11 Response Accepted in Part

Ban CSE-risk children from semi-independent placements

Recommendation

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.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The UK government accepted this recommendation in principle, with a final response initially expected by August 2022 (Official government response, 22 May 2023). A government progress update from April 2025 reported that the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill places a duty on parents to obtain local authority consent for home education if their child is subject to a child protection plan or section 47 enquiries (Gov.uk progress update, 9 April 2025). The Bill also aims to strengthen Ofsted's ability to hold provider group owners accountable, but it is not explicitly stated that this legislation directly implements the recommended ban on placements for CSE-risk children in semi-independent settings.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
C
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
22 May 2023

On 30 June 2022, the UK government provided the Inquiry with its provisional response to this recommendation. The UK government stated its final response to this recommendation would be provided within six months of the report's publication date, by 1 August 2022, and it will then be available on the Inquiry's website.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Official Report
09 Apr 2025

April 2025 government progress update: the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill places a duty on parents to get local authority consent to home educate their child if subject to a child protection plan or section 47 enquiries. The Bill also strengthens Ofsted's ability to hold provider group owners of residential care to account.

Source
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks Investigation Report 01 Feb 2022
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department for Education Primary
Themes & Tags
Child exploitation criminalisation Care safeguarding systems Vulnerable child care Children in Care Placements Child Sexual Exploitation
Recommendation age 4.1 yrs
Last formal update 09 Apr 2025