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Found: We are legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to allow the courts to make SPOs on conviction or

Found: Police reform will generally look at the Crime and Policing Bill, which we were just discussing.

Found: concerns you have around the new offence of concealing identity at a designated protest in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Q13 Lord Russell of Liverpool: During the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently going through

Found: Government has introduced new legislation through the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict protests at

Found: Government has introduced new legislation through the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict protests at

Found: Government has introduced new legislation through the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict protests at

Found: Government has introduced new legislation through the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict protests at

Found: We will legislate in the Crime and Policing Bill to close the gap on illegal content for everybody—adults

Found: On Sam Carling’s specific example, I am aware that the provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill differ

Found: The incoming duty to report child sexual abuse which will be included in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Correspondence from Lord Hanson relating to the Crime and Policing Bill, Independent Child Exploitation

Found: Therefore, we have sought permissive powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to be able to make sure

Found: ) were introduced as one of eight new counter-terrorism related measures included in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Our Crime and Policing Bill will give new, stronger powers to the police, local authorities and other

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current processes for handling incidents involving harassment, alarm or distress motivated by homophobia where relevant evidence cannot be admitted or relied upon in court; and what steps she is taking to ensure that such cases are still appropriately investigated and that victims receive adequate protection and support.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

On the 14th February, the government tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to extend existing aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to ensure equal protection across the protected characteristics of race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity and sex.

The police are operationally independent and responsible for investigating alleged offences, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to build cases that meet the evidential and public interest tests. A range of offences may apply depending on the circumstances, including under the Public Order Act 1986 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and where hostility based on sexual orientation is proven, courts may apply statutory sentencing uplifts.

Where particular evidence cannot be admitted or relied upon in court, the police are expected to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry using admissible material, and to seek early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service where appropriate. Where the evidential threshold for a charge is not met, the police can still take steps to protect victims, including the use of bail conditions and other protective measures where the relevant legal tests are satisfied.

Victims of hate crime are entitled to support under the Victims’ Code, including being kept informed of progress and signposted to appropriate services. The Government continues to fund local and national victim support services and works closely with policing partners, the Crown Prosecution Service and the College of Policing to promote consistent, evidence-led responses to hate-motivated incidents so that victims are protected and offenders are brought to justice wherever possible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department is taking to tackle covert filming in public spaces.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Everyone deserves to feel safe both in public and online. In addition to existing offences for the sharing of intimate images, we have introduced offences to the Crime and Policing Bill of taking an intimate image and installing equipment with the intent to take intimate images, without consent or reasonable belief of consent. These offences cover images which show the victim in an intimate state, and would capture some content on a public street, such as photographs taken up clothing that show underwear or nudity.

We have also provided funding to intensify Project Vigilant across police forces to keep women safe in public spaces. Project Vigilant involves specially trained plain clothed officers observing individuals in public, mostly in the night-time economy, to identify those exhibiting predatory behaviours. Uniformed officers are then called in to disrupt their behaviour, which could include filming women without their consent.

From 1 April, measures under the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will come into force. Depending on the facts of the case, this could include where the intent of covert filming is to cause harassment, alarm or distress because of the victim’s sex.

To go further, in Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls we committed to launching a call for evidence on online misogynistic image-based abuse, and the extent to which there are new behaviours which may not be captured by existing criminal offences. This will allow us to consider whether any further change is needed to future proof the law.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of bans on e-scooters and e-bikes riding in pedestrian areas.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police have a suite of powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Police Reform Act 2002 to seize e-scooters and e‑bikes being used illegally or antisocially, including ‑for offences such as riding on the pavement and in pedestrian areas.

We are strengthening enforcement through the Crime and Policing Bill, by removing the requirement for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles used antisocially. We have also consulted on measures to allow police to dispose of seized vehicles, including e-scooters and e-bikes, more quickly, helping to tackle dangerous and anti-social behaviour impacting communities.

Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for Chief Officers, who decide how to deploy resources in line with local policing priorities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help prevent bicycle theft in Twickenham constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities from local forces so they can focus on tackling issues of key concern to communities, such as dealing with bike theft. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses.

