Home Office

The National Crime Agency leads the UK response to SOC. NCA has a network of International Liaison Officers who work with relevant partners globally to disrupt SOC affecting the UK.

The NCA also hosts other functions on behalf of the UK including its relationships into Interpol and Europol. To protect operational security the NCA does not comment on specifics of international partnerships but can confirm it has a previous history of working with Venezuelan partners to tackle SOC. All NCA activity is conducted in accordance with UK and international law.

Though we do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats, the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.

The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our powers to counter state threats, including from Iran, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt these threats. Last year, new training for front police officers and staff was rolled out to increase their understanding of state threats, which will improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate incidents which may be state directed.

The UK Government, law enforcement and our international partners continue to work together to identify, deter and respond to threats from Iran. In September, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) issued a public statement condemning transnational repression and other malign activities by Iran.

The Government's top priority is our national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats.

All police officers are under a statutory obligation to abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of their duties. Failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action being taken.

The Home Office does not hold information on individual force policies regarding membership of organisations.

However, the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on counter corruption sets out that, as part of force notifiable association policies, officers should declare association with any individual, group, organisation or society which may cause a conflict of interest.

The ethical policing principles set out by the College of Policing are designed to support decision-making that is fair, unbiased, and open and honest about the reasons for decisions. The wider Code of Ethics, supported by a statutory Code of Practice for Ethical Policing, provides guidance on ethical and professional behaviour, including how officers and staff should manage business interests or personal associations to ensure there is no conflict with their policing duties.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s inspection report on West Midlands Police’s match assessment for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match has been published on GOV.UK.

The report has also been deposited in both House libraries and shared with the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.

We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, before deciding whether and what changes are necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an impact assessment in relation to any changes that we intend to bring forward after the consultation including, as appropriate, impact on the police, the rural economy, sports, wildlife management and crop protection, in the normal way.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.

We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, before deciding whether and what changes are necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an impact assessment in relation to any changes that we intend to bring forward after the consultation including, as appropriate, impact on the police, the rural economy, sports, wildlife management and crop protection, in the normal way.

Medical checks are an important part of the firearms licensing process to ensure that the police have all relevant medical information before them as part of their assessment of the suitability of an applicant for a firearm or shotgun certificate.

There is no defined timeframe for GPs to complete the medical proforma, which is a matter between the applicant and their GP.

Since the Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing was introduced on 1 November 2021 it has been a requirement that medical information be provided as part of all firearms licensing applications submitted to the police.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, which remains open until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, in order to ease the impact of changes for particular groups or preserve already afforded permissions by the previous system. No transitional arrangements have been decided upon yet.

Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation. The principles of administrative fairness will be considered in the formulation of the final policy with the aid of the consultation findings. The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

The Police Activity Survey (PAS) provides an estimate of how much police time is spent on various policing activities. The PAS was conducted over a 7-day period in February 2023, with 35 out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales participating.

The results show that over this period, responding to specific crime incident activity accounts for 34.9% of all recorded police time. Of the time spent on specific crime incident activity, 3.1% was spent on possession of drug crime incidents, 2.7% on possession of weapons incidents and 5.6% on trafficking of drug incidents.

The PAS does not capture whether or not the offences were organised crime related. Therefore, no specific data is available on the proportion of time spent on tackling organised drug crime.

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to its dangers.

In January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, advice on reducing those harms and whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August 2025, and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

I refer the Hon. Member to UIN 101709 answered on 9th January 2026.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee set out commitments for police forces to implement, by July 2025, and by the end of Parliament. Forces are now delivering on the Guarantee across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing, including in rural areas.

Forces now have named, contactable officers dedicated to tackling issues in their communities. Forces are also providing a guarantee of 72-hour response times to neighbourhood queries from communities.

All reports into the police, either via telephone or online, are triaged by the local force control room and response type and timeliness will be determined by the nature of the report and availability of resources. The Home Office does not hold data on response times to time-sensitive incidents in rural villages, however, should an incident be time critical and requiring rapid response, the public are advised to call 999.

Based on their £4,495,599 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Essex are projected to grow by 74 FTE NHP police officers in 2025-26.

