The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-16434, in the name of Michael Matheson, on awareness of criminal exploitation of children. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I invite members who wish to participate in the debate to press their request-to-speak buttons.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes the recent reports of Professor Alexis Jay and Action for Children, and the charity’s service provision, which highlight the issue of criminal exploitation of children; considers that the testimony from exploited young people, Action for Children staff who support these young people, and other professionals connected with this work have described the harrowing and shocking experiences that children have encountered; understands that this issue hides in plain sight and that criminal exploitation of children can take place anywhere across Scotland, including in the Falkirk West constituency, and can happen to anyone; believes that these reports offer an opportunity to raise awareness of this important topic with members of the public, parliamentarians and decision makers, while also creating the chance to explore solutions to tackling this form of child abuse, and notes the belief that, in doing so, society can help to meet the aims and vision of The Promise, ensuring that Scotland does become the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up, where they feel loved, safe, respected and able to realise their full potential.
12:49
I am grateful to colleagues from across the chamber for supporting the motion and for being in the chamber to explore and raise awareness of the criminal exploitation of children.
There is perhaps no greater concern than children being subject to harm. One does not need to be a parent to understand that our children are vulnerable and innocent. The fact that anyone should seek to harm and abuse children is chilling and abhorrent in equal measure. Unfortunately, that harm exists in our society today. The debate allows us to focus on the criminal exploitation of children and the fact that it is a form of child abuse.
The debate coincides with two important milestones that are taking place this week. The first was on Tuesday, which was national child exploitation awareness day, which aims to raise awareness of child exploitation and to encourage people to speak out against it. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the Jay review report. The report was commissioned by Action for Children and work on it was led by Professor Alexis Jay. I place on record my thanks to her for her pivotal role in protecting children.
Colleagues will also be interested to note that Professor Jay has kindly agreed to present to members on 14 May. That will be a good opportunity to hear at first hand about some of the issues that will be raised in the debate. I will alert members to that event over the coming days.
I also offer my appreciation to Action for Children’s chief executive, Paul Carberry. In my time as the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and as an MSP, I have known Paul for his outstanding work with Action for Children. He has a burning desire to help and support children and young people who have experience of our criminal justice system. He also ensured that Action for Children commissioned the very substantial report that was produced by the Jay review.
Paul Carberry often cites the fact that the children who need to be lifted out of trouble and adversity the most are often the children who are least likely to receive effective help and support. That is an important point that we should bear in mind throughout the debate. I also express my gratitude to Action for Children and other organisations for providing briefings ahead of the debate.
The Jay review found that many children are being devastated due to system-wide failure and that serious and preventable harm is being caused to children and young people across Scotland and the United Kingdom because of criminal exploitation. The review was able to draw on powerful evidence from young people, and parents, who have lived through exploitation. They outlined the drug abuse, horrific violence, threats and psychological trauma experienced. The report captured the fear and desperation of parents who did not know where to turn—some watched the grooming process happen and others did not know that it was happening until it was too late.
Criminal exploitation can affect anyone—there are examples of children from well-off backgrounds with strong, loving families being exploited. Other children are inherently more vulnerable, including those with additional support needs and disability, those impacted by poverty and those who have experienced our care system. Worryingly, black and minority ethnic children are overrepresented throughout the statistics relating to criminal exploitation.
One of the main issues is the duality of the predicament for exploited children. They are both victims who are involved in crime and actors who are perpetrating crime. When I was the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, part of that issue was addressed through the passing of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which aims to protect victims of trafficking.
The criminal exploitation of children and how it is tackled can be broadly summed up by reference to three areas. The first is identification. There is currently no agreed definition of criminal exploitation and, without a definition, the language used by agencies on what the criminal exploitation of children looks like is not consistent.
I hope that, when she responds to the debate, the minister will outline the Scottish Government’s plans to address that. Those plans should take cognisance of the important measures that the UK Government recently announced in its Crime and Policing Bill. Could the bill’s proposed provisions on the criminal exploitation of children be extended to cover Scotland?