In addition, we are also providing the police with new powers to support their response. The Crime and Policing Bill, now at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, will ensure that Officers can enter and search premises where stolen items – such as GPS-tracked bicycles – are reasonably believed to have been stolen and located, and where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a court warrant. This will significantly enhance the ability of the police to act swiftly and effectively in recovering stolen property.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions has she had with Ofcom and the Information Commissioner's Office on the adequacy of protections relating to (a) generative AI and (b) chatbots in the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Following public consultation, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued and updated guidance on how data protection law applies to generative AI. The Government supports the ICO’s role in providing guidance to organisations to help their compliance.

While some AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act, this Government is determined to close loopholes and has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to protect users from illegal content on chatbots.

The Department will continue to meet regularly with Ofcom, the ICO and industry, to address emerging risks and uphold strong online safety protections.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Home Office on the number of children in care going missing due to child exploitation.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.

The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.

The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.

The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.

Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is her Department taking to help reduce the number of children in care that go missing.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.

The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.

The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.

The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.

Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has her Department made of the number of children in care that have gone missing annually since 2015.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.

The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.

The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.

The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.

Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department on trends in the level of children going missing in care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.

The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.

The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.

The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.

Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the service provider Missing to address the number of children going missing in care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.

The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.

The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.

The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.

Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national register for people found guilty of exploiting children for criminal activity.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.

CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.

As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.

In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.

Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent children from being exploited by drug gangs in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the UK.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.

CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.

As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.

In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.

Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support children and families who have been victims of child exploitation by organised crime.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.

CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.

As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.

In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.

Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the sale of (a) knives, (b) swords, and (c) battle axes on third-party online selling platforms.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has been strengthening controls on the online sales of bladed articles, including knives, swords and axes. We commissioned Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, to conduct a review into the online sale and delivery of knives. The review was published on 19 February 2025 and made a number of recommendations.

We are taking forward the most pressing recommendations in the report under “Ronan’s Law” a range of measures in the Crime and Policing Bill which will include stricter rules for online sellers of knives, including third party platforms, incorporating strengthening age verification controls and checks through a two-stage checks at the point of purchase and on delivery.

We have introduced new legislation in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide the police with the power to require social media, marketplace, and search services to take down illegal knife and offensive weapon content. Failure to remove this material could result in both the company and a designated senior executive facing significant penalties. Further measures in the Bill, include increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives and introduce a duty on sellers to report online bulk sales of knives.

We are also looking to go further, In December last year we launched a consultation on plans to introduce a licensing scheme for those who sell knives or other bladed articles, including importers, retailers and private sellers, making them subject to strict regulations and conditions. The consultation closed on 24 February, and we are currently analysing the responses and will provide a response in due course.

Effective law enforcement is also very important. We are therefore supporting the creation of a new police unit, the National Knife Crime Centre to provide a national capability tackling the unlawful sale and marketing of knives and weapons online and links to wider criminality. In 2026/27 we are providing the Centre with £1.75m of funding for its activities.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support criminal prosecution of fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to support councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers.

Defra has published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), which will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.

The NFTPG chaired by Defra has developed various practical tools including guides on how councils and others can present robust cases to court, set up and run effective local partnerships to tackle fly-tipping and raise awareness of the household and business waste duty of care. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the review of pornography law will include differences between online and offline regulation in relation to children’s access to sexually explicit material.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's review of the criminal law relating to pornography will consider the adequacy of existing age-verification and age-assurance measures in preventing children from accessing online pornography.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish a review of the criminal law relating to pornography.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, recommendation 24 of Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Ministry of Justice will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. This will involve reviewing the effectiveness of existing legislation which criminalises the possession and publication of illegal pornographic material both online and offline. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

As the review is focused on the criminal law set out above, it will not appraise the adequacy of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 26 February (HL14639), how many fixed penalty notices have been issued to cyclists and scooter riders for (1) jumping red lights, and (2) riding on pavements, in England in the past 12 months; and whether they have plans to introduce legislation to reduce those practices.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect or hold specific data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued to cyclists or scooter riders.

The Home Office’s annual publication Police Powers and Procedures: Roads Policing - the most recent edition of which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-roads-policing-to-december-2023 - provides statistics on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences, all of which apply exclusively to motor-vehicle drivers. Cyclists are therefore excluded from the scope of the published figures.

