Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people with a county lines flag in the National Referral Mechanism system (a) go on to commit a serious criminal offence and (b) are subsequently charged with an offence.

In 2020, 1,544 referrals were flagged as county lines referrals, accounting for 15% of referrals received and an increase of 31% from 2019. The majority (81%; 1,247) of these referrals were for male children. Although the Home Office does hold data on potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) with a county lines flag, this is not currently linked to data on offences/ offenders.

The UK is committed to ensuring victims of modern slavery are identified quickly and provided with the support they require to start to rebuild their lives. More potential victims are being identified and protected than ever before. NRM referrals more than doubled between 2017 and 2020 from 5,135 to 10,613. There is more information on referrals available at: Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, end of year summary 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

This Government is determined to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and have a devastating impact on our communities. Since November 2019, through our County Lines Programme, police have closed more than 1,500 lines, made over 7,400 arrests and engaged with more than 4,000 people through safeguarding interventions.

Given the increase in county lines activity, the Home Office has significantly increased investment in specialist support for county lines victims this year. This financial year we are investing up to £1m to provide specialist support to under 25s from London, the West Midlands and Merseyside who are criminally exploited through county lines, to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement.

In addition, this financial year we are continuing to fund Missing People’s SafeCall service. This national service provides specialist advice and support to young people and a range of support options to their parents/carers who are affected by county lines exploitation.