Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of when the targeted stakeholder engagement exercise on the proposed offence of cuckooing will conclude.

The exploitation and degradation that is associated with the pernicious practice of cuckooing is wholly unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle it.

Cuckooing is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, building on our successful County Lines Programme, launched in November 2019.

In March 2023, as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour action plan, we announced that we would be engaging with stakeholders on the scope of a potential new criminal offence.

The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise has revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and Home Office officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.