It is an offence for a cyclist to jump a red light and to cycle on a pavement, and the Government is determined to go further to make our streets safer for pedestrians by introducing new cycling offences through the Crime and Policing Bill, which will tackle instances where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cyclists, ensuring parity of enforcement powers against dangerous behaviour on our roads, for all road users.

The Crime and Policing Bill will also give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving e-scooters, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizure. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to give traffic wardens powers to impose fines and penalties and the ability to confiscate illegally used and operated e-scooters and e-bikes while they are parked.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles, which is likely to include e-scooters, when parliamentary time allows. Any regulations will be publicly consulted on before they come into force.

Local authorities employ civil enforcement officers and already have the powers in some circumstances to remove and dispose of abandoned, obstructively or dangerously parked e-scooters and e-cycles.

The police have responsibility for enforcement of illegal use, and the Crime and Policing Bill introduced in 2026 will give the police stronger powers to stop and seize vehicles being used illegally without issuing a warning.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to help prevent household waste fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is taking action to prevent household waste being fly-tipped by supporting local authorities to make good use of their enforcement powers.

Local authorities have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment.

Instead of prosecuting, local authorities can choose to issue a fixed penalty notice (on-the-spot fine) of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers and £600 to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier.

Following a review of local authorities’ powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have recently published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. This will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. An action that could lead to the local authority selling or crushing the vehicle.

We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties such as local councils, the Environment Agency, National Farmers Union and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on the disposal of seized off-road electric motorbikes.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Decisions on the methods of disposal of seized vehicles are operational matters for individual police forces, or the recovery bodies acting on their behalf, to determine.

The police have powers under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, including off-road electric motorbikes. The Government intends, though the Crime and Policing Bill, to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles being used anti-socially with officers no longer required to issue a section 59 warning before seizure can occur.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the forthcoming review of pornography regulation will consider any inconsistencies between online and offline regulation in restricting children’s access to sexually explicit material.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, one of the recommendations from Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography, namely recommendation 24 which says:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Government will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look at the criminal law in this area holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

The review will be conducted by the Ministry of Justice. As the review is focused on the criminal law on pornography, it will not appraise the effectiveness of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation, which are outside of the scope of the criminal legislation the Ministry of Justice will be reviewing. A Joint Team has been set up, across the Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to rigorously examine the evidence to address the issues from the Pornography Review. It will examine the evidence to inform the Government’s approach to pornography policy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the forthcoming review of the criminal law relating to pornography will assess the effectiveness of current a) age-verification and b) age-assurance measures in preventing children from accessing online pornography.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, one of the recommendations from Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography, namely recommendation 24 which says:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Government will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look at the criminal law in this area holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

The review will be conducted by the Ministry of Justice. As the review is focused on the criminal law on pornography, it will not appraise the effectiveness of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation, which are outside of the scope of the criminal legislation the Ministry of Justice will be reviewing. A Joint Team has been set up, across the Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to rigorously examine the evidence to address the issues from the Pornography Review. It will examine the evidence to inform the Government’s approach to pornography policy.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department expects to publish the review of pornography regulation announced in the House of Lords on 10 December 2025.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 9 December 2025, during the House of Lords Committee Stage debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government announced that it would accept, in part, one of the recommendations from Baroness Bertin’s Independent Review on Pornography, namely recommendation 24 which says:

‘The current criminal justice response is ineffective in tackling illegal pornography online. Government should conduct its own legislative review of this regime to ensure that legislation and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance is fit-for-purpose in tackling illegal pornography in the online world.’

The Government will be reviewing the criminal law relating to pornography, which will give an opportunity to look at the criminal law in this area holistically and consider whether it is fit for purpose in an ever-developing online world. We have accepted in part because the Government cannot accept the recommendation to review CPS guidance. As the CPS is independent, whether to conduct a review of guidance would be a matter for them to decide.

