Child Sexual Exploitation Victims: Criminal Records Debate

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Department: Home Office

Child Sexual Exploitation Victims: Criminal Records

Kevin Foster Excerpts
Tuesday 19th March 2019

(5 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Victoria Atkins Portrait Victoria Atkins
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. As I have said, we are investing in innovative projects through the police transformation fund, which will help. The point of the child house is that it brings together all the agencies that may be able to help to look after a child. There is also a great deal of work going on in policing to ensure that children are intervened on before harm happens, and this includes helping to fund regional organised crime units to increase the undercover online capability, which we know is being used to target the online grooming of children.

Kevin Foster Portrait Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)
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The victims of child sexual exploitation have the ability to choose taken away from them in so many aspects of their lives, including with regard to behaviour that can potentially lead to them picking up offences. Does the Minister agree that it is important to promote the ways in which such situations can currently be reviewed, pending the introduction of a system that could help take away the lifetime legacy of offences that those victims did not really have freedom of choice about committing?

Victoria Atkins Portrait Victoria Atkins
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My hon. Friend puts it most eloquently. This is, of course, something that we will be very much taking into account as we look at the judgment of the Supreme Court and any other ongoing judgments as well.