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<p>This Government is clear that targeting, grooming and the exploitation of children
who are often the most vulnerable in our society is deplorable and is committed to
tackling it. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools
to tackle modern slavery, including potential maximum sentences of life imprisonment
for perpetrators and specific support and protection for victims, including children.
£17.8 million of dedicated funding has been provided to the police since 2016, helping
to improve the police’s ability to identify victims and to investigate and prosecute
the perpetrators and we are investing up to £145 million over three years to tackle
drugs supply and county lines activity. The Prevention Programme in England and Wales
also delivers tailored interventions, based on police intelligence, to improve multi-agency
collaboration in prevention of all exploitation types and help identify hot spot locations,
priority areas and specific threats in each region.</p><p> </p><p>The identification
of a child who is a potential victim of modern slavery, or is at risk of being a victim,
should always trigger the agreed local child protection procedures to ensure the child’s
safety and welfare, and to enable the police to gather evidence about abusers and
coercers. In addition to this statutory support, the Government has rolled out Independent
Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) who provide an additional source of advice and
support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality, and is piloting
their impact with sites covering two thirds of all local authorities across England
and nationally in Wales.</p>
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