The review will be conducted by the Ministry of Justice. As the review is focused on the criminal law on pornography, it will not appraise the effectiveness of age-verification, age-assurance methods or regulation, which are outside of the scope of the criminal legislation the Ministry of Justice will be reviewing. A Joint Team has been set up, across the Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to rigorously examine the evidence to address the issues from the Pornography Review. It will examine the evidence to inform the Government’s approach to pornography policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what non-privileged advice or guidance they have given to public bodies on whether a public body may exercise a legal power that is subject to a declaration of incompatibility under the Human Rights Act 1998, both specifically with reference to the High Court declaration of incompatibility directed to sections 60C(3), 61(4ZA)(a), 62(1A)(a) and 62B(2) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, made in May 2024, and more widely.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In May 2024 the High Court ruled that the twelve month no-return period in Part 5 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in relation to unauthorised encampments was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, due to the limited availability of authorised transit sites.

A government amendment has been tabled to the Crime and Policing Bill to reduce the period during which an individual who has been directed to leave an unauthorised encampment must not return, from twelve months to three months. This applies to sections 60C, 61, 62, 62B and 62C of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. This will rectify the incompatibility with Convention rights.

The Home Office has not provided advice to public bodies on whether they may exercise these legal powers in light of the High Court ruling. Police forces are operationally independent of government and any enforcement action against encampments is an operational matter for the police.

Statutory guidance issued by the Home Secretary under section 62F of the 1994 Act is published here: Statutory Guidance for Police on Unauthorised Encampments

The guidance will be updated when the Crime and Policing Bill receives Royal Assent.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of child criminal exploitation on the number of missing children cases; and what steps her Department is taking to improve early intervention.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring a robust multiagency response to missing people, including children, and safeguarding them from harm. We recognise that missing episodes, however brief, can often be a red flag for a number of harms including child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

We are determined to work together across government, including with the police and other safeguarding partners, to improve the whole system response to missing individuals and their families. We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.

As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also funding the Children’s Society to deliver the Prevention Programme to work with professionals within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, to raise awareness and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation

Each missing child case represents both a vulnerable young person at risk and a family in crisis, often with complex underlying causes that need to be understood and addressed. We are working to support the NPCC and its rollout of its ‘Children who go Missing from Care’ Framework as another vital tool when tackling head-on the underlying vulnerabilities in children that often lead to missing episodes and further strengthening frontline response

The Home Office does not hold information on the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing, given the complexities and care different cases require. Where there is a case of a child going missing internationally, the police are able to work with international partners to investigate, including where cases are raised under the Hague Convention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place between UK police forces and international partners to assist in locating missing children who may have been taken abroad.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring a robust multiagency response to missing people, including children, and safeguarding them from harm. We recognise that missing episodes, however brief, can often be a red flag for a number of harms including child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

We are determined to work together across government, including with the police and other safeguarding partners, to improve the whole system response to missing individuals and their families. We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.

As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also funding the Children’s Society to deliver the Prevention Programme to work with professionals within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, to raise awareness and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation

Each missing child case represents both a vulnerable young person at risk and a family in crisis, often with complex underlying causes that need to be understood and addressed. We are working to support the NPCC and its rollout of its ‘Children who go Missing from Care’ Framework as another vital tool when tackling head-on the underlying vulnerabilities in children that often lead to missing episodes and further strengthening frontline response

The Home Office does not hold information on the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing, given the complexities and care different cases require. Where there is a case of a child going missing internationally, the police are able to work with international partners to investigate, including where cases are raised under the Hague Convention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring a robust multiagency response to missing people, including children, and safeguarding them from harm. We recognise that missing episodes, however brief, can often be a red flag for a number of harms including child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.

We are determined to work together across government, including with the police and other safeguarding partners, to improve the whole system response to missing individuals and their families. We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.

As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also funding the Children’s Society to deliver the Prevention Programme to work with professionals within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, to raise awareness and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation

Each missing child case represents both a vulnerable young person at risk and a family in crisis, often with complex underlying causes that need to be understood and addressed. We are working to support the NPCC and its rollout of its ‘Children who go Missing from Care’ Framework as another vital tool when tackling head-on the underlying vulnerabilities in children that often lead to missing episodes and further strengthening frontline response

The Home Office does not hold information on the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing, given the complexities and care different cases require. Where there is a case of a child going missing internationally, the police are able to work with international partners to investigate, including where cases are raised under the Hague Convention.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase levels of enforcement action against individuals responsible for fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local authorities have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment.

