Amendment 232B

Part of Crime and Policing Bill - Committee (4th Day) (Continued) – in the House of Lords at 12:30 pm on 27 November 2025.

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Photo of Lord Hanson of Flint Lord Hanson of Flint The Minister of State, Home Department 12:30, 27 November 2025

That is a valid point. I have considered with officials how we ensure enforcement of the guidance. I simply put it to the noble Earl—and we can debate this outside the Bill—that the statutory guidance is issued to chief constables of police forces under Clause 60 and they have a legal duty to ensure that statutory guidance is implemented, and officers have a legal duty to support and interpret that at a local level when they are faced with incidents of child exploitation as defined by the Bill. That requires a whole shift of culture and of training—I understand that. I will take from this comment and from the Committee generally that my colleagues in the Home Office need to look not just at the guidance but at its implementation. Ultimately, it has a statutory footing, and that is the key point for the Committee.

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