people talk about contributing to cohesion but sometimes undermine it, and that we need to improve and quicken our response to issues such as the Birmingham RSE protests.

Sarah confirmed that her role would focus on working with MHCLG to promote social cohesion, strengthening communities and institutional resilience: she commented that counter extremism and promoting cohesion and resilience are complementary and both need to be addressed. She noted data showing that investing in social cohesion is beneficial and leads to increased trust in government and social engagement. However, she stated that there are gaps in what we know and how we can assess cohesion and resilience.

Sarah emphasised that as part of her review she was keen to look at the following key areas:

·       What more can be done to support victims targeted by hardliners promoting polarisation.

·       What is the role of public bodies and local authorities - do they have the expertise, capacity and/or capabilities required?

·       What was the role of national government in supporting this work?

·       How could cohesion and resilience work be streamlined within existing structures and alongside other issues?

·       How might local communities and civil societies work with local authorities to challenge polarisation and extremism?

·       What works in promoting social cohesion and tackling extremism?

Following the discussion, Members made the following comments:

·       Members commented that a particular issue in some local authorities was how to engage with communities beyond “community leaders”, and how to conduct this in a meaningful way Many community leaders were men of a certain age who all seemed to know each other, leaving women plugged out of these networks. It would be useful to observe case studies of where places have been able to reach women who might not feel connected to any public bodies or community group to hear their views. Sara responded that this was a familiar issue where some men did not want women to be heard or seen but, now was a time for councils to go beyond community leaders and engage with women and people who would make a difference.

·       It was noted that on issues such as RSE and teaching, councillors and others need to feel empowered to speak out on issues when necessary, including saying that having the support of lots of people on an issue didn’t make a position right. Sara agreed on the importance of giving confidence, training and examples of good practice, and cited the positive role of the local press in Sunderland.

·       Members commented that it would be good to look at how local authorities with dedicated prevent officers might work alongside resettlement teams and the benefit of this. How could this be funded?

·       Members asked what was being done to educate people about conspiracy theories and how schools could be supported, as reaching young people was critical. Sara replied that schools play a vital role in educating children on conspiracy theories and the curriculum should be modernised to fit the challenges of today’s society. 

·       Members raised concerns that social media amplified extreme far-right views, leading to a breakdown in community cohesion, and created tension between communities. What could be done to bridge the gap between people who are vocally far-right on social media and choose not to vote at local and general elections; it was noted that having a social media tool kit for councillors would be useful.  Members also noted the responsible role that politicians and political parties needed to play, including avoiding stoking so called “culture wars”.

·       Members noted the willingness of communities to engage on issues that matter to them, for example on issues such as knife crime, or housing repairs.

·       Sara responded that being able to engage with people on a human level to understand their personal needs, e.g. education, work, housing, helps build trust and strengthen rapport as everyone has these basic needs She agreed the importance of schools, particularly on issues such as VAWG and developing critical thinking to prevent conspiracy theories spreading. She also agreed that political parties need to take a zero tolerance approach, although this was outside the scope of what she wanted to focus on.

The Chair thanked Sara for her insightful and well detailed presentation.

Decision:

Members of the Safer and Stronger Communities Board noted the report.

Action:

·       Officers to gather members’ thoughts on the discussion and share with Sara.