The majority of those who entered the UK during the evacuation phase were granted limited leave to enter, usually for 6 months, with access to public funds and employment. This status is not a bar to them being permanently housed or to starting their life in the UK, including taking employment.

The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.

Those resettled through ACRS and ARAP will receive fee-free Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. No one will be required to leave the UK, or be disadvantaged in any way, while we work through their cases.

Making our communities safer and reducing crime is a key priority for the Government, which includes protecting elderly people from crime.. That is why we are delivering on the people’s priorities by recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers to give the police the resources they need, of which 11,053 have already been recruited. We have also increased funding for policing this year by £636m compared to 20/21.

In July, we published the Beating Crime Plan, which sets out our strategy for protecting the law-abiding majority, swiftly bringing criminals to justice, and managing offenders with rigour and discipline. It also commits all of Government to do everything within its power to drive crime down. Moreover, the first two rounds of the Safer Streets Fund were designed to prevent neighbourhood crimes such as burglary, robbery and theft. The fund supports communities in England and Wales that are disproportionately affected by these crimes to implement well-evidenced crime prevention initiatives, such as street lighting and home security.

Since 6 April 2016, those admitted as Overseas Domestic Workers (ODW) or as private servants in diplomatic households have been able to change employer during the validity of their visa; and those found to be victims of slavery or human trafficking have been able to extend their stay for up to two years.

Changes were also made to ensure those who are referred to the National Referral Mechanism within the validity of their visa will be able to continue working while their case is considered.

In 2017, the minimum age for ODWs was raised to 19 in order to guard against the recruitment of minors.

More recently, work has been undertaken to simplify the Immigration Rules and guidance governing the ODW route. We expect anyone wishing to employ domestic workers to do so in accordance with UK employment regulations. The simplified rules make this clear.

It would not be appropriate to provide information or details in relation to a specific case.

As set out in the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy, the Internet Watch Foundation is a vitally important partner and plays a crucial role in tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse, including blocking access to child sexual abuse material.

The Government routinely engages the Internet Watch Foundation including recently on addressing self-generated indecent imagery where we strongly support the joint Internet Watch Foundation and NSPCC ‘Report Remove’ initiative. The Home Office has also funded the Internet Watch Foundation to deliver a campaign helping both children and parents to understand the risks which can be posed online, specifically around youth-produced sexual imagery.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our children. The UK Government is committed to stamping out all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse and continuing to be a global leader in tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Last year we announced an additional £30 million to safeguard children from child sexual exploitation and abuse, both at home and online. This includes £9.86 million to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to improve its ability to tackle perpetrators seeking to offend against children via the Dark Web and £3.36 million to further improve our understanding and tackle all aspects of the threat.

Recognising the unprecedented challenge posed by the impact of COVID-19 and restrictions to prevent its spread, the Prime Minister hosted a cross-Government Hidden Harms Virtual Summit, to bring together key decisions makers and agree actions to combat hidden crimes, including child sexual abuse. We have also worked across government, with law enforcement and the third sector to provide information and advice about child sexual exploitation and abuse to schools, parents, carers and children and to ensure that victims and survivors continue to have access to the greatest possible support.

For example through the NCA’s #OnlineSafetyAtHome campaign and their ThinkUKnow resources, as well as published guidance on GOV.UK. We have also galvanised industry and international partners to raise awareness of online safety in response to COVID-19 and formally launched the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

In the Queen’s Speech in December 2019, the Government committed to develop legislation to improve internet safety for all. This will build on the proposals in the Online Harms White Paper, published in April 2019 which set out our plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online.

We intend to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. The duty of care will require companies to put in place appropriate systems to deal with harmful content on their services and keep users safe. Companies will be required to take particularly robust action on tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

On 12 February the Government published an initial response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation. We are working on a full Government response, which will be published shortly. This will be released alongside an interim code of practice to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse. This code will set out steps that companies can take to tackle online child sexual exploitation and abuse on a voluntary basis, ahead of any regulatory system introduced following the proposals in the Online Harms White Paper.

My Lords, would the Government consider rolling out across the country child guardians for the benefit of the foreign children who have been trafficked here?

