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1130053

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the number of girls being sexually exploited in the county lines drugs trade.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield North
	tabling member printed	Joan Ryan
	uin	260530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The latest threat assessment on county lines was published by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in January 2019. This sets out that while criminal exploitation is the most common exploitation type within county lines, victims are sometimes subjected to sexual exploitation and these victims are largely female. The assessment also points out the likelihood that females are underrepresented as both victims and perpetrators of county lines criminality. <br> <br>Work is ongoing to protect those who are exploited and target county lines offenders. The Home Office has provided £3.6m to establish the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) to enhance our cross border intelligence and activity on county lines and to better safeguard and protect victims of county lines. NCLCC has so far carried out three separate weeks of operational intensification leading to over 1600 arrests and over 2100 individuals engaged with for safeguarding.</p><p>In addition, the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including; funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to work directly with gang-affected women and girls, especially if they have been victims, or are at risk, of sexual violence by gangs including county lines; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million over two years to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines; and we have provided funding through the £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund over two years for six projects which will specifically address those at risk of involvement in county lines and criminal exploitation.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 26/06/2019 16:00:26 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	166 label Biography information for Joan Ryan

1140840

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people involved in the criminal exploitation of vulnerable young people in county lines operations have been charged with modern slavery offences.
	tabling member constituency	East Dunbartonshire
	tabling member printed	Jo Swinson
	uin	280174
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It is important that the police and local agencies have the powers they need to tackle local issues quickly and effectively. That is why we reformed the tools and powers available to tackle Anti-Social behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.</del><del class="ministerial">In 2019/20 Lancashire Police are receiving £285.1 million of funding, an increase of £18.4 million, on 2018/19. Funding for 2020-21 for individual forces will be announced as part of the provisional police settlement later this year. Decisions about the allocation of police resources are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to meet the needs of their local community.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The police and Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) are responsible for charging decisions with regards to county lines related criminality. The key is that prosecutions are brought, and the charges should cover the full range of criminality involved including Modern Slavery offences.We are working with the police and the CPS to take full advantage of powers in the Modern Slavery Act when making charging decisions against county line gang members. The CPS have issued an overview of the approach to be taken in criminal investigations and prosecutions linked to ‘county lines’ offending, with a particular focus on the relevance of the Modern Slavery Act.</ins></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 09/09/2019 15:12:13 question first ministerially corrected 09/09/2019 16:21:57 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins previous answer version 134815 answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson

1175714

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Justice, (b) Education and (c) Housing, Communities and Local Government on using the findings of (i) serious case reviews following the homicides of young people, (ii) child safeguarding practice reviews, (iii) independent investigation reports and (iv) safeguarding adult reviews to help prevent violence linked to county lines child criminal exploitation.
	tabling member constituency	West Ham
	tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
	uin	11519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2020 answer text <p>We are determined to disrupt county lines gangs and put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable children and young people. Learning the lessons from safeguarding reviews is vital in order to prevent future tragedies and ensure that all parts of the safeguarding system are playing their part to support those exploited by county lines drug dealing.</p><p>On 4 March 2020 the Independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published the findings of its first national review looking at adolescents in need of state protection from criminal exploitation. The Home Office is working closely with the Departments for Education and Justice and others to carefully consider the Panel’s recommendations, as well as those from other safeguarding reviews relating to child criminal exploitation.</p><p>The Home Office Minister for Safeguarding meets regularly with the Minister for Children and Families to discuss issues related to vulnerable children, including those victims of child criminal exploitation and officials are working closely across government to put in place a range of support for vulnerable children and young people to ensure that they are protected and able to access the support they need.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 29/07/2020 12:07:18 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1178725

