Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that protective security measures approved and funded under the Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme are considered in the planning process; and whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on ensuring that planning decisions do not override counter-terrorism security advice on grounds of (a) visual impact and (b) aesthetics.

The Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme is a hate crime preventative scheme available to vulnerable places of worship or associated faith-based community sites of all faiths (except Muslim and Jewish) in England and Wales.

Protective security measures delivered through the scheme are required to comply with the existing planning framework. The scheme funds measures such as CCTV, secure fencing, stronger doors and external lighting, but does not cover planning permission fees.

Where a proposed measure requires planning permission or listed building consent, installation can only proceed once the relevant approvals have been secured.

The Home Office sets out clearly to applicants that any funded measures must be taken forward in accordance with all applicable legal and planning requirements. The Home Office does not play a role in securing planning permission on behalf of successful applicants. Planning decisions are a matter for the relevant local planning authority under the statutory planning framework.

The Home Office continues to work across government, as appropriate, to support the effective delivery of protective security for places of worship, within the framework set by existing legislation and planning processes. More widely, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPFF) in England, and its equivalent in the Devolved Governments, contains provision regarding the need to promote public safety and consider wider security requirements during the planning process.

Additionally, the Home Office has worked with NaCTSO to deliver Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) for Local Authorities - through the Venues and Public Spaces Strategy. ACT for Local Authorities is a service offer from Counter Terrorism Police which seeks to support local government in a focused and nationally consistent way, by embedding counter terrorism protective security and preparedness considerations into their day-to-day activity. NaCTSO has also published guidance on ProtectUK planning for local authorities to support them in their decision making.