§ 32. Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce proposals for new laws to protect children from sexual abuse. [38905]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyProtecting children from abuse is of the highest priority for this Government and we will continue to build upon and strengthen the measures already in place to safeguard children.
Protecting children from sexual abuse was one of the principal reasons why we set up the Sex Offences Review in January 1999. Its terms of reference specifically included
to provide clear and coherent sex offences which protect individuals, especially children and the more vulnerable, from abuse and exploitation".The review made wide-ranging proposals both to introduce new offences and to clarify and amend existing ones. These proposals were published for public consultation in July 2000 and we are currently considering how to proceed in the light of the large number of responses. We intend to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.