The second area is the need to quantify the extent of the criminal exploitation of children. A lack of consistent recording means that we cannot describe the scale of the issue or identify achievable outcomes. For example, our main data source is the national referral mechanism, which is not specifically intended to protect children who have been exploited.
Better national awareness would help to promote greater understanding. It would also be worth while for professionals who work with children to have training that informs them about the potential risks of criminal exploitation and helps them to identify it.
The final area is about how we as a society respond to the criminal exploitation of children. Consistency is needed across all organisations. Information sharing, risk management and safeguarding practices are all needed to address the issue. Services should be adequately resourced to allow early intervention when identification takes place. Although a holistic approach across the UK is appropriate, Scotland can also lead the way by driving forward awareness of the need to ensure adequate protection for children to prevent them from being exploited.
The criminal exploitation of children is a lucrative business for some of the most sadistic people in our society. We have a responsibility, as a decent and caring society, to stop that form of child abuse. We need to protect our children and to crack down on those who are their exploiters. We need to do that collectively—together. I hope that the Scottish Government will work with Action for Children to look at how we can effectively tackle the problem of the criminal exploitation of children in Scotland and across the rest of the UK.
We move to the open debate.
12:57
I thank Michael Matheson for bringing this extremely important issue to the chamber. His contribution was excellent. It is important that we recognise the need to define, to collect data and to work across bodies to make a change.
We are very aware of the issues surrounding children and young people who suffer from poverty and deprivation in our society, but, as Michael Matheson mentioned, criminal exploitation also involves children from more well-off backgrounds.
As a Parliament, we regularly debate the impacts of systemic failure and poverty on the lives of and outcomes for children, and we reaffirm our drive and determination to ensure that the Promise is met by 2030. It is important that we meet the Promise’s milestone targets, as the Promise being kept will stem from the essential work that is being done to change those societal issues. However, in our debates on the Promise, we seldom focus on the people who would utilise the gaps in the system for their own nefarious desires. I do not believe that anyone in Parliament would dissent from the statement that the criminal exploitation of children is abhorrent and that all steps to eradicate it from Scotland should be explored and enacted.
I also thank Action for Children for its briefing for the debate and for highlighting its national polling data. It is horrific to think that 130,000 parents in the UK are saying that their child has experienced three or more of the signs of criminal exploitation in the past year alone. That is even more staggering when we realise that it is just the tip of the iceberg.
Because of the complexities of this type of exploitation, the figures that we have are underestimates. Often children either do not recognise that they are being manipulated, because they consider their abuser to be their friend, or are so afraid that harm could be inflicted on themselves or a loved one that they simply do not admit to the situation in which they find themselves.
The manipulation and coercion of children for criminal ends is not new. There is a long-established process of persuading and encouraging the most vulnerable in our society to take up criminal exploits. We only have to look at novels by Charles Dickens—“Oliver Twist” comes to mind—to see how little we have progressed in this area in nearly 200 years. If we do not step up and protect the children who are falling through the cracks in our system, we face discussing the issue again in years to come.
We do not need to wait for another 100 years—we need action. As Action for Children suggested, the Promise bill that is to be introduced could take massive legislative strides in closing the gaps in the system for Scotland’s children. Unfortunately, we are no further forward with what the bill will entail, the scope of its legislative changes and the outcomes that are expected from it. I appreciate the time that the minister has afforded me on the topic, and I respect the fact that it will be a complex bill that has to cover many issues. However, we were advised that the bill would be introduced at the start of 2025 and we are now heading towards the Easter recess, so I am concerned that delays will find us rapidly running out of time to scrutinise the bill—or, worse, that we will run out of time for it to be passed before the end of the parliamentary session.
