Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the factors behind the increase in (a) complex crimes rates, and (b) child sexual abuse and exploitation.

In the year to June 2017, there were 50,450 child sex offences (excluding indecent image offences) recorded by the police, up 20% from 42,150 offences recorded in the year to June 2016 (Office for National Statistics, 2017).

The increase in the number of offences recorded is thought to be the result of increased willingness to report among victims and action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Reporting Standard (given the renewed focus on the accuracy of crime recording).

We do not hold information on ‘complex crime rates’.