Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for livestreaming sexual exploitation of children in each of the last five years.

Live-streaming of sexual exploitation of children may be prosecuted under a number of offences. These include (but are not limited to) causing the sexual exploitation of a child (s48 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 2003)), controlling a child in relation to sexual exploitation (s49, SOA 2003), arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child (s50, SOA 2003).

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions and convictions by detailed offence and figures relating to the offences outlined above can be found in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888344/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2019.xlsx

The data tool can be filtered by ‘Offence code’, for offences relating to the above, filter to the following:

07108 Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography - child aged 13 to 17

07109 Controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornography - child aged 13 to 17

07110 Arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography - child aged 13 to 17

07111 Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography - child under 13

07112 Controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornography - child under 13

07113 Arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography - child under 13

Please note that these offences cover a broader range of behaviour than live-streaming, such as recording or otherwise transmitting indecent images of children.