Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21677 on Offences Against Children, whether her Department plans to reform the collection of data on grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders convicted of offences against children have been released under early release schemes; and what continuing supervision is taking place.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We were forced to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. All sex offences, irrespective of sentence length, are excluded from SDS40.
Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions, such as curfews and exclusion zones, and face being immediately returned to prison if they break the rules.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29611 on Offences against Children: Reviews, how many local inquiries will be supported; and at what average cost.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 April to Question UIN 44574, and to the responses I gave in Parliament on 28 April.
The Home Secretary has commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to conduct an audit to improve national understanding of the scale, nature, and profile of group-based child sexual abuse. The audit is well underway and will report to the Home Secretary in the next month.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28151 on Offences against Children: Inquiries, how the £5 million will be allocated to local authorities; and whether local authorities must bid for such funding.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 January 2025, the Home Secretary announced a funding package to deliver stronger national support for locally-led work on tackling group-based child sexual exploitation. This includes supporting Oldham Council who have confirmed work to undertake a local inquiry that has already begun. We are in the process of consulting with local authorities and relevant stakeholders on the design and delivery of this package and will update the House in due course.
Baroness Casey is leading the National Audit in her role as the Government's lead Non-Executive Director. She is therefore not receiving additional remuneration for the Audit.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025, to Question 29607, on Offences against Children: Reviews, what remuneration is being given to Baroness Case of Blackstock for leading the review; and whether this remuneration is in addition to her remuneration as the Government’s lead Non-Executive Director.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 16 January 2025, the Home Secretary announced a funding package to deliver stronger national support for locally-led work on tackling group-based child sexual exploitation. This includes supporting Oldham Council who have confirmed work to undertake a local inquiry that has already begun. We are in the process of consulting with local authorities and relevant stakeholders on the design and delivery of this package and will update the House in due course.
Baroness Casey is leading the National Audit in her role as the Government's lead Non-Executive Director. She is therefore not receiving additional remuneration for the Audit.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22427 on Offences against Children, whether her Department holds information on how many deportations to Pakistan for convictions related to child grooming failed.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 22424 on Offences Against Children: Prosecutions, whether her Department holds information on whether family members (a) had knowledge of or (b) facilitated the crimes of people prosecuted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025, to Question 21677 on Offences against Children, what funding is being made available to support council-led local inquiries.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In January, the Home Secretary announced to Parliament a raft of measures and an investment of £10 million that will allow us to protect more victims and survivors and drive change at a local level.
This includes appointing Baroness Louise Casey to oversee an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.
We will provide stronger support for local areas which are interested in undertaking work to better understand local grooming gang issues and improve their own local responses going forward. £5 million has been made available to support this work.
Apr. 24 2025
Source Page: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tablesFound: offences Possession of weapons offences 11 Cruelty to and neglect of children Violence against the
Correspondence Feb. 27 2025
Committee: Home Affairs Committee (Department: Home Office)Found: Spiking is currently illegal and can be prosecuted under a range of criminal offences depending on the