Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Home Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts
Monday 6th February 2012

(12 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Damian Green Portrait Damian Green
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I commend the hon. Gentleman’s ingenuity in putting that question. As he will recognise, the vast majority of trafficking comes from outside the European Union, so his question, though ingenious, is not strictly relevant.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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What specific support can be given to local authorities with children’s services responsibilities that have major ports, such as Gatwick airport in West Sussex, within their boundaries, particularly with respect to supporting 16 to 18-year-olds who are so often those who go missing?

Damian Green Portrait Damian Green
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My hon. Friend makes a good point in that local authorities that have major ports within them tend, obviously, to face bigger problems with trafficked children but also tend to develop greater expertise as well. That is why bodies like CEOP and the United Kingdom Border Agency do their best to spread best practice around the country so that every local authority can know that it is performing as well as possible in this important area—