Fundamental British Values & the Prevent Duty in Scotland (Nick Brooke, 2023)

Abstract: In July 2015, a legal duty came into force as part of the United Kingdom’s Counter Terrorism and Security Act that included a requirement (referred to as the Prevent Duty) for schools and other education providers to “prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. Parallel to this initiative, schools in England were also required to include teaching on “Fundamental British Values” as part of the curriculum, to “build pupil’s resilience to radicalisation”. Yet this latter element is not required in schools in Scotland. This paper argues that the absence of a requirement for teachers in Scotland to include teaching on Fundamental British Values simultaneously politicises and depoliticises the delivery of the Prevent Duty, and British identity in this context. In doing so, the paper contributes to existing debates on the relationship between the Prevent Duty and the Fundamental British Values, reflects on the political nature of these parallel initiatives and examines the security policy implications of the contentious nature of British identity in Scotland.