§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the national arrangements are in the gathering of information on children involved in cases of child pornography. [51648]
§ Beverley HughesIt is the Government view that every image of child pornography depicts an instance of child abuse. As such, when a child is successfully identified from an image by law enforcement, the relevant local authority will be contacted.
The core interagency child protection guidance: "Working Together to Safeguard Children", sets out the role and responsibilities of agencies and practitioners and how these agencies should work together to promote children's welfare and protect them from abuse. The guidance lays down the procedure to be followed in a case of child abuse form the initial referral of the victim to the local authority right through, where necessary, to registration on the Child Protection Register.
Additionally, the United Kingdom, through National Criminal Intelligent Service, is currently leading the development of an international database of child abuse images, to the held at Interpol. The image database will greatly assist in the identification of victims world wide and will hold all United Kingdom images. The feasibility study supporting the development process will be completed this year.