Ban CSE-risk children from semi-independent placements
IICSA · Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks Investigation Report · Issued 1 February 2022 · Addressed to: Department for Education
Government responseUK Government: Not accepted (Jul 2022)
DeliveryDepartment for Education says not accepted (Jul 2022)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, C
The Department for Education should ban the placement in semi-independent and independent settings of children aged 16 and 17 who have experienced, or are at heightened risk of experiencing, sexual exploitation. This should be implemented without delay.
IICSA, Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks Investigation Report · 1 Feb 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
In July 2022, HM Government did not accept the recommendation, stating that it did "not believe that a blanket ban would aid local authorities in making these decisions" (Home Office response, Jul 2022; Home Office, Jul 2022). It stated that local authorities are best placed to decide on placements in a child's best interests, noting they have statutory duties to assemble placements that manage individual risks while Ofsted holds them to account (Home Office response, Jul 2022). The record holds no update since the government's response of July 2022 (Home Office response, Jul 2022; Home Office, Jul 2022).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Not accepted · 27 Jul 2022
32. The government believes that every child in the care system should be placed in a setting that meets their needs and most importantly, keeps them safe. We must do all that we can to protect children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual exploitation. 33. We believe that local authorities are best placed to make individual placement decisions based on the child’s best interests and their stated wishes, including where this concerns children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual exploitation. We do not believe that a blanket ban would aid local authorities in making these decisions. 34. Local authorities already have statutory duties to ensure that children they look after are safe and have their needs met. This includes ensuring that care placements for children are suitable and provide them with the level of care and support they need. Anything less is simply unacceptable. When local authorities make care placements for children they look after, they must consider the needs and experiences of children, including their risk of being subjected to sexual exploitation, and assemble a care placement that can meet all of their needs while managing the individual risk to each child. Ofsted holds local authorities to account on this.
Delivery
●Department for Education says not accepted · 27 Jul 2022
We believe that local authorities are best placed to make individual placement decisions based on the child’s best interests and their stated wishes, including where this concerns children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual exploitation. We do not believe that a blanket ban would aid local authorities in making these decisions.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.