Labour plans to set up child protection unit in government, says Cooper
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Version 0 of 1. A Labour government would establish a new child protection unit to “make sure every child matters and every child is heard”, Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, will announce. In a speech on Monday outlining the party’s child protection policies, Cooper will lay out plans for the central government unit, which would be run by the Home Office and the Department for Education but would work across government to promote a more joined-up approach to child protection, including earlier intervention and more information-sharing between police and others. Cooper will use her speech in London to highlight figures obtained through freedom of information requests by the Labour party that show increased demand for police attendance at child protection meetings, which bring together representatives from local agencies when there is felt to be risk of harm to that child. Research by Labour suggests that cuts to police numbers mean that police are struggling to attend these meetings. “There is a terrible gap between the scale of the problem and the strength of our collective response,” Cooper is expected to say. “A terrible gap between the abuse and harm caused, and the response from government, the authorities and society.” “We need a sea change in our attitudes, a revolution in our systems of protecting children. No more drift, no more fudge, no more excuses. Child abuse is a terrible abuse of power – an abuse of the power adults have over children, to groom them, exploit them, harm them and silence them.” In August 2014, Prof Alexis Jay, a former chief inspector of social work, published a report into child abuse in Rotherham. She concluded that failures of political and police leadership contributed to the sexual exploitation of 1,400 children in the city over a 16-year period. Jay’s investigation concluded that the council knew as far back as 2005 of gang rape and trafficking being committed on a wide scale by mostly Asian men, yet failed to act. In her speech, Cooper will underline Labour plans to make it easier for police to prevent an adult from contacting a child if there was evidence of abuse, sexual exploitation or grooming by strengthening the law so that child abduction warning notices and sexual risk orders, which are not considered a criminal offence when they are breached, can be used when police are concerned a child may be at risk of sexual exploitation and that there will be tough criminal sanctions if a suspected abuser attempts to make contact with the child again. On Monday, Labour MPs – led by the Rotherham MP Sarah Champion – will be attempting to force a change to the serious crime bill through parliament, which would introduce criminal sanctions for breaching child abduction warning notices and sexual risk orders. The shadow home secretary has made it clear that if the amendment does not get voted through, a Labour government would introduce it as early as possible in the next parliament. “This afternoon MPs from all parties have an opportunity to introduce new powers to help protect children that can be brought into force now. Powers that would make it easier for police who suspect abuse, police who know children are in danger, police who won’t take the risk of allowing adults who may be abusers to contact children at risk,” Cooper will say. “These are important powers that would make a difference. If Conservative and Lib Dem MPs won’t do the right thing today, a Labour government will.” |