Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Church of England on the application of the statutory duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 to disclosures made in religious confessionals.
Answered by Natalie Fleet
The Home Office engages regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including faith organisations, on the implementation of measures to tackle child sexual abuse. Ministers and officials have had discussions on mandatory reporting with representatives of the Church of England as part of this wider engagement.
The Government is clear that compliance with the new statutory duty to report child sexual abuse is a vital step in changing cultures and ensuring that concerns are identified and acted upon. We will continue to engage with faith groups and other stakeholders to support effective implementation of the new duty, including through the development and publication of statutory guidance.
Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support alleged victims of modern slavery in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.
Answered by Natalie Fleet
The serious events in Crewe are part of an ongoing police investigation. It is for first responder organisations to refer any victims to support services as appropriate.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. First Responders are made up of statutory and non-statutory organisations, including the police, Local Authorities, Border Force and specific NGOs. National referral mechanism guidance: adult (England and Wales) - GOV.UK
They are trained by their respective organisations to identify indicators of modern slavery and refer potential victims into the NRM for their cases to be considered by the appropriate Competent Authority. Once referred into the NRM, individuals have the option to access specialist Government support.
Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse, introduced in the Crime and Policing Act, will come into effect.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect the requirement to be commenced no earlier than 12 months following the date of Royal Assent to the Crime and Policing Act.
Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered the merits of allowing police to issue Community Protection Warnings and Notices to 10-16 year-olds.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Breach of a CPN is a criminal offence. Lowering the age that someone can receive a CPN from 16 to 10 years old risks putting young people into the criminal justice system.
While early and informal prevention-based approaches should generally be the first step where ASB is being perpetrated by a child, for the most serious cases of child-perpetrated anti-social behaviour, we already have powers available. The Civil Injunction is available for children from 10-18 and enables youth courts to make behavioural conditions to prevent ASB. It is for the youth court to determine if, on the balance of probabilities, the legal test is met, and it is just and convenient in the circumstances to grant a Youth Injunction.