The government has tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill that will automatically disregard and pardon historic 'child prostitution' convictions and cautions. Announced on 4 November 2025, the changes are intended to correct cases where exploited children were criminalised rather than supported.
According to the Home Office, the provisions cover people who were under 18 at the time of the offence and were convicted or cautioned for on‑street loitering or soliciting offences. Ministers expect hundreds to benefit as records linked to exploitation are removed.
Under the scheme, qualifying convictions and cautions will be expunged, meaning the criminal record entries are wiped and treated as if they never existed. In this context, a disregard concerns record removal, while a pardon provides formal recognition of the injustice. The government says the process will operate automatically once commenced and will not require individuals to apply.
For affected people, the practical effect is that these entries will no longer appear on criminal record checks and will cease to act as barriers to work, education or housing. For employers and safeguarding leads, the change reduces the risk that childhood exploitation is misread as current risk behaviour during vetting.
The announcement follows the Baroness Casey review of grooming gangs, published in June 2025, which recommended introducing pardons and disregards for such offences. Ministers accepted all 12 recommendations and are progressing implementation; this measure addresses one of the review’s central asks.
Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said the reforms are intended to ensure past institutional failures do not continue to define victims’ futures, emphasising that children subjected to exploitation should not carry criminal records into adult life.
The National Association of People Abused in Childhood welcomed the step. Chief executive Gabrielle Shaw said recognition and belief are central to justice outcomes for survivors and that pardoning these convictions should provide validation for those affected.
Legally, the changes form part of the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 and will take effect only after Royal Assent and formal commencement. No implementation date was provided in the announcement. The Home Office has confirmed that, when live, the scheme will apply automatically.
The move aligns statute with the position adopted in 2015, when references to 'child prostitution' were removed from legislation to reflect that children involved are victims of abuse, not offenders. The disregard and pardon bring legacy records into line with that understanding.
The reforms focus solely on clearing the records of those criminalised as children; they do not alter the criminal liability of adults who exploited them. Prosecution and safeguarding action against perpetrators remain unaffected.