Children: Abuse

(asked on 26th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking alongside children's charities to safeguard victims of child abuse following the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.


Answered by
Rachel Maclean Portrait
Rachel Maclean
This question was answered on 2nd February 2022

Leadership on child safeguarding policy is principally shared between the Home Office, Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care. We have worked closely across Government to ensure we learn what needs to change in the light of Arthur's tragic death.

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has been asked to deliver an independent review identifying what went wrong in this terrible case, and what needs to be improved nationally as a result. We have also commissioned a Joint Targeted Area Inspection to examine how all the relevant local agencies are working together to protect and safeguard children in Solihull.

The Home Office are supporting the police to develop their understanding of the complexity, sensitivity and risk involved in working with vulnerable victims of abuse and exploitation, through:

  • funding the College of Policing’s training for senior police officers on safeguarding and public protection issues,
  • funding the police-led Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, which identifies and promotes good practice and effective interventions to address vulnerability.

Government also works closely with voluntary sector partners to identify national trends and to ensure sufficient support to children and families at the local level. This was particularly critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Government has provided additional funding to boost the support provided by children’s charities, including:

  • £7.6 million for national children’s charities who offered safeguarding services for vulnerable children.
  • £11.4 million since June 2020 to the See, Hear, Respond programme, which helped vulnerable children and young people whose usual support networks have been impacted by the pandemic.
  • £1.8 million to expand and promote the NSPCC helpline for adults to use to report safeguarding concerns.
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