I will do what I can to raise awareness of the topic. It is important that parents, carers and loved ones look out for tell-tale signs, which include sudden changes in friendship groups, especially if the friendship is with somebody who is older than the child or young person; changes in behaviour, physical appearance and language, such as the use of code words for drugs or sex; and unexplained gifts, money or, worse, injuries. Those are all signs of criminal manipulation, and I urge anyone with concerns about their children or any of the children they know to reach out, especially to groups such as Action for Children, to get the support that they need.
13:01
I, too, thank Michael Matheson for bringing this important debate on the criminal exploitation of children to the chamber.
Let us be clear: this is not some distant tragedy. It is already happening. In our towns, on our streets and even behind the closed doors in our communities, there are children, vulnerable, scared and alone, who are being coerced, manipulated and threatened into a life of crime by ruthless criminals who see them, not as young lives full of potential, but as disposable tools to be used.
I thank Action for Children for its helpful briefing. The recent reports from Professor Alexis Jay and Action for Children lay bare the sheer scale of the appalling abuse that is taking place. The voices of those young people—haunted, fearful and yet so often ignored—tell us everything that we need to know. Those children are victims, but I am afraid that, instead of receiving protection, they are too often treated as criminals, slipping through the cracks of the very system that is meant to safeguard them.
Let us be clear: the criminal exploitation of children is child abuse. However, as we have heard, the lack of a clear definition often creates a vacuum. Without a legal framework, agencies struggle to identify victims early, and perpetrators slip through the net. It is clear that we need a legal definition of the criminal exploitation of children—and we need it now—to ensure that we can protect and safeguard some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
As we know, it is estimated that more than 130,000 parents across the UK suspected that their child had been exploited, but the true figure is very likely to be higher. We are unsure of the true extent of the issue, and, if we do not know its scale, how can we hope to tackle it effectively? We must remember that these children are not making choices—they are being targeted. Exploiters seek out vulnerability—the children who are in poverty, the children in care and the children with additional needs. They offer false promises of money, security and belonging, then the trap is sprung. Debts, threats and violence become the new reality, a nightmare that they cannot wake from.
We have heard of children being forced to carry drugs and weapons, steal, beg and even commit acts of violence under duress. We have heard of children too afraid to step outside their homes and children wearing extra layers in case they are stabbed. Imagine living like that—but it is the brutal reality of criminal exploitation. There are children such as David, who was arrested for drug possession and labelled as a repeat offender, instead of being recognised as a victim. His family threatened his escape—it was impossible. However, thanks to the intervention of Action for Children, David found a way out, and he is now in college, working towards a future that he can finally call his own. His story is one of survival, but how many more like him are still trapped?
First, we urgently need a legal definition of the criminal exploitation of children. Secondly, we must strengthen joint investigations between law enforcement and social services, because this is not just a policing issue—it is a child protection emergency. Thirdly, we need welfare first approaches, because these children are not criminals. They are victims, and we must treat them as such.
Scotland has made a promise to be the best place in the world for children to grow up in. Today, the Parliament has the power to act—the power to uphold that promise—and I urge every MSP in the chamber to stand together, stand up for these children and let us be the Parliament that ends the criminal exploitation of children in Scotland.
13:05
I congratulate Michael Matheson on securing this important debate, because no issue is more serious than the safety of children; their wellbeing and life chances must be paramount when we make decisions in the chamber that affect their lives. I also thank Professor Jay and Action for Children staff for all the research and hard work that they have done to bring to light the facts surrounding the criminal exploitation of children. Their work is hugely important.
We should be under no illusions: as Michael Matheson has said, the criminal exploitation of children is a form of child abuse. For adults to force children to commit crimes and take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child into criminal activity is abhorrent. Violence, concealing contraband such as drugs and weapons, giving false alibis, committing theft, begging in the streets or vandalising properties are just snapshots of some of the criminal acts that children in Scotland are being forced to undertake. We must do all that we can to protect them from that.
