Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) are distributed under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The objective of ARIS is to drive asset recovery performance, by providing agencies with incentives to use POCA powers to recover more criminal assets, with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice.

Under the scheme, a proportion of the assets recovered using powers under POCA are redistributed to the agencies involved in the recovery, based on their relative contributions. The current allocation sees ARIS receipts split 50:50 between central government and operational partners.

In the spirit of the Scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. However, the use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency and is left to their discretion. Further information on ARIS and how funds are spent can be found here: Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2020 to 2025 - GOV.UK

We recognise that criminal records can impact an individual’s opportunity to find work and rebuild their lives, and are committed to helping those with convictions to overcome these barriers and reintegrate into society.

Regarding victims of child sexual exploitation, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to ensure it is properly resourced to review the applications of victims of Child Sexual Exploitation who believe they were unjustly convicted when their position as a victim was not properly understood.   We are also legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to disregard cautions and convictions issued to individuals under the age of 18 for the on-street prostitution offence.

We also know that children can be exploited into criminal activity and we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. Where a victim of CCE also meets the definition of a victim of modern slavery, they may have access to the statutory defence against prosecution contained in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is a form of child abuse, and this Government is clear that tackling CCE is a priority and plays a critical role in delivering on our commitment to halve knife crime in a decade.

As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we are introducing a new offence of criminal exploitation of children in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime. As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders to disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. A new criminal offence is necessary to increase convictions against exploiters, deter gangs from enlisting children, and improve identification of victims.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and safeguarding criminally exploited children caught up in this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, County Lines Programme partners referred over 3,200 children and vulnerable people to safeguarding services and provided specialist one-to-one support through Catch22’s county lines service to more than 500 children and young people.

Independent evaluation of the County Lines Programme found a causal link to 19% reductions in hospitalisations due to knife stabbings in key exporter force areas – equivalent to 500 fewer knife stabbings per annum or 15% of the national total. The latest Strategic Assessment (for 24/25) by the National County Lines Coordination Centre also found that dedicated policing efforts are impacting the County Lines model and that the number of children reported by police as involved in county lines has fallen by 8% since 23/24.

The Home Office-funded Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service also provides specialist expertise that seeks to ensure potential child victims in the NRM are protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation or re-trafficking, and promote the child’s recovery. Evaluation of the ICTG service has found it to be highly effective in supporting exploited and trafficked children, particularly in reducing risks of re-trafficking.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), established in 2019, aims to reduce serious violence among children and young people across the UK. Its mission is to fund evidence-based initiatives, evaluate their effectiveness, and generate knowledge to inform policy and practice in preventing youth violence. With an initial investment of £200 million from the Home Office, the YEF has supported numerous programmes across the UK. The YEF has funded work reaching over 150,000 of our most vulnerable children. Through its long-term funding model, it has been able to do this while conducting more high-quality evaluations of what works to prevent violence than have ever been conducted in the UK.

Individuals convicted of serious sexual, violent and terrorist offences are managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) on release from custody. MAPPA enables the Police, Probation and Prison Services to work together with other agencies to manage the risks posed by these individuals in the community, in order to protect victims and members of the public.

All offenders released from custodial sentences before the end of their sentence will be supervised on licence in the community by the Probation Service. Victims who opt in to the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS), which is available for victims of specified sexual or violent offences where the sentence is 12 months or more, have the statutory right to request licence conditions for when the offender is released. Typically, these conditions will include a non-contact condition and exclusion zones, prohibiting the offender from entering areas where the victim lives, works or travels to frequently.

Where victims do not qualify for the VCS, the supervising officer in the Probation Service will undertake a risk assessment and may request licence conditions to mitigate identified risks where they relate to victims of the index offence.

Licence conditions end when the offender completes his/her sentence. However, where the Police have concerns about an offender’s ongoing risk to a victim or the general public, they may apply may apply to the Magistrates Court for the imposition of a civil order, which may place restrictions or obligations on the offender which replicate some of the protections of the licence.

