Protective Security for Faith Communities Scheme
The scheme is part of the government’s wider support for faith communities.
Applies to England and Wales
Other protective security schemes are available for Jewish and Muslim communities. Free Faith Security Training is also available for faith communities across England and Wales.
This scheme was previously called the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. Its name has changed to make it clearer which places of worship and associated faith community centres can apply.
The name change does not affect the eligibility criteria, the support available or how applications are assessed. Existing applicants do not need to take any action.
The application portal is currently open.
What the scheme is
The Protective Security for Faith Communities Scheme helps eligible faith communities improve security at places of worship and associated faith community centres that are vulnerable to hate crime.
The scheme is designed to reduce vulnerability to hate crime by funding practical protective security measures. These measures are recommended following a security assessment by experts and are installed at no cost for the site by the scheme’s delivery supplier or their approved subcontractors.
What a hate crime is
A hate crime is a criminal offence that is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity, or because the offender believes they have one of these characteristics. Any type of crime can be a hate crime, including threats, harassment, criminal damage or violence.
For the purpose of this scheme, we will largely consider incidents that are potentially motivated by religion and race.
Who can apply
You can apply if your site is in England or Wales and is one of the following:
-
a church
-
a temple
-
a gurdwara
-
another place of worship
-
an associated faith community centre
An associated faith community centre must be linked to a place of worship and regularly used by the faith community for worship.
You must host active worship at your site, which members of the public can attend, to be eligible for the scheme.
Your organisation must also either:
-
be a registered charity; or
-
be exempt from registering as a charity. If you are exempt, you must be able to provide evidence of your charitable status or exemption
You should apply if your place of worship or associated faith community centre:
-
has experienced hate crime
-
has experienced hostility towards your faith community because of race or religion
-
is vulnerable to hate crime because similar faith sites, nearby sites or members of your community have been targeted
-
has specific security vulnerabilities that increase the impact or likelihood of hate crime
You do not need to have reported your experience of hate crime to the police to apply. However, you must explain clearly why your site or community is vulnerable to hate crime and provide evidence to support this.
Who cannot apply
You cannot apply through this scheme for:
-
private homes or living accommodation
-
schools, colleges, universities or other educational buildings
-
NHS buildings, including hospital chapels
-
cafes, youth centres or other buildings not used for regular worship or faith-based community activity
-
buildings used only occasionally for worship
-
sites outside England and Wales
-
Jewish places of worship or Jewish community buildings
-
Muslim places of worship or Muslim faith schools
Jewish and Muslim places of worship and community buildings may be eligible for other protective security schemes. Read the guidance on protective security for faith communities.
What the scheme can fund
If your application is successful, the scheme may fund one or more protective security measures. These may include:
-
CCTV
-
intruder alarms
-
stronger doors and locks
-
window protection
-
access control systems, such as keypads, fobs or intercoms
-
secure fencing or gates
-
external lighting
-
secure mailboxes
The measures offered will depend on the security needs of your site. You do not choose the measures yourself. A panel of independent experts will consider the risks and vulnerabilities at your site and recommend the most suitable and appropriate measures if your application progresses.
What the scheme cannot fund
The scheme does not fund:
-
security measures you have already bought or installed
-
reimbursement for work you have arranged yourself
-
planning permission fees
-
listed building consent fees
-
building repairs or general maintenance
-
general refurbishment or improvement works
-
measures mainly intended to address anti-social behaviour, theft or general crime
-
security guards
-
insurance costs
-
ongoing maintenance after the period covered by the scheme
The scheme is focused on hate crime vulnerability. Applications based only on anti-social behaviour, nuisance behaviour, theft, burglary or general concerns about unrelated crime are unlikely to be successful unless there is a clear link to faith-based or racially motivated hate crime.
Before you apply
Before starting your application, you should:
-
check that your site is eligible
-
identify the main contact for your application
-
gather evidence of hate crime and vulnerability
-
check whether your site has previously received protective security measures through a Home Office scheme
-
make sure you can provide charity registration details or evidence of exemption
You should only submit one application for each place of worship or associated faith community centre in each scheme round. If you manage two or more sites, and these sites are in different locations (not in the same premises), submit a separate application for each site.
What you need to include in your application
You will need to provide:
-
the name of your place of worship or associated faith community centre
-
the full address of the site
-
your charity registration number, or evidence that your organisation is exempt from registration
-
contact details for the person responsible for the application
-
details of hate crime or other incidents motivated by hate affecting your site or community
-
evidence to support what you describe
-
information about current security arrangements
-
information about the faith community that uses the site
-
information about any previous protective security funding or measures received
It is very important that you provide as much evidence as possible during your application. You should be specific as you can be about incidents, and should explain:
-
what happened
-
when it happened
-
where it happened
-
who was affected
-
why you believe it was linked to hostility towards your faith community
You can save your application and return to it before submitting.
