Public Service: Harassment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which Department is responsible for tackling intimidation in public life.
Answered by Alex Norris
Intimidation and abuse of those participating in public life has no place in our society and cannot be tolerated. As this is a broad issue that spans across a wide range of organisations and aspects of society, there is not one department with sole responsibility.
Many Government departments are working collaboratively to tackle this issue. For example, Ministers in the Home Office are responsible for the protective security of election candidates, and Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are responsible for elections, including the conduct of campaigning. The Deputy Prime Minister and Home Secretary have already hosted a roundtable to discuss political intimidation and abuse which took place during the recent General Election.
To bring together work on this and other issues, the Government has created the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit (JESP) as a permanent unit, dedicated to protecting UK elections. JESP sits between the Cabinet Office and MHCLG as a strategic centre, bringing together government departments, the police, the intelligence agencies, the devolved governments, and external partners to respond to issues, including intimidation in elections.
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