NHS: Counter-terrorism

(asked on 22nd June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have had with counterparts in the Department for Health and Social Care on ensuring the integration of Prevent as a safeguarding duty in the NHS with minimal disturbance to the provision of healthcare.


Answered by
Kevin Foster Portrait
Kevin Foster
This question was answered on 28th June 2021

The Prevent Duty has been in place since 2015. All staff working in NHS Trusts in England and Wales have a legal obligation to safeguard against radicalisation and report concerns via a Prevent referral.

The Department for Health and Social Care funds a network of 7 NHS England Regional Serious Violence and Contextual Safeguarding Leads, who provide healthcare specific advice to all NHS organisations within their region on integrating Prevent into their safeguarding practices. The Home Office works closely with this network and with DHSC to support the delivery of the Prevent Duty within the healthcare system.

The responsibilities for safeguarding form part of the core functions for all NHS organisations. Prevent is embedded within safeguarding in the NHS, ensuring the duties of safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk are applied consistently and conscientiously and with over 300,000 patient contacts every day, the NHS has an important role to play in preventing vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism.

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