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1699947

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2024 to Question 17274 on Offences against Children, on what evidential basis the National Crime Agency has stated that the number of child sex offenders in the UK is between 550,000 and 800,000.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
	uin	20851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2024 answer text <p>The National Crime Agency publishes an overview of the Child Sexual Abuse threat annually as part of the National Strategic Assessment. This includes an estimate of the number of UK based adult offenders who pose varying degrees of risk to children. An explanation of the CSA Scale Methodology has been <a href="https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/images/campaign/CSA_Scale_Methodology_2023.pdf" target="_blank">published as an Annex</a> to the National Strategic Assessment.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 17/04/2024 14:20:33 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1695009

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12789 on Offences against Children, what steps is he taking to incorporate paragraph 35 of General Comment 26 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to allow the (a) police and (b) other public authorities to investigate child welfare and safeguarding when an individual is suspected of a violent animal welfare offence.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	17853
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2024 answer text <p>We believe our existing domestic legislation gives effect to the rights within the UNCRC, without the need for it to be incorporated through an additional Bill. For example, the Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004 sets out a range of duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 14/03/2024 17:55:14 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1694270

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of serious child abuse offences committed in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
	uin	17274
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2024 answer text <p>The term child abuse covers a broad range of offences including, but not limited to, sexual offences, violence against the person and cruelty and neglect. It is not possible to identify all child abuse offences recorded in official data.</p><p>In January 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published experimental analysis which looked at a range of indicators from different data sources to enable understanding of child abuse. This report can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/childabuseinenglandandwales/january2020" target="_blank">Child abuse in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p>As the Home Secretary stated in his written statement of 10 January 2024, we are working with the ONS to explore whether a new survey could more effectively measure the current scale and nature of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse. The ONS is currently developing the questionnaire and safeguarding procedures for the proposed survey, which will then be piloted.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 13/03/2024 17:53:11 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1693303

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consider the potential merits of implementing a method for members of the public to report directly and anonymously suspected child exploitation.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	16749
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.</p><p>The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.</p><p>If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris grouped question UIN 16750 question first answered 11/03/2024 12:57:15 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1693304

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps members of the public can take to report suspected cases of child exploitation.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	16750
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.</p><p>The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.</p><p>If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris grouped question UIN 16749 question first answered 11/03/2024 12:57:15 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1687005

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2024 to Question 8408 on Offences against Children, whether she plans to take further steps with Cabinet colleagues to incorporate Article 19 into UK legislation (a) in non-online contexts and (b) other than through the Online Safety Act 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	12789
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2024 answer text <p>The government remains committed to protecting and upholding children’s rights. The department is confident that existing domestic legislation gives effect to the rights within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, including Article 19.</p><p>The Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004 set out a range of duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Furthermore, the government’s multi-agency statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from within or outside their home must receive the support they need, recognising harms may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community. This guidance was updated in December 2023 to strengthen multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection. More information on the guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2</a>.</p><p>Importantly, the department introduced new national multi-agency child protection standards setting out what every individual, at every level, in every agency should do to work together and understand their role, to improve child protection practice and outcomes for children. The department has also strengthened expectations about the role of other agencies, including police and health, in child protection processes.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 12/02/2024 16:02:08 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1680298

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the impact of the unduly lenient sentencing scheme on levels of paedophile crime.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	8427
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2024 answer text <p>The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in England and Wales permits the Court of Appeal to review a sentence, correct a sentencing error, and give guidance on how to approach some of the most serious and complex sentencing exercises.</p><p>The Court of Appeal will only grant permission to refer a sentence in exceptional circumstances: for example, if the judge has passed a sentence that falls outside the range of sentences which a judge, applying their mind to all the relevant factors before them, could properly consider appropriate, or if the judge has made some gross error in law.</p><p>The scheme is kept under constant review. In November 2019, 14 new offences were added to the scheme. These included offences relating to indecent images of children.</p><p>In 2022, the Law Officers referred 139 cases to the Court of Appeal. The Court granted leave to refer in 105 (75%) cases and the sentence was increased in 95 (68%) cases. Of the 95 cases in which the sentence was increased, 23 (24%) were sentences for child sex offences.</p> answering member constituency Witney answering member printed Robert Courts question first answered 15/01/2024 11:36:30 answering member 4589 label Biography information for Robert Courts
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1680403

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child adopting General Comment 26, what steps he plans to take to incorporate into UK law Article 19 on the Right to freedom from all forms of violence including protecting children from exposure to violence inflicted on animals.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	8408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the psychological harm that encountering animal cruelty content online can have on children. Content that depicts real or realistic serious violence or injury against an animal has been listed as ‘priority’ content that is harmful to children in the Online Safety Act.</p><p><br> Services will be required to assess the nature and level of risk of children encountering this kind of content on their service, and then take an age-appropriate approach to protect children from encountering it. Companies must also ensure that users, including children and their parents and carers, are able to easily access reporting mechanisms to report content and activity that is harmful to children. Platforms should respond quickly and effectively to protect users and other affected persons, which could include the removal of harmful content and sanctions against offending users.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 19/01/2024 16:09:54 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1677821

	registered interest
	date	13/12/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on implementing the recommendations in the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022.
	tabling member constituency	City of Durham
	tabling member printed	Mary Kelly Foy
	uin	6917
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>The department is working closely with the Home Office and others on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. This was most recently discussed with the Home Secretary on 17 October.</p><p>With regard to recommendation six, the government accepted unequivocally the need for children and young people to have their voices heard, to feel empowered to raise concerns, and challenge any aspect of their care. The department is prioritising work to update national standards and statutory guidance for the provision of children’s advocacy services. In September the department launched a consultation on proposals, including extending the scope of the standards to apply to special residential settings and introducing a new standard on non-instructed advocacy for children who are non-verbal. This consultation closed on 18 December.</p><p>The department also remains committed to reviewing and strengthening the Independent Reviewing Officer and Regulation 44 visitors’ roles, and is continuing to engage with stakeholders on different options.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 6918 question first answered 19/12/2023 15:59:46 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4753 label Biography information for Mary Kelly Foy

1677827

	registered interest
	date	13/12/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022, what steps she is taking to implement Recommendation six of that report.
	tabling member constituency	City of Durham
	tabling member printed	Mary Kelly Foy
	uin	6918
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>The department is working closely with the Home Office and others on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. This was most recently discussed with the Home Secretary on 17 October.</p><p>With regard to recommendation six, the government accepted unequivocally the need for children and young people to have their voices heard, to feel empowered to raise concerns, and challenge any aspect of their care. The department is prioritising work to update national standards and statutory guidance for the provision of children’s advocacy services. In September the department launched a consultation on proposals, including extending the scope of the standards to apply to special residential settings and introducing a new standard on non-instructed advocacy for children who are non-verbal. This consultation closed on 18 December.</p><p>The department also remains committed to reviewing and strengthening the Independent Reviewing Officer and Regulation 44 visitors’ roles, and is continuing to engage with stakeholders on different options.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 6917 question first answered 19/12/2023 15:59:46 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4753 label Biography information for Mary Kelly Foy