Asked by: Lord Bishop of Derby (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 23 December 2025 (HL12716), what is the timeline and development plan for non-statutory guidance to be issued to all relevant frontline practitioners safeguarding children from criminal exploitation to ensure a range of stakeholders can contribute; and what steps they will take to mitigate limitations to non-statutory guidance, including inconsistencies across documents and delays in updating guidance that is not statutory.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Crime and Policing Bill includes a provision for statutory guidance to be issued to relevant law enforcement officers about their role in preventing, detecting and investigating the new child criminal exploitation (CCE) offence and about their functions relating to the new CCE prevention orders being introduced in the Bill.
We also intend to issue non-statutory guidance for other frontline practitioners to support them to understand the new CCE offence and orders. We will work with stakeholders and other relevant Government departments to develop the guidance to ensure that it provides clear and effective information on disrupting the criminal exploitation of children and supporting victims. The new guidance will supplement existing statutory guidance and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Derby (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue statutory guidance to all statutory safeguarding partners, including police, local authorities and integrated care boards, for the criminal exploitation of children measures in the Crime and Policing Bill should the Bill receive Royal Assent; and if not, why not, and what steps they will take to clarify roles and responsibilities and embed best practice in safeguarding children from exploitation in that absence of that statutory guidance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the importance of effective multi-agency working to safeguard children from criminal exploitation.
The Crime and Policing Bill includes provision for statutory guidance to be issued to relevant law enforcement officers about their role in preventing, detecting and investigating the new child criminal exploitation offence and about their functions relating to the new child criminal exploitation prevention orders being introduced in the Bill.
In addition, we will publish non-statutory guidance for all relevant frontline practitioners (including statutory partners) to help them understand the new offence and their role in disrupting this crime and supporting victims. This guidance will supplement existing statutory guidance, including ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, which set out the roles and responsibilities of organisations and agencies to help, support, safeguard and protect children from harm, including in relation to child criminal exploitation.