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the exploitation by county lines drug gangs of looked-after children placed out-of-borough.
	tabling member constituency	St Helens South and Whiston
	tabling member printed	Ms Marie Rimmer
	uin	15073
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2020 answer text <p>County lines have a devastating impact on our communities, and we are determined to crack down on these gangs and put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable children.</p><p>The National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), established with £3.6m of Home Office funding, has been vital to strengthening our response to this issue by enhancing the intelligence picture and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex, cross border threat. Since it became operational in September 2018 the NCLCC has coordinated four weeks of intensive law enforcement action resulting in over 2,500 arrests and over 3,000 individuals engaged for safeguarding.</p><p>The Home Office has also announced £25m of targeted investment across 2019/20 and 2020/21 to uplift the law enforcement response to county lines and increase the support available to children, young people and families that are affected.</p><p>In addition, the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including: funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to provide help and support for young people exploited through county lines, and funding through the £13m Trusted Relationships fund to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines.</p><p>The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement and Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that there is sufficient provision for their looked after children.</p><p>Lack of sufficient placements to meet young people’s needs can lead to children being placed out of area. The Government is helping to improve commissioning of placements, including providing funding through the Department for Education’s £200 million children’s social care Innovation Programme.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 25/02/2020 17:50:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4457 label Biography information for Ms Marie Rimmer

1183739

	registered interest
	date	09/03/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government plans to take to tackle sexual exploitation occurring as a result of county lines activity.
	tabling member constituency	Streatham
	tabling member printed	Bell Ribeiro-Addy
	uin	27058
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the devastating impact of county lines activity on children and vulnerable people which can include both sexual and criminal exploitation.</p><p>We are determined to disrupt these ruthless gangs and put an end to the exploitation associated with county lines. The Home Office has announced £25m of targeted investment over this year and next to uplift the law enforcement response to this exploitative model of drugs supply and to increase specialist support to children, young people and their families who are affected.</p><p>This is in addition to providing £3.6m to establish the new National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) in September 2018, which has significantly enhanced our cross-border intelligence and activity on county lines to better safeguard and protect victims of county lines. Work is ongoing to protect the exploited and target the offenders, and in four separate weeks of law enforcement intensification over 2,500 arrests have been made and over 3,000 vulnerable individuals have been engaged for safeguarding.</p><p>The Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including: funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to work directly with gang-affected women and girls, especially if they have been victims, or are at risk, of sexual violence by gangs including county lines; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of sexual exploitation including exploitation through county lines; and the £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund is funding 10 projects which will specifically address those at risk of involvement in county lines and criminal exploitation.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 17/03/2020 17:26:39 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4764 label Biography information for Bell Ribeiro-Addy

1196328

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Education and (b) Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on ensuring that vulnerable children are not exposed to greater risk of county lines recruitment when not in education due to the covid-19 lockdown.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon Central
	tabling member printed	Sarah Jones
	uin	47422
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2020 answer text <p>The Home Secretary attends a regular ministerial group, also attended by the Department for Education (DfE) and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which discusses a range of issues related to COVID-19 including the impact on vulnerable cohorts.  The Home Office Minister for Safeguarding also has regular discussions with DfE about the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable children, including those at risk of criminal exploitation through county lines.</p><p>In addition, the Home Office is working closely with law enforcement partners and charities to monitor the ongoing threat to young people from county lines exploitation.  This year, we are investing £20m to uplift the law enforcement response and increase the support available to those affected.  This is in addition to continuing to the fund the Missing People SafeCall service which provides specialist advice and support to young people and families who are concerned about county lines exploitation.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 20/05/2020 13:34:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4631 label Biography information for Sarah Jones

1236696

	registered interest
	date	22/09/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	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 10 June 2020 to Question 53408 on Drugs: Organised Crime, what work is currently being undertaken by her Department in collaboration with (a) the Department for Health and Social Care, (b) the Ministry of Justice, (c) the Department for Education and (d) local authorities to tackle county lines drug trafficking and safeguard vulnerable children from exploitation.
	tabling member constituency	Gateshead
	tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
	uin	93579
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>County lines drug trafficking is a growing threat and one that this Government is determined to tackle. A cross-government approach is essential to identify and support children and young people who are criminally exploited by these ruthless gangs.</p><p>We are working across government to enhance the response to children and young people who are subject to criminal exploitation from county lines. Through our county lines programme, the Home Office is investing £860,000 this financial year to provide specialist one-to-one support for children and young people who at risk or involved in county lines. We are also working in collaboration with other government departments to monitor and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on county lines activity and exploitation.</p><p>We are also committed to taking forward national learning and are working with the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Health and Social Care to examine the recommendations from the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report ‘It was Hard to Escape’, as well as those from other safeguarding reviews relating to child criminal exploitation, in order to identify areas for improvement, put in place support for vulnerable children, raise awareness of criminal exploitation from county lines and ensure that the criminal justice response to county lines is as effective and robust as possible.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 29/09/2020 09:04:53 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

