Crime: Support for Children and Young People

Debate between Lord Keen of Elie and Baroness Benjamin

Wednesday 5th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and declare an interest as vice-president of Barnardo’s and an ambassador of Embrace Child Victims of Crime.

[The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Keen of Elie) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government’s Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, outlined their commitment to support children and young people traumatised by crime. We are focused on the most vulnerable young victims of crime, ring-fencing funding for supporting victims of child sexual abuse, and revising the victims’ code with updated guidance for children, young people and their families, to help them better understand their rights, including how to access the services and the support that they need to cope and to recover.

[Baroness Benjamin]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. Embrace Child Victims of Crime supports more than 3,000 children each year, and that figure is rising. More and more children and young people are witnessing crime, especially knife crime and domestic abuse, or know of someone involved in some sort of violent abuse. This affects their mental health and will do for the rest of their life, leading to untold damage and a cost to the public purse. It is vital that they get early support, and trauma-focused behavioural therapy is proven to make a difference. So will the Government support charities such as Embrace and Barnardo’s to help these vulnerable children, and will they consider them in the upcoming domestic abuse Bill?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

My Lords, we fully understand the need to support young people and children who are not only the victims of crime but are traumatised by witnessing it. The noble Baroness made particular reference to cases of domestic abuse. Further to the Victims Strategy, we have increased funding to support children who are witnesses of domestic abuse, and we are taking further steps in the context of our Victims Strategy to address these issues. Over and above that, we have the Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance, which applies to all schools and colleges.