PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Offences against Children (25 September 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help further understand the specific characteristics and motivations of child sexual abuse offenders whose methodology is defined as group-based grooming as set out in the National Crime Agency’s National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2018.

Asked by:
Sarah Champion (Labour)

The Government attaches the highest priority to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse.

We have been pursuing work on several fronts to improve our understanding of group-based child sexual exploitation (CSE), considering the broadest evidence base and applying due scrutiny to quantitative and qualitative research and analysis. This work includes efforts to improve data collection by law enforcement, qualitative research into police operations and reviews of existing literature on group-based offending.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse announced its investigation of child sexual exploitation by organised networks and set out the scope of its investigation at a preliminary hearing in May this year. While independent of Government, we welcome the Inquiry’s work in this area and as always, the Government will cooperate fully and we will give careful consideration to its findings in due course.

On 4 September the Government announced an additional £30 million to safeguard children from child sexual exploitation and abuse. Increasing funding for cutting-edge technology and the best intelligence and law enforcement capabilities will enable police officers to continue to target the worst and most sophisticated offenders.

Answered by:
Victoria Atkins (Conservative)
7 October 2019