Letter from Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Home Secretary,

to the Chair of the Committee, 25 March 2015

Thank you for your letter of 18 March 2015. At my appearance on 17 March I undertook to write to the Committee on a number of issues.

Prevent - Bethnal Green Academy

During the session, Mr Austin asked me about the Prevent programme, and the timetable of its implementation at the Bethnal Green Academy.

The Home Office funds a dedicated Prevent schools officer for Tower Hamlets to work with schools in the borough to increase awareness and understanding of extremism among staff and pupils. The Local Authority Prevent Co-ordinator and schools officer in Tower Hamlets have had regular contact with Bethnal Green Academy since June 2014. Prevent's schools officer has provided training for governors at Bethnal Green Academy and trained staff at the school in WRAP (Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent) since September 2014.

Following the first instance of Syria travel in December 2014, the Prevent schools officer met the Academy and made arrangements for delivering Prevent activity before the news broke about the three girls who travelled last month. Subsequently, a series of Prevent staff training, assemblies and classes were delivered in the Academy between 24 February and 6 March, and the schools officer continues to engage with the Academy. Following the group travelling in February, the Department for Education and the local authority have provided the school with additional support and arranged drop-in sessions for parents and pupils to address their concerns. All parents in Tower Hamlets continue to be able to access advice and support from staff in the Council's Parental Engagement Team who have received in-depth training as part of the local Prevent parenting project.

Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry - Justice Goddard's Salary

On the subject of the costs of the Independent Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry, as I said during the session, this is an independent Inquiry and it will be publishing its costs in due course. These will include Justice Goddard's salary.

Child Sexual Abuse - Police Whistleblowers

During the session, I undertook to write to the Committee regarding the timetable for introducing the whistleblowing single point of contact for all cases relating to child abuse. As I said during the session, this is intended to be a clear pathway for those who do not believe their organisation is taking their complaint seriously to articulate their concern. It will ensure that we have an earlier warning system where there are patterns of failure across the country and will ensure that appropriate action is taken to address the allegation. My officials are working on the best way to develop this new point of contact, or portal, with other departments and relevant bodies such as the inspectorates, so that it delivers earlier intervention and protection of children.

I have been clear that the Official Secrets Act is not a bar to giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. There are long-standing precedents in public inquiries for the Attorney General to provide an undertaking that witnesses will not be prosecuted for evidence they give to the inquiry, and as I stated before the Committee, I have written to Justice Goddard suggesting that she may wish to raise this with the Attorney General.

As the Committee is aware, I also announced a series of measures that will protect police whistleblowers on 12 March.

Following the outcome of the consultation on Changes to the Police Disciplinary System, I laid regulations that will protect police whistleblowers from unfair disciplinary action. Those regulations will protect police whistleblowers from action initiated because they have come forward, and protect them from malicious counter-allegations from colleagues. Subject to the views of Parliament, those regulations will come into effect on 1 May.

Following the outcome of the consultation on Improving Police Integrity, I also announced further measures to protect police whistleblowers. These measures included strengthening the independent routes through which whistleblowers can raise a concern direct to the IPCC, and the introduction of a system of 'sealed' investigations. Sealed investigations will limit knowledge of an investigation to a small number of people in order to prevent the possibility of collusion, the destruction of evidence or pressure being applied to an investigation. I intend to introduce new rights for whistleblowers to be given feedback on the progress of any investigation into an issue they have raised, and to be consulted on how that investigation should be handled. I will consider extending the duty to consult police whistleblowers over actions that may reveal their identity. These measures will be taken forward in the next Parliament.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP