Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many charges have been brought against alleged perpetrators under the age of 18 for (a) rape and (b) serious sexual offences in each of the last five years (i) nationally and (ii) by police force area.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of rape and sexual offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, and their investigative outcomes, including the number of charge/summons. This information is published by Police Force Area on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Home Office does not hold information on perpetrators under the age of 18. Statistics on convictions in England and Wales, including rape and sexual offences by perpetrator age, are published by the Ministry of Justice, in the release Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly

Scotland have a different method of recording sexual offences to England and Wales but information on crimes and offences recorded by the police, including clear ups of crimes, can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2022-23/

Information on crimes and offences recorded by the police in Northern Ireland, including investigative outcomes, can be accessed here:

https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics