Scarborough and Whitby MP speaks out on new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill

Labour MP Ms Hume paid tribute to victims of child exploitation and sexual abuse who had endured “unimaginable pain” and said: "Their bravery in coming forward and sharing their horrific experiences must be commended and the victims must be at the centre of this debate.

"We must be led by them and listen to what they want.

“The amendment tabled by the Opposition would not have resulted in an inquiry into grooming gangs being commissioned.

"Were it to have been successful, it would have resulted in the whole Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill being defeated.

"Parliamentary procedure would have then prevented it being reintroduced.

“The Conservatives knew this very well and rather than table their amendment at a later stage, which would not threaten the Bill, they pressed ahead with a political stunt.”

Ms Hume said that ending violence against women and girls was a key priority, both for the government and for herself – she has spoken on the issue several times in Parliament and pledged to get a women's refuge built in Scarborough.

“Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most horrendous crimes, and the Home Office rightly supports police investigations and independent inquiries to get truth and justice for all victims,” she said.

“We have actually had two inquiries into grooming gangs.

"One was led by the Home Office in 2020, the other was the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) led by Professor Alexis Jay.

"This took seven years, hearing from thousands of victims and survivors and set out recommendations for the then government.”

The Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse concluded that child abuse was an "epidemic" and the report made 20 key recommendations – “shockingly”, she said, none of those recommendations was implemented fully or at all by the presiding Conservative Government.

“I am proud to have supported a bill which will provide robust protections and safeguards to children, including the introduction of a register of children not in school, the implementation of multi-agency child protection teams, strengthening of multi-agency safeguarding, improved information sharing across and within agencies, and additional support for those in kinship care and care leavers,” she added.