Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which of the recommendations of the report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Operation Gullane have been implemented; and what form that implementation has taken.

Karen Bradley

The IPCC report on Operation Gullane makes a number of recommendations relating to police investigation of non-recent child sexual abuse.

Since the publication of those recommendations the Home Office has:

• prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat to empower police forces to maximise specialist skills and expertise to prevent offending and resolve cases

• provided £1.7 million to Operation Hydrant which coordinates the handling of multiple non-recent child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions

In addition:

• the College of Policing has issued updated Authorised Professional Practice guidance for police in relation to child abuse and exploitation, and

• a joint National Policing Lead and CPS review panel has been established to re-examine non-recent cases of sexual abuse where a decision was made that no further action would be taken and identify whether any issues require further exploration and investigation.

Combined, these measures significantly improve the quality of police investigations non-recent child sexual abuse.

I understand that the IPCC will write directly to the Honourable Member regarding implementation of the report’s recommendations.