Crime: Children

Home Office written question – answered at on 16 October 2017.

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Photo of George Howarth George Howarth Labour, Knowsley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) make an assessment of the prevalence of child criminal exploitation and (b) bring forward legislative proposals to establish a definition for such exploitation under the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and if she will make a statement.

Photo of Sarah Newton Sarah Newton The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

The criminal exploitation of children is one of a number of exploitative practices that forms part of modern slavery. Where children are found to be victims of modern slavery their safety and welfare needs must be addressed as the priority, this includes providing the required tailored support which addresses their specific needs and vulnerabilities.

Child criminal exploitation can consist of a range of criminal activities including cannabis cultivation, sham marriage, county lines, forced begging, benefit fraud and theft. The National Crime Agency includes criminal exploitation within the labour exploitation statistics. In the year to June 2017, there were 506 children either confirmed as victims of slavery or pending a decision all citing labour exploitation within the NRM.

The latest published threat assessment of county lines gang violence, exploitation and drug supply prepared by the National Crime Agency in November 2016 identified in excess of 200 young and vulnerable persons as being exploited by gangs for criminal purposes within a six month period. This figure is considered to be a significant under-estimate as exploited individuals are often unwilling to talk to the police.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 is a world leading and ground breaking piece of legislation. The Act already makes a number of specific provisions to recognise the unique vulnerabilities of children and we have no current plans to amend it.

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