My Lords, last weekend, in Trafalgar Square, alongside the anti-maskers and the anti-vaxxers were conspiracy theorists who believe that an international elite is kidnapping children for abuse, sacrifice and to drink their blood—an insidious resurgence of historical anti-Semitic blood libel. These people have hijacked the legitimate concerns about child trafficking and abuse. This vile nonsense is circulating increasingly widely and, worryingly, is gaining credence. What are the Government going to do to combat it?

My Lords, the Minister talked about the role of local authorities. Covid-19 has led to the scaling back of some crucial local services, one of which is on-site workplace inspections to identify child and adult victims of trafficking and rescue them. Can the Government tell the House how many inspections have been carried out since the start of the pandemic?

My Lords, can the Minister advise your Lordships’ House what discussions have taken place at ministerial level with the devolved regions about online child trafficking, particularly in the Covid crisis?

My Lords, what part does the Minister believe can be fulfilled completely by local authorities? Can they be encouraged? They have always been closely involved in helping these people and it is important that their role continues. Does the Minister agree?

Save the Children reported that children make up a quarter of trafficking victims. Do the Government agree that a lack of safe, legal asylum routes for unaccompanied children puts them at risk of people traffickers and that, particularly during Covid-19, this has led to an increase in dangerous journeys across the channel in small boats, in addition to journeys in the backs of lorries? If the Government agree, what protection, including safe routes, will they put in place for such unaccompanied children?

My Lords, access to EU police databases and co-operation with multilingual officers has been crucial in helping to track and prevent transnational crime, such as child trafficking. What assessment has been made of how the pandemic could compound the impact of our leaving the EU on access to these resources and personnel?

My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, I am concerned about the child victims of trafficking who are coerced into illegal activities, such as working in cannabis factories. These children may be caught and prosecuted, while those who run the factories escape. How will our overstretched children’s services support such victims in these challenging times?

My Lords, support for the victims of child trafficking is obviously vital, but so is the prosecution of the perpetrators responsible. What action are the Government currently taking internationally to ensure a higher level of prosecution of those responsible for child trafficking? How can we ensure that, in the words of the Foreign Secretary, the UK, as a “force for good” in the world, does more to achieve that goal?

My Lords, I thank the Minster for the response. Evidence from the UN human rights report on the consequences of Covid-19 shows that the risk of online sexual exploitation of children has increased because parents, devoid of income, are turning to illegal methods of getting money, including selling videos of their own children being abused. What action have the Government taken since this evidence came to light in order to crack down on this appalling exploitation of innocent children?

My Lords, protecting those at risk from abuse and exploitation is a priority for this Government. Throughout the pandemic, the Government have continued to monitor and respond to the impact of Covid-19. Working with local authorities which are responsible for children, the Government have ensured that specialist support remains fully operational so that these children can access support remotely. The Government took action to safeguard vulnerable children by providing an additional £500 million for communities, including children’s services.

FGM is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

The Government significantly strengthened the law in 2015 to improve protection for victims and those at risk, and to break down the barriers to prosecution. The Government has: introduced a new offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM; extended the reach of extra territorial offences; introduced lifelong anonymity for victims of FGM; introduced civil FGM Protection Orders (FGMPOs); and introduced a mandatory reporting duty for known cases in under 18s.

FGMPOs are being used to good effect, with 547 being granted since their introduction in 2015 to the end of December 2019.

In 2019, the Home Office held a series of roadshows across England and Wales to train professionals in the use of FGM and Forced Marriage Protection Orders. Around 1,300 professionals attended these events, which raised awareness of the scope and effectiveness of the orders and encouraged professionals to always consider them in any safeguarding plans.

We continue to provide free resources on FGM for frontline professionals, including: an online resource pack, e-learning, statutory multi-agency guidance and a range of communication materials.

The right to protest peacefully is a long-standing tradition in this country and a vital foundation of our democracy. However, the Government continues to urge the public not to attend further protests. This is important to avoid the spread of coronavirus and the regulations we have in place to protect public health mean large gatherings of people are unlawful.

The rights to peaceful protest do not extend to unlawful activity and the police have powers to deal with any such acts. How the police use these powers is an operational decision.