Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will issue guidance on the age threshold at which and for what period leaving one or more children alone or in charge of another child at home is an advisory issue, a child protection issue or a criminal offence.

The law is clear that any adult who has responsibility for any child or young person under 16 can be prosecuted for neglect if they leave a child unsupervised “in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health” (Section 1 Children and Young Persons Act 1933).

There are no plans for the Department for Education to issue guidance. The choice to leave children home alone is left to the parents to decide using their own judgement. The NSPCC produce guidance on this, which sets out the law and when it would become a child protection issue or a criminal offence to leave a child at home alone. The guidance can be found online at:

www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/advice-and-info/home-alone-guide-keeping-child-safe.pdf