1 APPG membership (as of 8 Apr 2024)
Family Separation6 Former APPG memberships
22q11 Syndrome, Children, Gibraltar, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, Religion in the Media, Rule of LawDivision Voting information
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
(32 debate interactions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
(27 debate interactions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
(23 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(98 debate contributions)
(38 debate contributions)
(32 debate contributions)
(14 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(7,388 words contributed)
(6,303 words contributed)
(3,784 words contributed)
(3,097 words contributed)
Lords initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Butler-Sloss, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Butler-Sloss has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Butler-Sloss has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 3 Written Questions
(View all written questions)The Children’s Commissioners’ report on ‘Unaccompanied children in need of care’ was published on 29th November. The Home Office are reviewing the report and will respond directly to the Children’s Commissioner in due course.
Hotel accommodation was an emergency response to Kent’s position on newly arriving unaccompanied children in July 2021. The high number of UASC arriving via small boats also placed significant pressure on the National Transfer Scheme (NTS), which resulted in the use of hotels continuing for longer than our short-term ambition. Out of necessity, the Home Office have accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued.
Those who have been accommodated in hotels are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further support is provided on site by teams of social workers and nurses. Staff, including contractors, receive a number of briefings and guidance on how to safeguard children. All children receive a welfare interview; this includes a series of questions specifically designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking or particular safeguarding issues.
The High Court recently ruled that the routine and systematic use of hotels to accommodate UASC is unlawful. We are working at pace with Kent County Council, other government departments, and local authorities across the UK, to ensure suitable local authority placements are provided for UASC urgently and sustainably.
The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for all children including UASC. Local authorities are also under a mandated obligation to comply with the National Transfer Scheme. The Home Office have always maintained that the best place for UASC to be accommodated is within a local authority.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The process to recruit a new Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner (IASC) follows the principles set out within the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.
A fair and open recruitment campaign is underway, and it would be inappropriate to comment any further while this process is ongoing.
A decision on the appointment is currently under consideration.
The role of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.
The process to recruit a new IASC follows the principles set out within the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments which can be found on GOV.UK.
A decision on the appointment is under consideration.