We encourage and support councils to make good use of their enforcement powers. For example, we are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

Following a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have issued best practice guidance on the website on the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. This will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers and action that could lead to selling or destroying the vehicle.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on enforcement against flytipping in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State has not had recent direct discussions with local authorities in Slough or Berkshire on fly-tipping enforcement.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties such as local councils, the Environment Agency, National Farmers Union and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

We continue to encourage and support councils to make good use of their enforcement powers. For example, we are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

Additionally, following a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have issued best practice guidance on the website on the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. This will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers and action that could lead to selling or destroying the vehicle.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle flytipping in Slough constituency.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State has not had recent direct discussions with local authorities in Slough or Berkshire on fly-tipping enforcement.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties such as local councils, the Environment Agency, National Farmers Union and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

We continue to encourage and support councils to make good use of their enforcement powers. For example, we are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

Additionally, following a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have issued best practice guidance on the website on the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group. This will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers and action that could lead to selling or destroying the vehicle.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle regional inconsistencies in support services for child criminal exploitation.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Children and young people, particularly those exploited by county lines gangs, are often used to carry out criminal activity. That is why the Government is introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation and new civil preventative orders to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need. Where a victim of child criminal exploitation also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may retain access to the statutory defence contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Impact assessments for the Crime and Policing Bill are published on gov.uk here Crime and Policing Bill 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.

Through the Government’s County Lines Programme, we are targeting violent and exploitative drug dealing gangs to pursue violent line holders and safeguard vulnerable individuals, including women and girls. Through the Programme, we are funding Catch22’s specialist support service for victims of county lines exploitation. The service includes dedicated support for women and girls exploited through county lines to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit. It also conducts targeted awareness raising and training to professionals on the needs and experiences of young women and girls involved in county lines.

We are working across Government to drive a coordinated response to tackling the criminal exploitation of children. We will issue statutory guidance to police alongside non-statutory guidance for practitioners to support implementation of the new offences and improve identification of victims of child criminal exploitation. Our statutory and non-statutory guidance will highlight the importance of multi-agency working to support children and raise awareness and understanding of child criminal exploitation with all practitioners.

The Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service provides advocacy and support to child victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism. In September 2025, we launched the invitation-to-tender for the national contract, which will expand the service coverage from the current two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales, to provide support to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that national strategies on child criminal exploitation include gender-specific approaches for girls and young women.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Children and young people, particularly those exploited by county lines gangs, are often used to carry out criminal activity. That is why the Government is introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation and new civil preventative orders to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need. Where a victim of child criminal exploitation also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may retain access to the statutory defence contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Impact assessments for the Crime and Policing Bill are published on gov.uk here Crime and Policing Bill 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.

Through the Government’s County Lines Programme, we are targeting violent and exploitative drug dealing gangs to pursue violent line holders and safeguard vulnerable individuals, including women and girls. Through the Programme, we are funding Catch22’s specialist support service for victims of county lines exploitation. The service includes dedicated support for women and girls exploited through county lines to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit. It also conducts targeted awareness raising and training to professionals on the needs and experiences of young women and girls involved in county lines.

We are working across Government to drive a coordinated response to tackling the criminal exploitation of children. We will issue statutory guidance to police alongside non-statutory guidance for practitioners to support implementation of the new offences and improve identification of victims of child criminal exploitation. Our statutory and non-statutory guidance will highlight the importance of multi-agency working to support children and raise awareness and understanding of child criminal exploitation with all practitioners.

The Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service provides advocacy and support to child victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism. In September 2025, we launched the invitation-to-tender for the national contract, which will expand the service coverage from the current two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales, to provide support to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the criminalisation of children who are victims of exploitation.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Children and young people, particularly those exploited by county lines gangs, are often used to carry out criminal activity. That is why the Government is introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation and new civil preventative orders to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need. Where a victim of child criminal exploitation also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may retain access to the statutory defence contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Impact assessments for the Crime and Policing Bill are published on gov.uk here Crime and Policing Bill 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.

