Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 2021 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was reported that no questions had been received.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, and a presentation, which provided information on the Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) in relation to the Prevent Strategy, what CT looked like and the Council’s duties and functions to deliver a Prevent Strategy across Halton.

            On behalf of CTPNW, Mike Sage advised Members that CONTEST was the name of the Government’s counter terrorism strategy. The strategy aimed to identify Islamist terrorism as the principal terrorist threat to the UK. CONTEST identified four key elements in response and these were Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare. Jointly they aimed to identify terrorists, prevent people from becoming terrorist, protect society from terrorist attacks and mitigate the impact of attacks when they occurred.

            Whilst local authorities had a role in all these elements, the focus for this guidance was around the Prevent strand. A key element of the Prevent programme was on safeguarding and supporting individuals who might be vulnerable to radicalisation. The presentation outlined activity across Halton and Cheshire to show how the authorities were meeting their responsibilities under the Prevent agenda.

            RESOLVED: That the report and presentation be noted.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, and a presentation, from Mark Antrobus on behalf of the Counter Terrorism Policing North West, which provided information on (CTPNW) in relation to the Protect Strategy, what CT looked like and the Council’s duties and functions to deliver a Protect Strategy across Halton.

            Protect had the following three objectives in Contest (the name of the Government’s counter terrorism strategy):

·         Detect and deal with suspected terrorists and harmful materials at the border;

·         Reduce the risk and improve the resilience of global aviation, other transport sectors and critical national infrastructure most at risk to terror attack;

·         Reduce the vulnerability of crowded places, specific vulnerable groups, and high profile individuals; and

·         Detect and prevent terrorist access to and use of materials of concern, knowledge and information that could be used to conduct attacks.

            It was noted that local authorities already undertook considerable work alongside wider partners to assess and mitigate against the risks of terrorism at and around venues and for particular events. More broadly, local authorities, along with many other organisations, would also assess and mitigate against a range of risks as part of existing legislation to keep communities safe.

            The presentation outlined activity across Halton and Cheshire to show how the authorities were meeting their responsibilities under the Protect agenda which included the PAN Cheshire Contest Boards.

            The Board discussed the CTPNW work around COMHA sites, the ongoing MEN enquiry and Martins Law.

            RESOLVED: That the report and presentation be noted.

            This report was deferred until the next meeting.