The charity Action for Children has told us that nowhere in the UK, including in Scotland, do we have a legal definition of what the criminal exploitation of children consists of—that point was made by Bill Kidd. The charity has told us that that matters, because of the lack of a shared understanding of criminal exploitation of children. That prevents co-ordinated, joined-up responses to such exploitation, particularly with regard to what happens in the early stages, when children are groomed for child criminal exploitation. The Scottish Government must bring forward a legal definition to ensure that people who are committing those acts of abuse are brought to justice. I noted what Michael Matheson said about the potential of extending aspects of legislation from down south.
We know that Scotland is failing when it comes to keeping the Promise to some of the most vulnerable children in our care. I know the commitments that the Scottish Government has made, but we are not close to keeping the Promise commitment by the deadline of 2030. That will lead to the criminal exploitation of many more children, who might be in care and who will have much poorer life chances and health outcomes, and it will cause many of those children significant trauma that might have lifelong consequences for them and, indeed, their families and future generations.
The Scottish Government must do more to protect children from criminal gangs or individuals who use children to commit criminal acts. We know that the exploitation of children in Scotland is increasing, and we must do more to ensure that no child is abused in that way in the future.
13:09
I am pleased to speak in this important debate, and I thank my colleague Michael Matheson for bringing it to the chamber.
We all agree that only the lowest of the low exploit children, but, sadly, it is happening across Scotland, as the excellent but shocking report from Professor Alexis Jay and Action for Children reveals. Criminal exploitation of children is a complex, insidious form of child abuse that involves manipulation and coercion to make children participate in criminal activities and creates lifelong trauma for victims. As a result of its UK-wide polling last year, Action for Children has said that
“over 130,000 parents say their child has experienced three or more signs of criminal exploitation in the last 12 months”.
That could be the tip of the iceberg, given the lack of data.
I have been a member of the Criminal Justice Committee since my election in 2016, and my overriding interest has been the welfare of children and young people. Despite that, I have to admit that the facts contained in the report shocked me. How can this be happening in our beautiful country? After all, this is the country that introduced the vision of the Promise to ensure that Scotland is the
“best place in the world”
for children and young people to grow up in and where they feel loved, safe, respected and able to realise their full potential.
I thank Action for Children for its helpful briefing. I have to say that it is not an easy read; it highlights how criminal exploitation can include the retrieval of illicit drugs and money, the possession of weapons, the use of violence and firearms, the harbouring of offenders and the provision of false alibis for others. Cannabis growing, theft and burglary, and street crime such as begging and pickpocketing, are common, too. As a member of the children’s hearings system before being elected, I recall the case of a four-year-old boy who slept in the middle of a cannabis factory. It was just one of the many terrifying things that I heard at that time.
What can we do to eradicate this? Action for Children is concerned that nowhere in the UK, including here in Scotland, do we have a legal definition of the criminal exploitation of children. It believes that that obstructs co-ordinated, joined-up prevention work with children who are being groomed for that purpose. As we have heard, it also believes that the upcoming and very welcome Promise bill could be a parliamentary vehicle to drive through urgent changes to keep Scotland’s children safe.
We must stop children from falling through the cracks and getting drawn into a world of darkness. It is the responsibility of us all to recognise the signs and care for those who are lost. However, we know that it can be challenging for agencies to detect and respond appropriately to the criminal exploitation of children, for a range of reasons. Indeed, the system currently struggles to balance the dual roles of exploited children as both victims and perpetrators. However, we must make no mistake: we must go after the exploiters to protect children.
Any child is at risk of exploitation, regardless of age or background, and exploiters will look for vulnerabilities. Once bribed, a child’s loyalty will be tested, and they will, of course, be scared or reluctant to talk about their exploiters. Certain groups of children are inherently more vulnerable, whether they have additional support needs and disability, are growing up in poverty or are in the care system, and there is also overrepresentation of black and minority ethnic children.
Serious organised crime can play a significant role in this insidious practice, with children groomed over time and threatened or targeted in a way that makes them feel that they cannot escape. As Roz McCall has outlined, we need to be aware of sudden changes in children. I will not go through those changes, as Roz McCall has already articulated them.
