The Home Secretary has announced that religious organisations will be able to register their interest for the latest round of the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme and submit applications from July 2019. The scheme has benefitted from boosted funding for the 2019/2020 round with £1.6 million allocated to reassure communities and safeguard mosques and other places of worship. This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19.
This scheme provides protective security measures to places of worship that have been subject to, or are vulnerable to a hate crime attack. To increase uptake in the fund and ensure it reaches those most vulnerable to hate crime, the bidding process will also be simplified so organisations no longer have to prove they have previously experienced a hate crime incident directly. In addition, the government will be streamlining the supplier arrangements for bidders, after which the programme will open for applications.
Grants can cover security equipment but not the cost of recruiting security personnel and may include: CCTV; perimeter fencing; access control gates; window locks; intruder alarm; external lighting; and security doors and the appropriate labour cost to install the security equipment.
Places of worship including (but not limited to) Churches, Gurdwaras, Mosques and Temples can submit bids for projects costing up to £70,000 for protective security measures and will be required to contribute at least 20 percent of the total cost of the project. The Home Office will award funding on a discretionary basis up to a maximum of £56,000 per place of worship.
Places of worship, including mosques, will also benefit from a new £5 million fund over 3 years to provide protective security training to build on some of the positive work already happening in communities.