Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the publication entitled, County lines drugs supply, vulnerability and harm 2018, published in January 2019 by the National Crime Agency, how many of the 1000 lines are (a) under active investigation and (b) under active investigation with an investigative focus on identifying and charging individuals involved in conspiracy to commit offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

We do not hold data on the number of active investigations in connection with county lines as this is an operational matter for the police. We have provided £3.6 million to establish the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre, a joint initiative between the NPCC and the NCA. Since its launch in September 2018, it has carried out three separate weeks of operational intensification leading to over 1600 arrests, over 2100 individuals safeguarded and significant seizures of weapons and drugs.