Agenda item

Presentation from Sarah Hegarty, CSE Prevention Officer, and Lucy Capron, Public Affairs Manager at The Children’s Society.

Lucy Ellender, LGA Adviser, introduced Lucy Capron, Public Affairs Manager, and Sarah Hegarty, CSE Prevention Officer, from The Children’s Society. The presentation outlined work The Children’s Society is doing on county lines exploitation , which is broadly where children are travelling (being trafficked) out of their homes towns and exploited for criminal purposes in other parts of the country, as well details of how young people were targeted and exploited . Many of the children being exploited in this way already have multiple vulnerabilities, and are subsequently exposed to adult sexual behaviour, drugs and violence. The Society warned that the scale of the problem has been under-reported and is bigger than previous high profile CSE cases, creating huge costs for society in terms of criminal justice, mental health and social care

The Board were told that The Children’s Society was working with a number of agencies to tackle this issue and that efforts were being made to raise awareness and influence policy changes. The presentation detailed The Children’s Society work to elevate the issue up the political agenda and it was noted that they were working closely with Islington Council in particular to secure a Home Affairs Select Committee debate to discuss the risks association with county lines. The Society provides secretariat support to the APPG on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults.  The Board were also advised that The Children’s Society had established a working group, which is looking to develop a disruption toolkit offering guidance to agencies, including local authorities, on how to detect and tackle county lines exploitation. It was noted that information sharing arrangements between the police, local authorities, social services and charities are helpful but could be enhanced. In particular, there needed to be greater focus on children who regularly go missing, as these children are sometimes classified as low risk, particularly boys, and on providing support for 16-17 year olds, who don’t get as much help because they are seen as nearly adults.

The Chair thanked The Children’s Society for their presentation and invited members to share their views. Members made the following comments:

·         Further statistics on the scale of the issue would be welcomed and would be useful in analysing whether incidence rates are disproportionate within any particular demographic. The Children’s Society said that while no national mapping activity had taken place, the National Crime Agency’s report shows an indication of the scale of the problem. Members were also advised that Islington Council offered a good example of local mapping and they would send interested members further information about the estimated scale of the problem.

·         A concern was raised about capacity and awareness as it seemed that crime was moving to more rural areas where police resources are fewer and awareness of the issue was lower. Members felt that increasing awareness amongst local authorities, particularly county and district councils, and police forces was vital. The Children’s Society representatives noted that they had regional officers across the country and that they were happy to link members up with their colleagues. Members agreed that they should take up this offer in order to get the message out to authorities, and it was suggested that the Society should also seek to present to the County Councils Network.

·         Members felt that in addition to working with local authority boards responsible for children’s services, they should also exchange information with community wellbeing, trading standards and district councils who are working closely in their communities. It was noted that those targeted through county lines exploitation were likely to also be affected by both modern slavery and child sexual exploitation, and it is worth making connections between The Children’s Society and adult safeguarding teams to discuss any crossover.

·         A question was raised about whether this was just a British problem or if similar methods of exploitation were being carried out in other countries. The Children’s Society said that they were not looking at this particular issue internationally but that they were working with other countries on international trafficking and criminal exploitation.

·         A discussion was had about the need to raise awareness of the subject but also make it more acceptable to talk about it. It was noted that national politicians had sometimes struggled to have this debate and use appropriate language to highlight the problem via the press. It was felt that better awareness across all council services and the public as a whole would be beneficial as the police were generally more successful when the public understood signs to look for and how/when to report to authorities.

·         On the suggested next steps, members agreed that a national strategy could be helpful but that a one-size fits all approach would not work. Members felt that a multi-faceted approach would be useful and that while the focus should not solely be on the London, it would be useful to build on work already being done, largely in London boroughs. Members also agreed that encouraging better links between local agencies would be a positive position for the LGA to take.

Decision:

Members noted the report and presentation.

Actions:

1)    Officers to circulate The Children’s Society’s presentation on county lines to members, along with a link to the National Crime Agency and APPG on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults reports.

2)    Officers to share contact details for Lucy Capron, who agreed to be a lead contact for any members wishing to be linked up to their regional CSE/CSA officer working for The Children’s Society.

3)    Officers to put Lucy Capron in touch with the County Councils and District Councils Networks.

4)    Officers to incorporate the issue into the modern slavery workshops as part of the LGA’s awareness raising work.