Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the evaluation of the Kent County Lines pilot project undertaken by JH Consulting.

The evaluation of St Giles Trust’s County Lines pilot project in Kent highlighted the important role of non-statutory partners in supporting those involved in county lines, and in particular, the importance of a consistent trusted adult in a young person’s life.

The Serious Violence Strategy sets out the Government’s response to violent crime, including county lines and places a new emphasis on early intervention including the Early Intervention Youth Fund (EIYF). On 10 November the Home Secretary announced that the EIYF will provide £17.7m over two years and which will support 29 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, a number of which specifically work with children and young people at risk of criminal exploitation and county lines.

The Trusted Relationship Fund is also another important initiative helping to foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines.