Prevent ‘could be breaching UK equality laws’ over remedy of autistic folks

The remedy of autistic people who find themselves referred to the federal government’s deradicalisation scheme may well be in breach of equality regulations, a human rights charity has claimed.

The house secretary has been warned that Prevent and Channel, the multi-agency follow-on programme, which search to spot folks vulnerable to extremism, are overreporting neurodivergent folks.

In a pre-action letter to the Home Office, Rights & Security International (RSI) stated it was once “deeply concerned about a potential ongoing failure to collect and analyse data on the protected characteristics of those referred to Prevent and that this constitutes an ongoing failure to comply with their public sector equality duty”.

There are considerations that autistic persons are being referred to the government on account of a loss of healthcare provision.

The letter states {that a} 2021 inside Home Office research received below the Freedom of Information Act discovered that greater than 1 / 4 of the ones receiving deradicalisation fortify from the Channel programme had both been identified or had a suspected prognosis of autism. The Channel programme is for essentially the most critical instances the place there’s a “genuine risk” of radicalisation.

Having received prior to now undisclosed equality affect tests performed in 2023, RSI is anxious that the federal government isn’t adequately addressing the chance of “overreporting” autistic folks.

Sarah St Vincent, the chief director of RSI, stated the paperwork counsel the federal government is taking a “casual and even careless approach” to figuring out the affect of Prevent on autistic folks.

“The government needs to seriously rethink its approach to the Prevent programme, and in the meantime, authorities need to properly monitor the programme’s equality impact,” she stated.

RSI argues that the 2021 record, titled Autism Spectrum Condition: Support inside the Channel Process, raises considerations concerning the doable discriminatory affect of the programme on autistic folks.

The record stated: “Survey findings indicate that an estimated 14% of Channel cases had diagnosed Autism Spectrum Condition. In 12% of cases Channel practitioners considered that someone might be autistic although they lacked the clinic diagnosis.”

In felony correspondence with RSI, the Home Office has indicated that knowledge concerning the safe traits of referred individuals is regularly now not to be had. It stated current Prevent and Channel knowledge does now not permit for a complete research of all safe traits of people referred.

RSI has argued that the failure to assemble ok knowledge to fortify equality tracking constitutes a breach of the house secretary and police’s public sector equality responsibility.

The responsibility is the requirement to have “due regard” to the equality goals in phase 149 of the Equality Act, which come with the wish to get rid of discrimination, advance equality of alternative and foster just right family members between individuals who percentage safe traits and those that don’t.

As a part of its letter, the human rights organisation has requested for a proper choice dispute solution assembly to check out to get to the bottom of its considerations.

Jonathan Hall KC, the impartial reviewer of terrorism regulation, has voiced his considerations that a “staggeringly high” selection of autistic persons are referred to Prevent.

He has cited terrorism instances through which the defendants had been autistic, together with 17-year-old Lloyd Gunton, who declared himself an Islamic State soldier and was once sentenced to existence in jail for getting ready a car and knife assault in Cardiff in 2018.

Carolin Ott, a senior affiliate solicitor in Leigh Day’s human rights division, which represents RSI, stated: “There is an ongoing debate about the appropriateness of the Prevent programme and its potentially disproportionate impact on minority groups. Our client believes that the data it has obtained bolsters its argument that the government needs to change its approach.”

Since entering administrative center closing July, the federal government has presented formative years diversion orders and a brand new tsar to make sure Prevent, the reputable scheme to discourage folks from terrorism, is efficacious.

A Home Office spokesperson stated the federal government was once reviewing the Prevent programme in gentle of considerations over neurodivergence.

“We understand that those referred to Prevent often present with a range of vulnerabilities, and we take our safeguarding duties very seriously.

“That’s why the home secretary has already announced a strategic review to identify and drive improvements in how individuals referred into Prevent who are neurodivergent or suffer from mental ill-health are supported and managed, while keeping pace with the increasingly complex and evolving terrorist threat,” the spokesperson stated.