Through the Government’s County Lines Programme, we are targeting violent and exploitative drug dealing gangs to pursue violent line holders and safeguard vulnerable individuals, including women and girls. Through the Programme, we are funding Catch22’s specialist support service for victims of county lines exploitation. The service includes dedicated support for women and girls exploited through county lines to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit. It also conducts targeted awareness raising and training to professionals on the needs and experiences of young women and girls involved in county lines.

We are working across Government to drive a coordinated response to tackling the criminal exploitation of children. We will issue statutory guidance to police alongside non-statutory guidance for practitioners to support implementation of the new offences and improve identification of victims of child criminal exploitation. Our statutory and non-statutory guidance will highlight the importance of multi-agency working to support children and raise awareness and understanding of child criminal exploitation with all practitioners.

The Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service provides advocacy and support to child victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism. In September 2025, we launched the invitation-to-tender for the national contract, which will expand the service coverage from the current two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales, to provide support to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help improve cross-departmental coordination on child criminal exploitation.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Children and young people, particularly those exploited by county lines gangs, are often used to carry out criminal activity. That is why the Government is introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation and new civil preventative orders to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need. Where a victim of child criminal exploitation also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may retain access to the statutory defence contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Impact assessments for the Crime and Policing Bill are published on gov.uk here Crime and Policing Bill 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.

Through the Government’s County Lines Programme, we are targeting violent and exploitative drug dealing gangs to pursue violent line holders and safeguard vulnerable individuals, including women and girls. Through the Programme, we are funding Catch22’s specialist support service for victims of county lines exploitation. The service includes dedicated support for women and girls exploited through county lines to help prevent exploitation or support their safe exit. It also conducts targeted awareness raising and training to professionals on the needs and experiences of young women and girls involved in county lines.

We are working across Government to drive a coordinated response to tackling the criminal exploitation of children. We will issue statutory guidance to police alongside non-statutory guidance for practitioners to support implementation of the new offences and improve identification of victims of child criminal exploitation. Our statutory and non-statutory guidance will highlight the importance of multi-agency working to support children and raise awareness and understanding of child criminal exploitation with all practitioners.

The Government-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service provides advocacy and support to child victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism. In September 2025, we launched the invitation-to-tender for the national contract, which will expand the service coverage from the current two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales, to provide support to all child victims referred into the NRM in England and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals convicted of grooming offences have been subject to any orders or actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The use of most investigatory Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) powers is not tracked by the Home Office on a case-by-case basis. Confiscation orders are tracked by the Joint Asset Recovery Database, although it does not record grooming offences separately. However, 114 confiscation orders have been issued in human trafficking cases from 2019 to 2025, with a total value in excess of £5.2 million.

The Crime and Policing Bill will add child criminal exploitation to the POCA Schedule 2 offences that a court must consider when determining whether a defendant has a criminal lifestyle and when calculating the defendant’s criminal benefit. This is alongside the people trafficking, prostitution, and child sex offences already included in Schedule 2. In this way, POCA ensures the courts take a broad view of the criminal benefit that has accrued from these heinous offences when setting the level of confiscation orders.

The figures provided above are a subset of the asset recovery statistics Annex A, referring to assets restrained and recovered from modern slavery offences. Please refer to the User guide to Asset recovery statistics - GOV.UK for further information on how to use these statistics

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential risk of the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems on children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government takes the safety of children extremely seriously. We recognise the potential risks that AI systems pose, and that is why strong protections already apply. Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope AI services must assess the risk of harm to users from illegal content on their services and implement measures to manage and mitigate this risk. Where services are likely to be accessed by children, they will be required to take action to protect them from harmful content. In‑scope AI services must assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content, including AI‑generated material.

Government has been clear that it will continue to take further action where required. We have introduced new offences in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. Additionally, the Secretary of State has confirmed in Parliament that the government is exploring how emerging services, such as AI chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act and what further measures may be required.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK's artificial intelligence regulation.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities.

This is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute which has deepened our understanding of the critical security risks posed by frontier.

The Government will act where evidence shows further measures are needed. New offences in the Crime and Policing Bill will criminalise AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. The Secretary of State has also confirmed that the Government is examining how emerging AI services, such as chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act, and what further measures may be required. The Government remains committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to introduce a statutory definition of honour-based abuse; what progress she has made on introducing such a definition; and if she will publish a timetable for bringing forward necessary legislation and statutory guidance.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The VAWG Strategy, published on 18 December, set out clear action to tackle ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) including legislating to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance and an accompanying statutory definition of HBA. The Government will introduce this statutory definition as an amendment in the Crime and Policing Bill at Report Stage in the House of Lords.

