(JNS) The United Kingdom announced on March 30 that it will increase funding to protect synagogues and Jewish schools in 2023-24 by 7.1%—from 14 million pounds (about $17 million) last year to 15 million pounds (a little more than $18.3 million)

The British government also announced plans to implement a task force on Jewish community police, crime and security. The funding will reportedly be used for new surveillance systems, alarms and guards.

Antisemitic incidents are doiwn 27 percent in the United Kingdom, according to a recent report, but they still remain at high levels. Government hate-crime statistics for 2021-22 indicate that 23 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United Kingdom were against Jews, who make up less than 1% of the religious population there.

Last year, a poll found that 34% of Britons aged 18 to 24—and 20% of the general population—think to one degree or another that Jews possess inordinate control over the world’s banking and financial systems.

British Interior Minister Suella Braverman said recently: “We must go further to ensure the vile criminals who threaten the peace and safety of Jewish communities feel the full force of the law.”