Education Committee writes to Education Secretary about child exploitation by county lines gangs

The Education Committee has written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, with a set of questions following evidence it received from experts about child exploitation and county lines gangs. 

The letter (PDF attached) asks Mrs Keegan to: 

·       Say whether the Government is considering introducing a statutory definition of ‘criminal child exploitation; 

·       Consider issuing guidance for interpretation of the Modern Slavery Act; 

·       Provide the Committee with an overview of the Government’s assessment of the current working of the National Referral Mechanism, and explain whether efforts are being made improve organisations’ awareness of it; 

·       Explain what steps the Government is taking to protect children from grooming that takes place online; 

·       Provide an overview of training provided to school staff about identifying and preventing exploitation by county lines gangs.