The Government has engaged extensively with specialist sector charities, statutory safeguarding professionals, and other government departments in the development of this definition and will do the same as we develop the statutory guidance which we will publish as soon as possible.

Found: similar amendments during committee stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: government has already taken the first steps toward these reforms with a recent amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: That is why the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new offence to restrict protests outside the homes

Found: This month, an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill also created a new offence criminalising so‑called

Found: The government has tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to establish the register today.

Found: legal definition of ‘honour’-based abuse has been brought into the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill

Found: provided an update to Parliament on the progress of these measures, which included: • The Crime and Policing Bill

Found: This will be matched by stronger police powers to tackle ASB via the Crime and Policing Bill – including

Found: follow the same approach of providing a regulation-making power in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: intimate image abuse and cyberflashing priority offences and introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: intimate image abuse and cyberflashing priority offences and introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: government has already taken the first steps toward these reforms with a recent amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: provided an update to Parliament on the progress of these measures, which included: • The Crime and Policing Bill

Found: food delivery riders using e-bikes, as discussed during the Report stage (third day) of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: dated 09/03/2026 from Lord Katz to Baroness Brinton regarding a question raised during the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Letter dated 10/03/2026 from Lord Katz to Baroness Brinton regarding the Crime and Policing Bill report

Found: Paddington regarding abortion investigations data, following up questions raised during the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Paddington regarding abortion investigations data, following up questions raised during the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Crime and Policing Bill: I.

Found: Crime and Policing Bill: I.

Found: Crime and Policing Bill: I.

Found: Crime and Policing Bill: I.

Found: Letter dated 23/02/2026 from Lord Hanson of Flint to Lord Murphy of Torfaen regarding the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Lord Hanson of Flint to Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer regarding issues raised in the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: details of a final tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: details of a final tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: details of a final tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: details of a final tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: regarding the first tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: regarding the first tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: regarding the first tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: regarding the first tranche of Government amendments tabled for Lords Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Report on the third supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum for the Crime and Policing Bill (UK

Found: • PS are monitoring the Crime and Policing Bill as it goes through the Parliamentary process, as

Found: The LCM was agreed to in the Chamber on 26 June 2025. 69 • The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill

Found: section 61 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 - they have introduced draft provisions within the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill includes a new offence of child criminal exploitation and

Found: The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill includes a new offence of child criminal exploitation and

Found: OFFICIAL • PS are monitoring the Crime and Policing Bill as it goes through the Parliamentary

Found: IICSA Rec 13: Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in certain circumstances • Crime and Policing Bill

Found: • PS are monitoring the Crime and Policing Bill as it goes through the Parliamentary process, as

Found: the development within the UK Government that led to the current proposals now part of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Item 6: Update on Child Criminal Exploitation and UK Government Crime and Policing Bill 6.

Found: Item 6: Update on Child Criminal Exploitation and UK Government Crime and Policing Bill 6.

Found: Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse - Hansard - UK Parliament Note reference to the UKG Crime and Policing Bill

Found: We continue to engage with them on the UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, including work to extend

Found: the development within the UK Government that led to the current proposals now part of the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Scottish Government Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill 24 July 2025 Partial consent recommended Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Trefnydd and Chief Whip: Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (Memorandum No. 3) on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: SeneddLJC@senedd.wales senedd.wales/SeneddLJC 0300 200 6565 9 March 2026 Dear Jane Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Welsh Government’s Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (Memorandum No. 2) on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: to consider and report on the Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (No.3) on the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: 1 SUPPLEMENTARY LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM (MEMORANDUM NO 3) CRIME AND POLICING BILL

Found: SeneddLJC@senedd.wales senedd.wales/SeneddLJC 0300 200 6565 9 March 2026 Dear Jane Crime and Policing Bill

Found: Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (irregular migration), the Safer Streets Mission and the Crime and Policing Bill

Found: We are collaborating within Wales, and we are also engaging the UK Government on its Crime and Policing Bill