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.

For 2025-26, a total of up to £422.2 million will be available for Northumbria Police through the police funding settlement, an overall increase of up to £28.8 million when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.

This includes:

• £10,781,126 through the officer maintenance ringfenced grant, and £4,742,769 through the top-up grant, to maintain a total headcount of 3,853 officers
• £6,160,643 through the neighbourhood policing grant to grow by 122 FTE Neighbourhood Policing officers (95 FTE police officers and 27 FTE PCSOs).

It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate and deploy the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.

The Home Office’s social media channels are a vital tool to inform the public of policy and delivery updates the department is responsible for. The channels are routinely monitored and their use reviewed to ensure content is being produced in the appropriate manor for public consumption. Home Office social media policy is line with the relevant departmental and Government Communication Service guidance, as well as the Civil Service Code.

The Home Office takes safeguarding issues extremely seriously. Protecting vulnerable people is a key cross-cutting departmental priority.

We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable. During the asylum decision making process we aim to ensure that particularly vulnerable claimants are identified and that they are given help in accessing appropriate services.

A claimant or their legal representative can also request their case is prioritised by emailing or writing to the relevant decision-making unit responsible for their claim.

Individual claims may be prioritised on a case-by-case basis due to exceptional and compelling circumstances. Please see Case by case prioritisation on GOV.UK for further information about how individual asylum claims may be prioritised.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives, including innovative tooling to speed up decision-making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system.

The number of people awaiting an initial decision as of September 2025 is down 54% from the peak in June 2023, and we continue to make good progress. This shows that the steps we have already taken to streamline the asylum process and increase our efficiency are paying off and is an important achievement in building an asylum system that is efficient, sustainable and flexible.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

The UK immigration system is generous in its provisions for musicians, performers and other cultural professionals, with different pathways for non-visa nationals (such as EU/EEA nationals) in the creative sector to come to the UK without requiring a visa. We continually keep our policies under review and the Government has committed to supporting touring artists at the UK-EU summit in May last year.

The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.

The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.

Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.

Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.

The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.

The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.

Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.

Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.

The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.

The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.

Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.

Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.

The No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition applies to the vast majority of adult temporary migrants in the UK and those without legal status, many of whom may not be in touch with the Home Office.

Data on the children within migrant families is not routinely collected. However, the Home Office regularly engages with stakeholders via the NRPF forum which provides a platform to raise concerns and share experiences of those affected by the policy.

Data on the number of applications from those wishing to have their NRPF condition lifted is published.

The Home Office has committed to working with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop questions on No Recourse to Public Funds for inclusion in the Family Resources survey 2026/2027, a household survey undertaken annually to explore living standards in the UK.

The Entry / Exit System (EES) is an EU system; we are working with the French authorities and UK operators at St Pancras, Folkestone, and Port of Dover to minimise disruption.

There has been no disruption at the UK border related to EES. The system is being introduced through a phased implementation, and no meaningful assessment can be made at this stage of the rollout.

The Entry / Exit System (EES) is an EU system; we are working with the French authorities and UK operators at St Pancras, Folkestone, and Port of Dover to minimise disruption.

There has been no disruption at the UK border related to EES. The system is being introduced through a phased implementation, and no meaningful assessment can be made at this stage of the rollout.

The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. Local authorities will be consulted prior to publication. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach.

The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits. While the guidance is for local authorities in England, Home Office officials meet regularly with the Scottish government to discuss NRPF and other topics relating to the wider immigration system and will discuss the guidance as part of its development to draw in wider expertise and interests.

The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. Local authorities will be consulted prior to publication. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach.

The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits. While the guidance is for local authorities in England, Home Office officials meet regularly with the Scottish government to discuss NRPF and other topics relating to the wider immigration system and will discuss the guidance as part of its development to draw in wider expertise and interests.

The Home Secretary set out in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May that the Home Office will ensure children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle where appropriate. This will also include a clear pathway for those children in care and care leavers.

Policy development is ongoing, but as part of this, separate targeted engagement will take place with external stakeholders to help us to understand the challenges in this area and develop a policy solution which supports children in care without status while upholding the need to have a robust and coherent migration system. Children who have claimed asylum are dealt with under separate provisions.