Evidence of hate crime or hate crime risk
You should provide as much evidence as possible which shows your site or community is vulnerable to hate crime.
Evidence may include:
-
police reports
-
crime reference numbers
-
photographs of damage, graffiti or vandalism
-
screenshots of threatening messages, emails or social media posts
-
witness statements
-
statements from worshippers, staff, volunteers or community leaders
-
local news reports
-
records of repeated incidents at your site
-
evidence that similar faith sites nearby have been targeted
-
evidence of local tensions or incidents that have directly affected your faith community
You should explain how each piece of evidence relates to hate crime or hate crime risk. For example, if you provide a photograph of graffiti, explain why the graffiti was hostile to your faith community. If you describe an incident near your site, explain how it affected worshippers or changed the way your community uses the building.
What happens after you apply
After you submit your application, you will receive confirmation that it has been received. You may be asked for more information if anything is missing or unclear.
The Home Office will then assess your application against the risk and vulnerability your site may be facing. This process is thorough and robust and, as a result, can take a while. If your site is successful, the Home Office will then run due diligence checks on your site. While the Home Office cannot guarantee a specific timeline, you should receive an outcome to your application within 12 months of applying.
If your application is successful
If your application is successful, a security assessment will be arranged. The assessment will look at the vulnerabilities at your site and identify appropriate protective security measures. It is expected that you should accommodate this assessment as soon as possible. Failure to coordinate, or cancelling this assessment at short notice, could result in your application being cancelled.
The Home Office or the delivery supplier will contact you using the details provided in your application.
After your site survey, you may be offered funded protective security measures. The measures will be mostly based on the security assessment, as well as the information you have provided in your application. You may not receive every measure suggested, as this is dependent on other considerations such as your vulnerability and making sure the improvements of your place of worship represent value for money.
The scheme delivery supplier, or their approved subcontractors, will arrange installation. You must not buy or install measures yourself and expect to be reimbursed.
Your organisation will be responsible for ongoing maintenance, repair and running costs of any installed measures.
You should tell the Home Office or delivery supplier as soon as possible if:
-
your contact details change
-
your site circumstances change
-
you no longer want your application to proceed
-
there are issues which may affect a site visit
Planning permission and other approvals
Some security measures may require planning permission, listed building consent or other approvals.
This may apply if your building is:
-
listed
-
in a conservation area
-
subject to local planning restrictions
-
leased or managed under specific property agreements
-
shared with another organisation
The scheme does not cover planning application fees, listed building consent fees or other permission costs. You are responsible for checking whether permissions are needed and for securing them before work can proceed.
You will need to get all the necessary permissions as quickly as possible. If permissions are refused or delayed, this may affect whether measures can be installed and could result in measures being cancelled.
Occupying the building
To apply, your organisation must either:
-
own the building (freehold), or
-
occupy the building under a lease or other formal long-term agreement
If you occupy the building under a lease or licence arrangement, you must:
-
regularly use the site for worship or faith-based community activities
-
have a long-term agreement that gives your organisation the right to occupy and use the building
You cannot apply on behalf of a commercial business or other profit-making organisation, even if an eligible faith group occasionally uses the premises.
Previous applicants and previous recipients
You can apply if you have applied to the scheme before.
You can also apply if your site has previously received protective security measures through a Home Office places of worship scheme.
However, if your site has received protective security measures recently, further support will be at the discretion of the Home Office. You will need to provide strong evidence of ongoing or new vulnerability to hate crime.
You should explain:
-
what measures you previously received
-
when they were installed
-
whether they are still working
-
why further measures are needed
-
what has changed since you last received support
-
whether there have been new hate crime incidents or increased risk of hate crime
Your application will need to clearly demonstrate there is clear evidence of continuing hate crime vulnerability and a need for additional protective security. If no further information or evidence is provided which demonstrates a continued vulnerability to hate crime after measures have been installed, your application may not be successful.
Faith Security Training
To be most effective, physical security measures require an established and effective security culture at the place of worship. The Home Office offers Faith Security Training to achieve this.
The training can help faith communities understand security risks, improve preparedness and respond more confidently to incidents.
We strongly encourage you to undertake this free training to further improve the security at your place of worship.
Read the Faith Security Training guidance and sign up for a session.
Data protection
The Home Office will process your personal information as part of the Protective Security for Faith Communities Scheme.
This includes information provided in your application and any supporting evidence you submit.
To find out how your information is used, stored and protected, read the privacy information notice for the protective security schemes for places of worship.
Contact
If you have a question about the scheme or need help with your application, contact: psvc@homeoffice.gov.uk
If you are reporting an emergency or immediate threat, call 999.
If you have experienced hate crime, you can report it to the police by calling 101 or using your local police force’s online reporting service.