Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children were detained in police custody in (a) Lewisham East constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham, (c) Greater London and (d) England in each reporting year since 2017.

For the first time, information on the ethnicity, gender and age of children subjected to strip searches or intimate searches, that have taken place whilst a person is detained in police custody, is being collected by the Home Office.

Data have not been received from all forces, but data that have been collected are scheduled for publication on 17 November 2022 in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical publication: Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022 - National statistics announcement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

These data are collected at Police Force Area level only. Breakdowns by constituency or borough will not be published.