Let us all be aware of what is happening to a significant number of children in our country, let us prevent exploitation and let us protect our young people. It is our duty and responsibility to do so.
13:13
I, too, congratulate Michael Matheson on bringing this critical issue to the chamber. I hope that the Government will allocate time for a fuller debate on the topic in the future.
Today’s debate should be not a formality but a crucial step in eradicating the criminal exploitation of children and in using our role for their protection. The decisions that are made in the chamber are key to creating an environment where the children of Scotland are free from abuse and protected from exploitation. We cannot explore solutions to tackling any form of child abuse without first acknowledging the elephant in the room, which is the systematic erosion of child safeguarding that has left children vulnerable to exploitation.
As other speakers have said, we must listen to Professor Jay, who has spent many years working to understand the consequences of child exploitation. The recommendations from her reports over several reviews must now be implemented with a sense of urgency.
We all have a role in preventing exploitation by ensuring that children are not just rescued from harm but equipped with the skills and support to prevent exploitation from taking place in the first place. Our job as decision makers cannot be to pour support for exploited children into a bucket when the bucket continues to have its safeguarding base completely eroded, because that is self-defeating.
I will take a minute to explore the mixed messages that we are sending to children and broader society regarding safeguarding, such as the language that is used around children’s sexual activity.
The law states that sex with a minor is statutory rape, but how many times do we see headlines discussing the lifestyle choices of abused children? In schools, we ask children under the age of consent about their sexual activity, thereby normalising what is against the sexual offences law that is there to protect children. Furthermore, we publicly fund lobby groups such as LGBT Youth Scotland, which has a remit to provide services to an extensive age range, from 13-year-old children to adults aged 25. However, responses to freedom of information requests have shown that it is working beyond its remit by accessing primary school children and even influencing materials in nursery schools. I ask the Government to respond to that point, if possible, during the minister’s summing-up speech.
Dr Cass was clear that affirmation is not a neutral act. However, what has changed to make materials Cass compliant throughout our education system, reflecting the accepted recommendations in Dr Cass’s report? What are the learning objectives and measured outcomes of teaching sex and gender identity to nursery children, many of whom are not even toilet trained? Children look to adults and older peers to make sense of their world. Nurseries and schools are a child’s first communities, independent of their parents and care givers. Those places have positional authority and have a key role in ensuring that safeguarding is embedded and understood.
If we are seeking to protect children from criminal exploitation, we must continue that important focus on child safeguarding and put it before any other adult-driven agenda.
13:17
I thank Michael Matheson for highlighting the important work that has been undertaken by Action for Children, Alexis Jay and others on child criminal exploitation. Today’s debate provides a timely focus on that deeply concerning issue. As we have heard, local areas face significant challenges in addressing the risk and impact of child criminal exploitation, which often involves vulnerable children and families. Mr Matheson laid out clearly the risks to all children, and I agree with many of the sentiments in today’s debate. Child criminal exploitation is abhorrent.
We have engaged closely with Action for Children and other stakeholders including Police Scotland, the Crown Office, the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the review’s recommendations to strengthen our approach to prevent and tackle this form of abuse.
It is important to recognise that a number of the review’s recommendations have already been implemented in Scotland and, indeed, were informed by our approach. That includes the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which underpins a rights-based approach to protecting children; delivery of a statutory independent child trafficking guardians service; and the operation of the Lord Advocate’s instructions for non-prosecution of victims of human trafficking. We want Scotland to lead the way in tackling all forms of child abuse and exploitation, so that we can live up to our ambitions and our shared vision for Scotland, and so that we can keep the Promise.
Evidence shows that the most effective way to prevent exploitation is through a focus on education, awareness raising and practitioner training. Last year, I had the privilege of attending the launch of the “You Are Not Alone” resource for schools, which focuses on the risks and harms of child exploitation. Co-developed by young people, I Am Me Scotland and Police Scotland, the resource offers a wealth of information to empower young people to recognise harm and know where to turn for support when they need it most.
