§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to propose amendments to the law to increase the maximum sentence for paedophiles convicted of abusing children; what measures are in place to ensure that police have the details of known paedophiles in an area where a child has gone missing; what proposals he has to ensure that internet service providers that allow paedophile web sites to operate on their systems are prosecuted; how much has been spent on combating internet child exploitation since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [83222]
§ Hilary BennThe criminal law is a devolved matter for Scotland and recent proposals for changes to the law in England and Wales are different from those in Scotland.
For offences committed in Scotland, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will increase the maximum penalties available to the courts to 10 years for taking and distributing indecent images of children and to five years for possession, (which are both offences under-the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982). The Bill will also implement certain of the recommendations arising out of the recent report of the Expert Panel on Sex Offending, chaired by Lady Cosgrove. The Executive is committed to tackling all forms of child abuse and keeps this area of the law under review.
In England and Wales, recent proposals in the Government command paper "Protecting the Public" outlined our plans for comprehensive legislative reform of sex offences. Protection for children will be strengthened by proposed new offences of unlawful adult sexual activity with a child, familial sexual abuse of a child, sexual grooming and commercial sexual exploitation of a child, alongside the non-consensual offences of rape and sexual assault, among others. The proposed penalties for these offences, which in many cases are higher than penalties for existing offences, will clearly demonstrate the abhorrence with which society views sexual activity with children. Legislation to implement these proposals is planned for the New Year.
In answer to your second point, the Sex Offenders Act 1997, which applies to the whole of the UK, places requirements on sex offenders who have been cautioned, convicted or found guilty by reason of insanity in respect of sex offences against children and other serious sex offences. Offenders convicted of a relevant offence must report to a police station prescribed by regulations within three days of the date of their conviction, caution etc. or their release from prison, and notify the police of their name (and any aliases), home address and date of birth. They are also required to notify any changes to their details within 14 days. Failure to comply is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
118WThe Sex Offenders Act applies to sex offenders cautioned, convicted or found guilty by reason of insanity after 1997. Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, when the police consider that a sex offender has behaved in a way that gives reasonable cause to believe that it is necessary to protect the public from serious harm from him, they can apply to a court for a Sex Offender Order to be made. The order will place restrictions upon his behaviour and activities and requires the offender to 'register' with the police for the duration of the order. An order lasts a minimum of five years and can be indefinite.
In the event that a child is abducted, the Government welcomes the pilot scheme based on the Amber Alert system used by some states in America, to try and ensure the safe return of the child. It was launched on 14 November and is known as 'Child Rescue—Sussex Police'. It involves a joint effort by police, the media and the public. Its intention is to notify the general public that a child has been taken, so they look out for the child, the abductor or any vehicle used in the abduction. They then report any relevant information to the police.
Decisions on taking prosecutions against internet service providers are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. An internet service provider (ISP) which knows of the presence of an indecent image of a child on their system and does not remove or disable access to it expeditiously on becoming aware of it, would be at risk of prosecution under the Protection of Children Act 1978. The internet industry funds the Internet Watch Foundation to assess images which have been referred to it and notify ISPs and the police of those that are illegal. The Foundation also provides its members with a list of newsgroups which should not be carried because they contain or appear to offer indecent images of children. These arrangements apply across the UK as a whole.
Operational decisions on allocation of police resources to combating child exploitation rest with police authorities and chief officers and no central records exist to determine how many cases have been investigated or the resources allocated to them. The new National Policing Plan reinforces the recommendation in the Joint Chief Inspectors' Report on Arrangements to Safeguard Children that police forces and authorities should review the role, remit, location and status of child protection units to ensure that child protection is dealt with to a consistently high standard. We have also set up a National High Tech Crime Unit within the National Crime Squad to provide additional support to local forces in investigating the most technically sophisticated crimes, including internet child protection. As well as policing resources we have worked with industry and child protection organisations through our Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet to tackle this issue, for example producing Codes of Practice and running public awareness campaigns targeting children and their parents.
Combating the exploitation of children by offenders who use the internet to facilitate the abuse, is an integral part of the work of the police in tackling child sexual exploitation. The Government have provided specific 119W resources for the National High Tech Crime Unit but this is not broken down across the different areas of their work.
§ David HamiltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to find the suspected paedophiles at large whose details were given to the police six months ago. [84547]
§ Hilary BennPolice forces across the UK are prioritising and tracing e-mail addresses for investigation, assisted by the National Crime Squad.
It is not appropriate for me to provide more significant details of what are, and will be for some time, ongoing investigations.
Ministers are monitoring the law enforcement response and the progress of this investigation.