Individuals convicted of serious sexual, violent and terrorist offences are managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) on release from custody. MAPPA enables the Police, Probation and Prison Services to work together with other agencies to manage the risks posed by these individuals in the community, in order to protect victims and members of the public.

All offenders released from custodial sentences before the end of their sentence will be supervised on licence in the community by the Probation Service. Victims who opt in to the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS), which is available for victims of specified sexual or violent offences where the sentence is 12 months or more, have the statutory right to request licence conditions for when the offender is released. Typically, these conditions will include a non-contact condition and exclusion zones, prohibiting the offender from entering areas where the victim lives, works or travels to frequently.

Where victims do not qualify for the VCS, the supervising officer in the Probation Service will undertake a risk assessment and may request licence conditions to mitigate identified risks where they relate to victims of the index offence.

Licence conditions end when the offender completes his/her sentence. However, where the Police have concerns about an offender’s ongoing risk to a victim or the general public, they may apply may apply to the Magistrates Court for the imposition of a civil order, which may place restrictions or obligations on the offender which replicate some of the protections of the licence.

The Home Office does not hold specific data on the number of young people in Greater Manchester deemed at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) who have criminal offences recorded against them. However, tackling CCE is a priority for this Government which is why we are providing funding to support Greater Manchester Police to help tackle county lines and CCE.

Through our Drug Strategy, we are providing a targeted investment of up to £145m over three years to bolster our County Lines Programme. This includes funding a dedicated county lines taskforce in Greater Manchester Police, as well as funding Catch22 to provide a specialist support and rescue service for under 25’s and their families in Greater Manchester to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement from county lines including child criminal exploitation.

We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society with funding of £1.37m for delivery between 2023-25. Through the programme, a dedicated Northwest Prevention Officer works to support a range of partners to improve the response to multiple forms of exploitation including CCE in the Northwest region.

The Home Office does not hold specific information on the potential impact of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and gang activity on police resources in Oldham. However, tackling CCE is a priority for this Government which is why we are providing funding to support Greater Manchester Police to help tackle county lines, CCE and serious violence.

Through our Drug Strategy, we are providing a targeted investment of up to £145m over three years to bolster our County Lines Programme. This includes funding a dedicated county lines taskforce in Greater Manchester Police, as well as funding Catch22 to provide a specialist support and rescue service for under 25’s and their families in Greater Manchester to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement from county lines including child criminal exploitation.

We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society with a funding of £1.37 million for delivery between 2023-25. Through the programme, a dedicated Northwest Prevention Officer works to support a range of partners to improve the response to multiple forms of exploitation including CCE in the Northwest region.

To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has also invested over £20m to develop and run the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (with funding of over £4.38m in 2023-2024).

The Home Office does not hold information on funding allocations for tackling child criminal exploitation (CCE) for the Greater Manchester local authorities. However, we do provide national funding to some organisations in Greater Manchester to tackle county lines, CCE and serious violence.

Through our Drug Strategy, we are providing a targeted investment of up to £145m over three years to bolster our County Lines Programme. This includes funding a dedicated county lines taskforce in Greater Manchester Police, as well as funding Catch22 to provide a specialist support and rescue service for under 25’s and their families in Greater Manchester to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement from county lines.

The Home Office has provided £1.3million to fund The Children’s Society to deliver The Prevention Programme between 2023-25. Through the programme, a dedicated Northwest Prevention Officer works to support a range of partners to improve the response to multiple forms of exploitation including CCE in the North West region.

To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has also invested over £20m to develop and run the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (with funding of over £4.38m in 2023-2024). We have also invested over £14.5m into the Grip programme (previously known as Surge) in Greater Manchester between 2019-23 for hotspot policing targeting serious violence, and a further £2.35m has been allocated for Grip in 2023-24.

Furthermore, this financial year (2023-24), the government has made available £1m to the Young Women and Girls’ Fund, with Salford City Local Authority receiving £43,000. This funds a Young Women’s Worker who delivers specialist support and interventions to vulnerable young women and girls who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, gang-related exploitation or abuse.