Live Home Office Questions

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:00:09. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to BBC Parliament light from the House of Comlons In

:00:15. > :00:19.an hour of my time, Secretary Theresa May will make a statement on

:00:20. > :00:25.the Paris terrorist attacks. Friday night's daily attacks in Paris by

:00:26. > :00:29.gunmen and suicide bombers, in various places, almost

:00:30. > :00:35.simultaneously. Least 129 pdople dead and hundreds wounded. @fter

:00:36. > :00:39.that, MPs will debate backbdnch business on the membership of the UK

:00:40. > :00:46.delegation to the parliamentary assembly of Europe. Followed by a

:00:47. > :00:50.nation of Turkey... A city on the east coast of Cyprus to its lawful

:00:51. > :00:54.inhabitants. Renumbered to join me for a round up of the day, both

:00:55. > :00:57.houses of parliament at 11 o'clock this evening. First, we havd

:00:58. > :00:58.questions to the home Secretary Theresa May and her team of

:00:59. > :01:17.ministers. Order, order. Questions to the

:01:18. > :01:24.Secretary of State for the Home Department, Doctor Roberta Blackman

:01:25. > :01:29.Woods. Thank you Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker before I answer the question

:01:30. > :01:31.now, I am of course giving ` statement later this afternoon on

:01:32. > :01:37.the Paris terrorist attacks, but I'm sure the force of the whole house --

:01:38. > :01:40.thoughts of the whole house are with France and particularly with those

:01:41. > :01:45.who have been the victims, or friends and families of the victims

:01:46. > :01:50.of this perfect attack. With permission Mr Speaker I will answer

:01:51. > :01:53.questions one and six together. Tackling child sexual exportation is

:01:54. > :01:57.the priority for the priority for this government. We have Artie

:01:58. > :02:02.prioritise child sexual abuse of as a national threat, and made

:02:03. > :02:10.significant progress since tackling the report in 2015. Thank you Mr

:02:11. > :02:15.Speaker, I am sure we would all in this house want to concur whth the

:02:16. > :02:19.sentiments expressed by the home secretary and send our condolences

:02:20. > :02:23.and best wishes to the families and friends of all of those who were

:02:24. > :02:28.killed in those dreadful terrorist attacks on Friday night. But I have

:02:29. > :02:36.heard what the home Secretary has to say about sexual exportation, but

:02:37. > :02:41.according to the children's society, more than three quarters of reported

:02:42. > :02:44.sexual crimes against 16 and 17-year-olds result in no police

:02:45. > :02:52.action against the perpetrator. The home Secretary feel about ctts to

:02:53. > :02:55.policemen will affect those figures? What I would say to the honourable

:02:56. > :02:59.Lady is this, first of all H think we should all welcome the f`ct that

:03:00. > :03:03.more people now feel able, hncluding young people and children to come

:03:04. > :03:07.forward and reports when abtse or exhortation has taken place. But as

:03:08. > :03:11.she will be aware, the question of how those reports are then dealt

:03:12. > :03:16.with is not a question of police numbers, as we saw in the rdport,

:03:17. > :03:19.sadly reports came through, please were aware and others were `ware of

:03:20. > :03:23.the child exultation taking place and yet appropriate action was not

:03:24. > :03:27.taken. That is why one of the things we will be doing and why thhngs that

:03:28. > :03:31.came out of tackling child exploitation report in March this

:03:32. > :03:33.year was the requirement th`t all police officers be trained hn

:03:34. > :03:40.raising their response to the child exultation, and revise guid`nce

:03:41. > :03:45.providing information on how to identify child abuse and neglect and

:03:46. > :03:48.what action to take. And I `lso associate myself with the comments

:03:49. > :03:56.made earlier by my honourable friend. The children's socidty

:03:57. > :03:59.recent report onto no better,.. This should be considered an

:04:00. > :04:03.aggravating factor for sentdncing purposes. Does my honourabld friend

:04:04. > :04:06.agree that this sends a strong message to perpetrators and build on

:04:07. > :04:11.the work already done by thhs government to protect victils of

:04:12. > :04:14.child social application? I agree with you that we always need to be

:04:15. > :04:17.sending clear matches coming messages to the perpetrators about

:04:18. > :04:20.how seriously we take this crime and the intent to deal with this crime.

:04:21. > :04:23.In fact, the courts will always consider a case more seriously when

:04:24. > :04:26.the victim as a child in fact, the courts will always consider a case

:04:27. > :04:28.more seriously when the victim as a child and that includes 16 or

:04:29. > :04:31.17-year-old. The sentencing counsel, their definitive gtidance

:04:32. > :04:35.on sexual offences is coming into effect April of last year and that

:04:36. > :04:39.does provide the courts to sentence more severely were victims `re

:04:40. > :04:44.particularly vulnerable, as Locke to be the case of sexual exult`tion

:04:45. > :04:49.evolving 16 and 17-year-olds. The secretary of state will be `ware

:04:50. > :04:52.that quite frightening proportions of the 16 and 17-year-old ghrls who

:04:53. > :05:00.are victims of sex toy citation have been in the care of the loc`l state.

:05:01. > :05:07.What action is she taking to prevent the grooming of such vulner`ble

:05:08. > :05:11.women into sexual exploitathon? Sadly the honourable Lady is

:05:12. > :05:15.absolutely right to say that a shocking number of those who find

:05:16. > :05:21.themselves he exploited an subject to child sexual abuse will have been

:05:22. > :05:25.in the care of the state. I think this is an appalling record frankly

:05:26. > :05:30.for the state, who over manx years... Is one the many re`sons why

:05:31. > :05:34.the justice will be looking at how institutions have not undertaken

:05:35. > :05:41.their duty of care, but as part of the work that we did followhng the

:05:42. > :05:44.report, looking specificallx with my friends as Secretary of State and

:05:45. > :05:47.the Secretary of State for Education, at exactly what `pproach

:05:48. > :05:51.is taken at local authority level, with those in care and indedd others

:05:52. > :05:57.who come to report abuse to the local authority. Thank you Lr

:05:58. > :06:03.Speaker, does my right honotrable friend agree with me that if 16 and

:06:04. > :06:08.17-year-olds are given the vote it increases the likelihood th`t they

:06:09. > :06:13.will be regarded and treated as adults and therefore increases the

:06:14. > :06:22.likelihood of them becoming victims of sexual exploitation. I s`y to my

:06:23. > :06:27.honourable friend, I would not link the issue of the age of vothng with

:06:28. > :06:30.this question of child sexu`l exultation, I think what we have

:06:31. > :06:34.been doing across a number of areas in the home office including in this

:06:35. > :06:40.area and with domestic violdnce where we have included 16 and

:06:41. > :06:47.17-year-olds in our consideration of domestic violence matters, hs to

:06:48. > :06:51.recognise the vulnerability of those who are 16 and 17 who somethmes are

:06:52. > :06:57.treated and considered and thought of as adults but are actually

:06:58. > :07:00.equally vulnerable as other younger people, they need protection and

:07:01. > :07:10.care that we should be giving in these issues. Her Majesty's Passport

:07:11. > :07:15.Office takes complaints serhously and has a robust process for

:07:16. > :07:17.customer concerns. Ultimately come to my complex commuter for ht to the

:07:18. > :07:23.independent elementary...