| answer text |
<p>The Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) was established in 2007
under the Prevent strand of HMG’s CONTEST strategy. RICU aims to understand and counter
terrorist and extremist ideologies to reduce the risk to the UK, its citizens, and
its interests overseas.</p><p> </p><p>RICU currently has 22 allocated staff. This
is subject to annual review depending on operational requirements. RICU’s spend by
financial year for the last five years is provided below. Spend increased significantly
from financial year 2012/2013 to support RICU’s response to the threat posed by Daesh.
2022/23 figures are based on spend to date.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial
Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total spend</strong><strong> (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/2019</p></td><td><p>19,087,916.67</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/2020</p></td><td><p>17,399,192.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/2021</p></td><td><p>20,461,482.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/2022</p></td><td><p>8,599,531.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/2023</p></td><td><p>5,072,290.00</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>RICU provides internal analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation
of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. To support this crucial
objective RICU undertakes open-source monitoring to better understand the terrorist
and extremist media, online and communications environment. This open-source monitoring
identifies a range of material that is shared and discussed within these spaces, including
topics or media that terrorist and extremist groups are seeking to exploit. All RICU
data collection and analysis complies with relevant legislation.</p><p>The work of
RICU is crucial to the delivery of Prevent and has helped to position the UK at the
forefront of the battle against terrorist propaganda, particularly online terrorist
content. The unauthorised disclosure of classified information damages the ability
of the Government to keep the public safe from threats to national security.</p><p>Prevent
remains a vital tool to divert people from dangerous and poisonous ideologies. We
are now implementing all recommendations from the recent Independent Review of Prevent
led by William Shawcross, paving the way for a more transparent, efficient and sustainable
programme.</p>
|
|
