Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 9 of the 2020 UK annual report on modern slavery, if he will publish the (a) dates and (b) content of the guidance and training on criminal exploitation provided to Youth Offending Teams.

We are clear that tackling child criminal exploitation is key to ensure improved outcomes for children.

Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are run by local authorities which are responsible for putting in place training to meet the needs of their area. The approach of the Crown Prosecution Service in providing training in relation to criminal exploitation and the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has been to engage with YOTs locally, often alongside local community policing. This training has included explaining how the defence under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 operates, and the role that YOTs have in that process. There are no plans to publish further details of individual training with YOT teams across the country.

The CPS has not contributed to any new guidance for YOTs.