My Lords, this is the first Amendment I have moved in your Lordships’ House and I hope I do it some justice because, in just one year, there were nine murders of young people associated with the pernicious drug trade colloquially known as county lines. As the MP for the Constituency, I worked closely with the police service and colleagues across the other House to identify solutions to effectively close down the business model that used, abused and destroyed children and their families.

Much of what I hope to see to tackle this abomination has been delivered by this Government, and I am grateful. I very much welcome the new child criminal exploitation offence and the hefty jail sentences that this can carry. I am hopeful that, once these new charges are in effect and have been successfully levied against these child abusers, the very lucrative and cruelly efficient business model employed by the drug dealers will be less attractive and eventually made redundant due to the high penalties they face when caught.

County lines, as we know, is organised crime. It is adults grooming our children, mostly our young boys, and sending them off as cheap labour to deliver and sell drugs across the country. It is a cycle of grooming, abuse and exploitation that has become an industry. The children ensnared by these groomers live a terrifying existence. They witness depravity and violence almost day to day. They are disposable children, making big profits for the criminals who control and exploit them. I am absolutely delighted that the new offence will apply not only to groomers but to all individuals who arrange or facilitate a child committing a crime, ensuring that gang leaders who may plead ignorance of their subordinates’ practice do not evade the heavy sentences.

I am acutely aware that the children involved are, in the eyes of the criminal justice system, both victim and perpetrator. This was brought home to me by the experiences of a young man on the fringes of a gang, who was groomed by his neighbour, kidnapped by the gang and forced on a drugs run. He was terrified. He phoned his mum, crying and begging her to rescue him. When he was finally allowed home, they both went to the police to report his experiences. They waited for action against his abusers, but none came. However, on his 17th birthday, he was arrested for the crimes that he had, in effect, confessed to the police while reporting the actions of his abusers. It is obviously easy in this case to feel genuinely appalled by the actions of the criminal justice system and really angry about the ruined life chances of this young man, who had at that time been accepted into the army.

I want to be clear that there are many other stories that are less easy for us to feel sympathy about—where the young person is both abused and the perpetrator, sometimes of heinous crimes. They are desensitised to the violence or fearful for their own safety, so that they cannot refuse an order from the elder. We need to create a system that can deal with the crimes while still recognising that the children were victims. This amendment is almost a mopping-up exercise, because we need a definition of child criminal exploitation in the Bill, to work in conjunction with the offence detailed in Clause 40.

I honestly do not understand why, over years, the Home Office has resisted this small but I believe necessary action. I gently point out that the Modern Slavery Act has a definition in it, so why is there such resistance to a definition here? I do not know whether it is okay for me to admit at this point that I am wedded not to the words but to the concept and spirit of my amendment, and I am hopeful that this exceptionally helpful Minister will take away my desire and wish and bring back something that will work, if he feels that my words are insufficient to the cause.

Although Clause 40 rightly introduces an offence to prosecute those who exploit children to commit criminal activity, it does not, as I have said, provide a statutory definition of what constitutes child criminal exploitation for safeguarding and identification purposes. A statutory definition would serve a fundamentally different purpose from the criminal offence. It would provide a clear and consistent framework for identifying and protecting children at risk and enabling front-line agencies to intervene early and prevent harm.

Evidence from the national child safeguarding review panel and Action for Children’s Jay review into the criminal exploitation of children shows that the lack of a definition contributes to significant inconsistencies in practice and persistent failures to identify children as victims. There is often a postcode lottery, shaped by variable interpretations and thresholds across agencies and jurisdictions. Although I am grateful that the Government have committed to putting a definition in the guidance, I do not think this will go far enough because, frankly, the guidance may not be adopted by all the agencies that work with victims of this form of child abuse.

A statutory definition in the Bill would establish a shared understanding across all services, ensuring that children receive support regardless of where they live. It would, I hope, enhance multi-agency working, helping to build a national picture of exploitation and improve data collection and reporting. Importantly, it would support early Intervention and prevention by providing a clear legal basis for services to respond to signs of exploitation before criminal harm escalates.

The Bill rightly focuses on ensuring that the criminals who ensnare children for their own ends, forcing them to commit serious crimes and destroying lives, will now face the full force of the law. As will the ringleaders, who believe themselves safe behind gated communities, making a fortune from broken lives. But please let us not lose sight of the children who are trapped by the gangs. Let us recognise that they have been groomed and ensure that there is a consistent definition and approach to give these children the opportunity to fully escape their abuse. In hope, I beg to move.