The Home Office is providing a further £1.6 million in funding to support places of worship in England and Wales that have been subjected to or could be vulnerable to hate crime attacks.
The Home Office is once again providing funding to help places of worship tackle hate crimes against them through the installation of additional security equipment. Hate crimes, for the purposes of this fund, are defined as any crimes committed against a person because of their real or perceived religion.
Launched in 2016, the fund has awarded around £1.5 million to 130 churches, mosques, temples and gurdwaras to install protective alarms, security lighting and CCTV cameras to deter attackers. This funding is not available to synagogues as they are covered under another scheme administered by the Community Security Trust.
The Government is making a total of £1.6 million available for round four, with grants of up to £56,000 per place of worship. Match funding of at least 20% of the total project costs is required.
The funding can cover the costs of up to three security measures from the following list:
- CCTV
- Fencing and/or railings
- Gates
- Doors
- Windows
- Alarms
- Locks
- Access control
- Intercom systems
- Lighting
The funding only covers the provision and installation of these security measures. It does not cover other associated costs such as licensing and planning permission, or ongoing costs such as charges for annual service, maintenance and monitoring.
The deadline for applications is 31 August 2019.
Further details can be found on the GOV.UK website and for help and support please contact Joanne Horton, Community Coordinator at Oldham Council on tel: 0161 770 8789 Email: Joanne.Horton@oldham.gov.uk