Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces other than the Metropolitan Police (a) have been and (b) are currently being investigated by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in relation to their handling of child sexual abuse cases.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is conducting a rolling programme of unannounced National Child Protection Inspections on all police forces in England and Wales.

The inspection programme aims to assess how effectively police forces safeguard children at risk, including the investigation of child sexual abuse. To date HMIC has published inspection reports for 13 forces and is conducting post-inspection reviews of forces where failings have been identified to ensure that recommendations are being addressed and performance is improving.