Child Abuse (Hansard, 2 May 1990)

§ Mr. Maclennan
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what directive he has given to police forces arising from the recommendations of the report of the inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland in 1987.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Two circulars of guidance to the police have been issued to date. Home Office circular 52/1988, which was issued to coincide with the publication of Lord Justice Butler-Sloss's report into child sexual abuse in Cleveland, establishes the principle that the needs of the child should come first and recommends the joint interviewing of alleged child victims by police officers, social workers and, where necessary, doctors; interviewing in comfortable surroundings; and the video-recording of interviews with child victims.
Home Office circular 67/1989 gives guidance to chief officers about specialist training for police officers who take part in joint interviews with social workers of alleged child victims.

§ Mr. Maclennan
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what training is being made562W available to the police to enable the video taping of first disclosures by allegedly abused children for presentation in court;
(2) what training is being made available to police surgeons in the physical examination of children suspected of being the victims of sexual abuse.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Responsibility for training rests with the chief officer of the force concerned. Home Office circular 67/1989, which gives guidance about the content of joint training courses for police officers and social workers responsible for investigating child sexual abuse, lists training in the video-recording of interviews as one of the essential components of a training course. There is no specific guidance about training for police surgeons.

§ Mr. Maclennan
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional funds he has made available to police forces to enable the early implementation of the recommendations of the report of the inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland in 1987.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Chief officers have not sought additional funds specifically to deal with child abuse. It is up to them to decide on operational priorities and to allocate funds accordingly. Total police expenditure since the publication of the Cleveland report has risen from £3,643 million in 1988–89 to a projected £4,384 million in 1990–91.