HC Deb 09 November 1998 vol 319 cc50-1W
Helen Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of girls under 16 years cautioned in relation to offences connected with prostitution or charged with similar offences over the past five years who have a background in local authority care. [58311]

Mr. Boateng

Statistics held centrally do not identify children in local authority care from the total number of those cautioned or charged for prostitution offences.

The Government are determined to tackle the problem of children abused through prostitution and the measures we have announced in response to the Children's Safeguards Review are intended to protect looked-after children from those who might seek to abuse them, including those who might seek to involve them in prostitution. In addition, the Home Office is working with the Department of Health to produce new comprehensive inter-agency guidance for the police and local authorities on the treatment of children abused through prostitution. That guidance will recognise that children abused through prostitution come from a variety of backgrounds, including local authority care, and offer guidance on how to deal with the problem.

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