Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what amount of resource has been available to the police to (a) protect children from sexual abuse, (b) carry out investigations in relation to (i) current and (ii) historic child sexual abuse cases in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Resourcing is an operational matter for chief officers. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat which will help to ensure that police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners have in place the capabilities they need to protect children from sexual abuse.

In 2015/16 the Home Office provided an additional £10 million to the National Crime Agency for the creation of more specialist teams to tackle online child sexual exploitation. We have also made available £1.7 million to fund Operation Hydrant, which coordinates the handling of multiple non-recent child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions or persons of public prominence, and £1.5 million to support regional coordinators and analysts to oversee the implementation of the National Policing Plan for tackling Child Sexual Exploitation.

Additionally, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice announced an additional £7 million for victims services supporting survivors of sexual violence in 2014/15 and 2015/16.