Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support children and families who have been victims of child exploitation by organised crime.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.

CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.

As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.

In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.

Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.