Member

At the moment, the only measures to achieve the purpose of protecting the child from further harm involve criminalising the child. That cannot be right, and I know that it is not where the Government are on this. However, the fact is that neither the police nor the courts have the appropriate tools to focus on the child as the victim, or to provide the necessary support. The creation of this new order would enable the child or young person who may have been made to commit serious offences and be at risk of very significant harm but is still none the less legally a child—and is, in our contention, a victim—to be given protection in ways that are practical and recognise the reality of exploitation.