MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social
Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip and MS, Minister for Children and
Social Care: The criminal exploitation of children causes
profound and lasting consequences, harming children, parents and
carers, and our communities. Frontline organisations continue to
identify children across Wales who have been targeted, groomed,
manipulated, and coerced into criminal activity. We recognise and
pay tribute to the efforts of these organisations, professionals
and volunteers who work every day to safeguard children and
support those affected.
As a government, we are taking urgent action to address the
criminal exploitation of children in a coordinated, urgent, and
sustained way, recognising children who are criminally exploited
are victims of a form of child abuse. We are committed to a
response that is child-centred, trauma-informed, and
evidence-based while drawing on lived experience and ensuring
alignment with wider responses to other forms of harm.
Our national ten-year Strategy
for Preventing and Responding to Child Sexual Abuse, launched
earlier this month, recognises the links between child sexual
abuse and criminal exploitation.
In 2024, the Jay Review of Criminally
Exploited Children and the Senedd Children, Young People and
Education Committee's report on children on the
margins highlighted the scale and impact of criminal
exploitation. We have welcomed both reports and accepted the
majority of the Children, Young People and Education Committee's
recommendations directed at the Welsh Government in order to take
effective action to address this harm.
Both reports highlighted the importance of improved coordination
between agencies and partners. To build on this, we took action:
last year we organised a national workshop on the Welsh response
to the criminal exploitation of children, which brought together
more than 200 practitioners. We organised this event in
collaboration and partnership with Action for Children,
Barnardo's, The Children's Society, CASCADE and policing in
Wales. We were able to share and gather insights on how agencies
across Wales can collaborate to prevent exploitation and support
children. The workshop was also used to highlight key resources,
such as the Complex Safeguarding Wales
Practitioner Toolkit.
In October 2025, the Minister for Children and Social Care opened
the ExChange Conference on
Safeguarding Approaches for Criminally Exploited Children
which focused on taking action across agencies to address
criminal exploitation. Later that month, we held the Anti-Slavery
Wales 2025 conference, where we launched new online learning on
modern slavery, to strengthen awareness across Wales of all
forms of exploitation, including child exploitation. All actions
designed to ensure our actions target the most vulnerable, in a
context where modern slavery referrals continue to rise, with
children making up most cases and criminal exploitation remaining
the predominant form of harm they face.
The Welsh Government's approach recognises that education is a
crucial safeguarding partner, often being the first place where
concerns about a child's wellbeing or safety are identified.
Schools, colleges and other education settings have unique
insight into changes in behaviour, vulnerabilities, and early
indicators of exploitation. Their contribution is essential to
multi‑agency safeguarding arrangements. We will continue
working closely with our education partners to support them in
fulfilling this vital safeguarding function, ensuring they have
the guidance, resources and multi‑agency support needed to
identify concerns early and protect children effectively.
We are collaborating within Wales, and we are also engaging the
UK Government on its Crime and Policing Bill to ensure our
children are safeguarded. The Bill introduces new criminal
offences of child criminal exploitation, cuckooing and coerced
internal concealment, and it establishes child criminal
exploitation prevention orders. The Welsh Government wants to
ensure we protect the most vulnerable. That is why we welcome
these important changes, and we will continue to engage on the
detail.
Our view is that collaboration at every level is absolutely
essential because those who criminally exploit children do so
across national and jurisdictional boundaries. Collaboration
within Wales. Collaboration between the Welsh Government and the
UK Government. And collaboration between the Devolved
Governments. This is at the heart of our approach as we engage
with organisations in every part of the system who are working to
protect and safeguard children in our communities.
Finally, we are developing proposals for a new consolidated
Practice Guide on safeguarding children from exploitation, under
the governance of the Wales Safeguarding Procedures Project
Board. We recognise the vital input of partners, including The
Children's Society, into this important work. We will continue to
take actions where necessary to keep children safe.
