Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

2015 CHAPTER 6

Part 5: Risk of Being Drawn into Terrorism Etc

Commentary on Sections

Chapter 1: Preventing people being drawn into terrorism

Section 26: General duty on specified authorities

180. Subsection (1) provides that a specified authority (listed in Schedule 6 to this Act) must, when exercising its functions, have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism (the “Prevent” duty).

181. Subsection (1) does not apply to the exercise of the functions listed in subsection (4).

182. Subsection (3) caters for the possibility that specified authorities have a range of functions, or act in a variety of capacities, and that it is appropriate that the exercise of only some of those functions is subject to the duty, or that a specified authority is only subject to the duty when acting in a particular capacity. For example, a company might run an independent school and also a separate business. The effect of subsection (3) is that the company would be subject to the duty only in its running of the school.

183. Subsection (4) provides a number of functions in respect of which the Prevent duty does not apply and subsection (5) provides that the reference to a judicial function in subsection (4) includes a reference to a judicial function conferred on a person other than a court or tribunal. This is intended to ensure, for example, that where a specified authority is exercising a quasi-judicial function, it is not subject to the Prevent duty.