Michael Matheson pointed to the importance of training. In line with the review recommendations, we are taking steps to educate and empower our front-line practitioners through the provision of the resources and training that they need to recognise the signs of child criminal exploitation and to respond appropriately.
In 2023, on behalf of the serious organised crime task force, we published guidance for practitioners on criminal exploitation. Many members have referred to the need for a definition. The guidance, which supports a shared definition of criminal exploitation and promotes early identification of those who are at risk, was incorporated into the updated national guidance for child protection in 2023. The definition is similar to the one that was proposed in the Jay review, and both Police Scotland and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration have stated that they are in the process of adopting the definition to inform internal guidance. In June 2024, a criminal exploitation awareness-raising event took place to raise awareness of the guidance among practitioners and leaders across various sectors and to promote multi-agency working between organisations.
I thank Michael Matheson for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is a really important topic and has been looked at by the Criminal Justice Committee, of which I am a member. On the point about awareness, I highlight the issue of county lines, whereby young people—often, children—are recruited by gangs to participate in illegal drug-related activities. That issue is perhaps flying slightly under the radar in Scotland.
Minister, I can give you the time back.
I thank Audrey Nicoll for making that point and assure her that it is being considered in our overall response to the issue.
Education Scotland has developed a professional learning package for local authorities’ strategic safeguarding leads, based on the practitioner guidance. That resource supports consistent and evidence-based messaging to teachers and all who work in education settings.
In addition, dedicated Scottish Government funding to keep the Promise is being provided to Action for Children and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice in order to develop an improvement framework for all practitioners to enhance the identification of and response to criminal exploitation. The framework is due to be published later this year.
To further improve the collective response to child abuse, including child criminal exploitation, we will roll out national multi-agency risk assessment training for social workers, police and health professionals over the next year.
We have also provided more than £450,000 of funding across 2023 to 2026 to support the anchor Highlands project, an Inverness-based alliance between Barnardo’s, Action for Children and Aberlour that supports young people who are at risk of exploitation through a focus on contextual safeguarding.
The Jay review compels us to re-evaluate our approach to what is a complex issue and to acknowledge that children who are caught in exploitation are manipulated and grouped by perpetrators. I am pleased that the Lord Advocate’s instructions for non-prosecution of victims of human trafficking have been recognised. Those instructions, which were updated last year, advise against the criminalisation of child exploitation victims. That approach sits alongside wider reform of the youth justice system in Scotland, which is clear on the need to ensure that children who are exploited are viewed through a child protection lens rather than a justice one.
[Made a request to intervene.]
I would like to make progress.
We also recognise the importance of support for victims. Backed by £10 million of Scottish Government funding across 2023 to 2025, the bairns’ hoose programme is already improving the experiences of the child protection and justice system for young people, including those who have experienced child criminal exploitation.
We are actively working to improve data. The latest annual child protection statistics, which are due to be published on 25 March, will provide further information on how child criminal exploitation has been reported by children’s services across Scotland.
I turn to the criminality of the individuals who perpetrate child criminal exploitation. The partners on the serious organised crime task force continue to use every means at their disposal to disrupt serious organised crime, including child criminal exploitation, and to raise awareness of the serious harms that it causes. We are reviewing the use of existing legislation to better prosecute child sexual exploitation offenders. In response to many members’ points, I note that we are working with the UK Government on its Crime and Policing Bill, which includes provisions to enhance police powers to disrupt child criminal exploitation and child sexual abuse and exploitation. Scottish ministers aim to take those measures forward through the legislative consent process.
The Jay review also highlights the fact that children who do not have an immigration status are vulnerable to exploitation. For them, Scotland’s statutory independent child trafficking guardians service is vital, as was recognised by the Jay review.
I have much more to say, but I appreciate that time is short, so I will conclude. I look forward to working with members, Action for Children and other partners to prevent and tackle child criminal exploitation in order to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up and a place in which children are safe and respected.
That concludes the debate.
13:25 Meeting suspended.Air ais
First Minister’s Question Time