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The government is watering down proposed tough sentences for adults who sexually exploit children, a conference heard last week.

Speaking at a London conference supported by Community Care independent researcher Sara Swann warned that proposals in the government's review of sexual offences to introduce tough sentences, including life imprisonment for buying the sexual services of a child aged under 13, may not be made law.

The consultation document on reforming the law also recommended a 10-year sentence for sexually exploiting children aged between 13 and 16 and five years for those between 16 and 18. The consultation ended in March and campaigners are awaiting a response from ministers.

Swann outlined the findings of her evaluation of the implementation of the government's guidance on child prostitution - carried out for the Department of Health - which was issued in May 2000. The guidance places a duty on area child protection committees to find out the level of child prostitution in their area and draw up plans to deal with it.

Just over two-thirds of committees - 111 out of 146 - said they had a protocol or draft in place; 27 said they had none. Eight did not know.

Only three committees out of 50 researched in detail said they had made any progress on the dual aims of protecting children involved and prosecuting the exploiters. They pointed to the lack of police targets, a lack of monitoring, and a lack of focus on the adults who commercially exploit children.

Representatives from the leading children's charities which organised the event, pointed out that young people involved in prostitution often refused to engage with statutory agencies, so voluntary organisations were essential. But without new ring-fenced resources, they could not sustain this work and smaller agencies working with young people living on the streets were in dire financial straights.

But David Holmes, head of the children's safeguards unit at the Department of Health, said the issue would not be resolved by new systems of funding and the children involved should be provided for via social services funds.

- The conference Hidden Children, was run by the Somewhere Safe consortium comprised of the NSPCC, Children's Society, NCH and Barnardo's.