During the Stop and Search session that took place on Monday one of the MPs who asked a question was Tim Loughton from East Worthing and Shoreham. As he explained there have been some challenges in the past for children under 10 year old. Tim was a Minister in the past when we was responsible for children and indeed I met him on one occasion when he visited our Hove YMCA group. Here is his question and the answer which came from Suella Braverman, the Minister who was managing this discussion.

Tim Loughton: I agree with the Home Secretary’s support for stop and search when it is used skilfully and responsibly, but when the all-party parliamentary group for children did some work on this a few years ago, we found that an alarming number of under-10-year-olds were being stopped and searched, and that police procedures for younger children were not being used properly. What assurances can she give me that things have changed and that, in particular for sensitive, younger children, stop and search is used only in extremis and under controlled circumstances?

Suella Braverman: There are clear legal limits around the use of stop and search, and it is only applicable for over-18s—the section 60 power. It is vital that the police understand the use of the legal limits, and that is why I am glad that training in procedural justice has improved. The authorised professional practice issued by the College of Policing will include greater detail on the limits and on how police officers should exercise their powers. The use of body-worn video footage has been a game changer in improving the accountability and transparency of how the power is used. That is why we are seeing a fall in the number of complaints.