A range of reforms are underway across the immigration and asylum system, and the development of a clear pathway to settlement for children in care and care leavers must be considered alongside these changes.

The number of applications affected by technical issues does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.

The Home Office values the contribution made by volunteers on the Charity Worker visa route to the social and charitable sectors, though no formal assessment has been carried out. All visa routes are kept under regular review to ensure they are operating as intended.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Charity Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to equality and economic impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to equality and economic impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

The UK values its close cultural and historical ties with its fellow Commonwealth countries. This is reflected in our immigration system by the UK Ancestry visa, which allows Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent to live and work in the UK.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already here on a pathway to settlement, including UK Ancestry visa holders. At this stage, no transitional arrangements have been decided upon.

Details of the earned settlement model and any potential transitional arrangements for those already in the UK will be finalised following the consultation.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April last year, set out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to IICSA’s recommendations. We are now delivering on those commitments overseen by an inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse chaired by the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Child Protection Authority

Last month the Government published a consultation seeking views on the creation of the new Child Protection Authority for England. A Government response will be published by summer 2026 including a plan to establish the new body, and further information on its scope, structure, activities and responsibilities.

Mandatory Reporting

Measures to introduce a new statutory duty for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children and young people in England to report sexual abuse, and to create a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty are included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Disclosure and Barring Service

The Government, working with the DBS, has been driving forward a continuous programme of work to improve employers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of, and compliance with, their statutory duty to inform the DBS about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children.

That work has included bespoke workshops on the legal duty to refer, how to make a good quality barring referral and recognising when it may be appropriate to refer someone to DBS because of harm caused outside the workplace. Through these workshops the DBS has reached over 12,000 individuals working in safeguarding roles. Since the DBS Outreach Service was introduced the number of referrals has increased by over 50% in every region.

On 18 December 2025, legislation was also brought into force which enabled ACRO Criminal Records Office to include an individual’s barred list status on its International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) which is available to those who are looking to work with children overseas. By ensuring that overseas employers can also learn an individual’s barred list status, this will reduce the risk of those barred from working with children in the UK being able to do so overseas.

Limitation Period for Civil Claims

The Government has committed to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil child sexual abuse claims with the burden of proof falling on defendants (rather than victims, as at present) to show that a fair trial is not possible. This measure has been included in the Crime and Policing Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

Joint inspections of compliance with the Victims’ Code

The Government has asked the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates (CJJI) to include an inspection on the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system, including compliance with the Victims’ Code, in their 2025-27 Business Plan. The inspection is expected to take place in summer 2026.

Retention of Records

The Government is preparing regulations instructing the Information Commissioner’s Office to produce a code of practice on the retention of personal data relating to child sexual abuse. We intend to lay the regulations before the House as soon as possible. Once the regulations have been laid, the ICO will prepare the code following consultation with an expert panel.

Single Core National Dataset

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve the consistency of data collection and sharing related to child sexual abuse. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will introduce a new information sharing duty and a consistent identifier for children to improve opportunities for agencies to better share their information about children at risk of child sexual abuse. The Government also continues to support the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse which, through it’s Trends in Official Data report and Data Insights Hub brings together local and national data on the prevalence, identification and response to child sexual abuse.

National Public Awareness Campaign

The Government is committed to raising public awareness about the scale and impacts of child sexual abuse and is supporting several targeted programmes to achieve this, including the #LookCloser campaign, aiming to raise awareness of all forms of child exploitation, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation’s Stop It Now! Online Deterrence campaign and its services to prevent offending. As part of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade, we are also supporting the ENOUGH campaign, a long-term national programme of behaviour change campaigns to deliver a generational shift in the awareness, attitudes, and behaviours underpinning abuse.

Expenditure on Services Supporting Victims and Survivors

The Government is committing significant funding towards specialist support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Department for Health and Social Care has announced a £50m package to support expansion of the ‘Child House’ model, a key step in addressing IICSA’s recommendation on improving therapeutic support for children affected by sexual abuse. The Ministry of Justice will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date - and the Home Office will also invest £2.59m this year to support frontline providers that offer nationally accessible services to support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.