Contributions
2,121 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseLast Monday, I set out the actions this Government are taking to tackle the terrible crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse, including mandatory reporting, a new victims…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI welcome the hon. Member’s points on this extremely serious issue. He is right that many victims and survivors need a proper police investigation to go after the perpetrators,…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseThese are the most vile crimes, against teenagers, children and young girls. Very often they involve sadistic abuse, rape and the most appalling trauma that can last for many…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI thank my hon. Friend for her questions. To go through them in turn, we will set out before Easter the timetable for taking forward the work around all the recommendations from…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI thank my hon. Friend for that incredibly important point, and also for the shocking and disturbing story she has told of victims continuing to be silenced, having already been…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI agree. These terrible crimes have been ignored for too long. There are currently 127 major police operations under way on child sexual exploitation and gang grooming, across 29…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI am happy to follow up with the hon. Lady about the very serious issues she raised. She is right that this cannot be about institutions just marking their own homework. That is…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseWe have increased the resources for police forces across the country by up to £1 billion next year. It is really important that all police forces see these kinds of crimes,…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMy hon. Friend is right. We will need a process to keep the House up to date on the next steps and actions that are taken forward. We will do that through the victims and…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseOn the funding to support the various measures we are taking forward, we have identified up to £10 million for additional investment to support further action. However, I cannot…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMy hon. Friend is right. The inquiry identified that half a million children are victims of sexual abuse every year. The majority of cases are, sadly, within the family—a betrayal…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMy hon. Friend is right to say that it should be easier to report crimes, but I also think there should be a proactive duty on police forces, local authorities and child…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseLet me just say that I was one of those who called for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse very many years ago, and that I also supported the two-year investigation by…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseWe do believe that better, more comprehensive data needs to be collected. That is why I have said that the overall data on child sexual abuse needs to be overhauled, with…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseWork is under way on drawing up the Hillsborough law, which was part of the King’s Speech to be taken forward as a priority in this Session. That work is being done across the…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI can assure the hon. Member that we are already taking forward some of the recommendations. Some will be in legislation and will take time to pass through Parliament, because…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseIt is obviously really important to ensure that there is independent scrutiny. The hon. Member will be aware that the inquiry in Rotherham led by Baroness Louise Casey used…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseMy hon. Friend is right to raise this point. In fact, it was one of the issues raised as part of the independent inquiry’s two-year review of child exploitation. The review…16 Jan 2025HANSARD Child Sexual Exploitation and AbuseI thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know this is an area on which he does a lot of work. He is right that the purpose of a national audit by Baroness Casey is to identify…16 Jan 2025HANSARDNeighbourhood PolicingI am aware of the points that my hon. Friend raises, and I do have concerns. It is really important that all police forces can strengthen their neighbourhood policing and have…13 Jan 2025