1287965

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what activity her Department has participated in to prevent county lines gangs connecting with looked after children in children’s homes.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon Central
	tabling member printed	Sarah Jones
	uin	156522
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office is working closely with colleagues across government, including with the Department for Education, to ensure children in care homes are kept safe from grooming and exploitation.</p><p>The Government wants to make sure that all homes are providing high quality care that meets each child’s individual needs, keeps them safe and enables them to fulfil their full potential. Ofsted inspects all children’s homes at least once per year and at present, 80% of homes are rated good or outstanding. In April 2015, DfE introduced the Children’s Homes Regulations (England) which included Quality Standards for children’s homes, specifying the outcomes that children must be supported to achieve while living in children’s homes.</p><p>We are currently supporting the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which is taking a fundamental look at what is needed to make a real difference to the needs, experiences and outcomes of the children supported by children’s social care, including those in children’s homes.</p><p>Through our county lines programme the Home Office has provided up to £860,000 to provide specialist one-to-one support in London, the West Midlands and Merseyside to under 25’s and their families who are criminally exploited through county lines. Through this investment we are also delivering awareness sessions to care home staff to increase their understanding of criminally exploited children and young people.</p><p>We have also funded the Prevention Programme to deliver targeted virtual training sessions focussing on child sexual abuse and exploitation to children’s homes in the North East and North West and have worked alongside the British Transport Police to provide intelligence-led interventions to children’s homes to ensure appropriate safeguarding actions are taken in response.</p><p>The Department for Education is also funding the Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme to help safeguarding partners in local areas develop a strategic response to child exploitation and risk of harm from outside the family home, in particular child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation, including county lines drug trafficking and modern slavery.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 156521 question first answered 25/02/2021 14:55:35 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4631 label Biography information for Sarah Jones

1304558

	registered interest
	date	22/03/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to protect vulnerable children from county lines drugs networks in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	173141
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2021 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The Home Office is currently considering a response to this question and will respond shortly.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government recognises the devastating impact of county lines activity on children and vulnerable people.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are determined to disrupt these ruthless gangs and put an end to exploitation. In January we announced £40 million of new money to tackle county lines and drugs supply in the financial year 2021/22. This will bring the total invested in tackling this threat to £65 million since November 2019.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Through our £25m county lines programme we have already seen 3,400 people arrested, more than 550 lines closed and more than 770 vulnerable people safeguarded. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are also investing £105.5m into 18 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) until March 2022 to tackle the root causes of serious violence via a whole system approach which can include activity to prevent and support victims of county lines.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Thames Valley VRU, backed by £3.48m investment to develop and sustain their VRU in reducing serious violence, are also targeting and supporting victims of county lines. For example, Thames Valley have established an enhanced information sharing network, which shares information on young people that might be at risk of county lines with specialist departments. The VRU can then provide support for those young people by introducing early intervention strategies embedded within the trauma informed approach. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In addition, we have extended the specialist support available for those affected by county lines exploitation and we continue to fund Missing People’s SafeCall service which provides confidential, specialist advice and support to young people and their families/carers who are affected by county lines exploitation anywhere in England and Wales.</ins></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 30/03/2021 16:46:20 question first ministerially corrected 06/04/2021 10:02:50 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins previous answer version 94512 answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1304451

	registered interest
	date	22/03/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Drugs: Organised Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps her Department is taking to protect vulnerable children from county lines drugs networks.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mick Whitley
	uin	913715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2021 answer text <p>Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to group this question with question 31.</p><p>We are determined to roll up county lines and protect vulnerable children from this harmful form of exploitation.</p><p>Through our £25m county lines programme we have already seen 3,400 people arrested, more than 550 lines closed and more than 770 vulnerable people safeguarded.</p><p>We have also increased investment in dedicated one-to-one support for county lines victims and their families.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 22/03/2021 16:25:57 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4755 label Biography information for Mick Whitley