Exploitation: Children

(asked on 13th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect children from exploitation during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Victoria Atkins Portrait
Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This question was answered on 18th May 2020

Answer:

We recognise that there may be greater risks to vulnerable children under covid-19 social distancing restrictions, and that is why the Government has taken clear steps to protect the safety and wellbeing of children during the pandemic.

In particular the Home Office response to vulnerable children during this outbreak has focused on:

  • Stepping up communications through schools, online guidance, the private sector and charities.

  • Addressing the hidden nature of abuse by identifying and mobilising protective “eyes and ears” within the community.

  • Reinforcing the importance of multi-agency working.

  • Working across government to support the charity sector.

The Home Office is working closely with other government departments to allocate a proportion of the £750m funding for charities announced by the Chancellor last month. This includes a total of £34.15 million in emergency support for charities helping vulnerable children who have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak (this includes funds to be distributed by the Home Office and the Department for Education).

This is in addition to other significant investments to bolster the capacity of third sector partners, including a £6.5 million fund launched by the Youth Endowment Fund earlier this month, which is specifically geared towards identifying ways of supporting young people at risk of youth violence under social distancing guidelines. Similarly, across the Home Office-funded 18 Violence Reduction Units and 11 Trusted Relationships Fund projects, contact and support with vulnerable young people is being sustained through virtual communications.

On Thursday 21st May, the Prime Minister will host a virtual summit focused on ‘hidden harms’, including child sexual abuse. The virtual summit will bring together key decision makers to share insights, best practice and agree an approach for tackling these crimes as restrictions gradually ease and we move towards recovery.

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