Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the number of girls being sexually exploited in the county lines drugs trade.

The latest threat assessment on county lines was published by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in January 2019. This sets out that while criminal exploitation is the most common exploitation type within county lines, victims are sometimes subjected to sexual exploitation and these victims are largely female. The assessment also points out the likelihood that females are underrepresented as both victims and perpetrators of county lines criminality.

Work is ongoing to protect those who are exploited and target county lines offenders. The Home Office has provided £3.6m to establish the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) to enhance our cross border intelligence and activity on county lines and to better safeguard and protect victims of county lines. NCLCC has so far carried out three separate weeks of operational intensification leading to over 1600 arrests and over 2100 individuals engaged with for safeguarding.

In addition, the Government provides a range of support for county lines victims including; funding Young People’s Advocates in Birmingham, Manchester and London to work directly with gang-affected women and girls, especially if they have been victims, or are at risk, of sexual violence by gangs including county lines; funding through the Trusted Relationships fund of £13 million over two years to help foster relationships between frontline professionals and young people at risk of exploitation including county lines; and we have provided funding through the £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund over two years for six projects which will specifically address those at risk of involvement in county lines and criminal exploitation.