Crime and Policing Bill

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Baroness Brown of Silvertown

Committee stage
Thursday 27th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful for the further pressure on this issue from the Cross Benches. My job is to set out to the Committee the Government’s view on these amendments, which I am trying to do. The measures in Clause 40 and the guidance in Clause 60 are sufficient to meet the objectives of my noble friend and, at the same time, to ensure—let us not forget this—that this offence goes on to the statute book for the first time. It will have a big impact on county line gangs and on defining further criminal child exploitation. I have put the Government’s view; we will obviously reflect on what my noble friend has said and I am happy to meet her, with other colleagues, outside the Committee to discuss that explanation further. I recognise the great motivation my noble friend had in bringing this to the Committee. I hope she will reflect on what I have said and withdraw the amendment.

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Lab)]

I believe I get another chance to speak. I am grateful to all contributors to my amendment today. I can tell the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, that I tried, but obviously not impactfully enough, to talk about the complexities involved and the differences between an abused child and a perpetrator, and how difficult it is for the criminal courts—and all of us—to understand the distinction.

I say gently to my noble friend the Minister that given that the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, the noble Baronesses, Lady Chakrabarti and Lady Doocey, the noble Lord, Lord Russell, and the noble Baroness, Lady Fox—if I might pray her in aid—are all pressing on this issue, it would be a good idea for the Government to reflect properly on it.

I knew that the argument was going to be that my amendment is unnecessary. With 20 years’ experience in Parliament, I know that there have been many unnecessary clauses in Bills, and indeed that some Bills have become Acts that some people believe are unnecessary. I cheekily ask what harm it could do. It would be fabulous if my noble friend the Minister could humour us and bung it in. I genuinely believe that this is an important part of the protection of our children in the future. In hope, therefore, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Child Houses for Child Victims of Sexual Abuse

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Baroness Brown of Silvertown

Tuesday 9th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support the opening of more child houses in England, on the model of The Lighthouse, to provide services to child victims of sexual abuse.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government have highlighted the Lighthouse as a model of good practice in the provision of multi-agency, joined-up, child-friendly support for children affected by sexual abuse. We want to see more local areas adopt such multi-agency models and we are working across government to develop ambitious proposals to improve therapeutic support services for victims of child sexual abuse.

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Lab)]

I so welcome that commitment, but 500,000 children are sexually abused each year in England and Wales. Seven years ago, this single pilot centre was created in London, providing cost-effective wraparound healthcare, therapy and access to justice under one roof. It treats several hundred of the half million children who experience sexual violence every year. Scotland has seven child houses; we have one. The model works; the Children’s Commissioner and the incoming Victims’ Commissioner have called for a national rollout. Will it be rolled out and, if so, when?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for her question. She will know that the Government have accepted—certainly from the Home Office’s perspective—the recommendations of the report on child sexual abuse from IICSA. Some recommendations have been mirrored by the recent report on grooming gangs by the noble Baroness, Lady Casey. One recommendation is that we do exactly what my noble friend has said. As part of our response, we are including an ambitious proposal for therapeutic support, and we are going to work across government to look at how we can future-fund support services to enable victims and survivors to access and receive better care and support. In doing so, we have in this year doubled the support funding for adult victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to a total of £2.59 million.

Knife Crime

Debate between Lord Hanson of Flint and Baroness Brown of Silvertown

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle knife crime.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Hanson of Flint) (Lab)]

The Government are taking a number of steps to halve knife crime within a decade as part of the safer streets mission. We have created the Young Futures programme, the coalition to halve knife crime, the knife-enabled robbery task force, and we are bringing in new and stronger legislation to crack down on the sale of and access to dangerous knives.

[Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Lab)]

Much of the knife crime in my former constituency in east London was fuelled by county lines drug gangs. I worked with some amazing mums, who were desperately trying to rescue their children who were ensnared in the pernicious clutches of these gangs. Parents facing these circumstances need real support to help them navigate not only the violence and menace of the groomers but the criminal justice system, in which they can be both victim and perpetrator. Do the Government agree? If so, what action can we expect?

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I pay tribute to my noble friend for the work she did on this very issue as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. She has pressed very hard for an offence to try to break up criminal gangs luring young people into violence and crime. I am pleased to tell her that, as she will know, there is a new child criminal exploitation offence in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently before the House of Commons and will come to this place shortly, to ensure we can take action against exploiters and deter gangs, and have some prevention orders in place. I hope that she will also welcome the Young Futures prevention partnerships, which we have put in place to help guide families and young people through moving out of gangs and criminal behaviour. Additionally—and I know this will be of specific interest to her—the Metropolitan Police has been allocated £8.1 million via the hotspot action fund to include Metropolitan Police officers on the ground in neighbourhood police officer mode.