An important job for the various arms of government is to target criminal activity and to disrupt it. That way we can prevent crime before it happens.
That is why I was so pleased to learn that the Conservative Government will make it illegal to put children under 16 in unregulated accommodation under our strict new proposals, protecting vulnerable children and driving up the quality of children’s social care. All too often the County Lines drug gangs that blight our small towns use vulnerable youngsters to transport their drugs for them - and even to do the street-level dealing. Children in properly regulated accommodation are less vulnerable to be picked up by the gangs.
The Conservative government will:
- Take urgent action to make sure that no child under 16 is placed in accommodation that does not keep them safe, driving up the quality of care for our most vulnerable children.
- Consult on new standards of care, more legal powers for Ofsted to crack down on illegal providers and new measures requiring councils and local police forces to work together to keep children safe
- Bring about lasting change in children’s social care with an independent and wide-ranging review, working to ensure that every child has the best possible start in life.
Tackling crime is not just about arresting and convicting criminals after a crime has been committed - it is also about targetting and disrupting criminal activity.
