Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Second Reading

The second reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill  was debated on 8 January 2025. This Bill  aims to improve the  welfare of children through the education and care systems. An amendment was tabled, seeking to reject the bill altogether. The result of the division was: Ayes: 111, Noes: 364

Regarding the amendment on Child sexual exploitation, this is an utterly despicable crime and we have to do all we can to prevent it. The law must operate without fear or favour. Perpetrators must be punished and victims and survivors must be protected and supported.

In my view, for too long, not enough action has been taken to prevent these crimes. I therefore support the steps the Government is taking to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), chaired by Professor Alexis Jay. The IICSA reported in 2022. However, I note that the previous Government had not fully implemented any of its 20 recommendations prior to the General Election in 2024, despite having almost two years to do so. Professor Jay has also called for the implementation of her report rather than a further Inquiry. The new Government will act on those recommendations.

To ensure that victims’ voices are heard, the Home Office is also acting to set up a new victims and survivors panel to advise on Government policy. This is not a knee jerk reaction to current events. The Crime and Policing Bill and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill were part of the Kings Speech in July 2024 and will seek to embed child protection in our legislation.

Legislation will shortly be presented to Parliament to make it mandatory to report child abuse. Once this legislation, which I support, is approved by MPs, it will become an offence, with professional and criminal sanctions, to either fail to report or to cover up child sexual abuse. In addition, the Government intends to toughen existing laws to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences.

Regarding further inquiries, I fully support police investigations and local independent inquiries and reviews. Local inquiries have a valuable role to play in uncovering wrongdoing. For example, it was a report by Louise Casey into events in Rotherham which helped to identify the failure to confront shocking acts of abuse by gangs of men.

More widely, I am clear that it is completely unacceptable to use race and ethnicity or community relations as an excuse not to investigate and punish sex offenders. Concerns about political correctness and the protection of institutions must never be put before the protection of children. All of us have a responsibility to protect children. I welcome the action the Government is taking to change protection for the better, give a voice to victims, and to ensure that perpetrators, whoever they are, pay the price for their crimes.

The Bill will now progress to be scrutinised in a Bill Committee.