THANKS to National Lottery players, Action for Children is to receive almost £5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund to expand services tackling the criminal exploitation of children — including securing and strengthening vital support for young people in Flintshire.
The funding will be used to support children, young people and families at high risk of criminal exploitation across England, Scotland and Wales. Crucially, Flintshire is one of the areas where this major investment will directly protect vulnerable young people, with the funding guaranteeing the continuation of the charity’s exploitation intervention service in the county.
Young people with lived experience of exploitation will be at the heart of the programme, providing mentoring and helping shape the project’s work to drive meaningful change.
Over the next year, Action for Children will open five new exploitation intervention services. The funding will also support new activity in Edinburgh alongside continued investment in existing services in both Flintshire and Newcastle.
A key focus of the expanded programme will be supporting criminally exploited girls, looked-after children and those on the edge of care. The funding will also enable further work to understand and address the role of county lines drug dealing and other forms of extra-familial harm, including sexual abuse.
This investment is part of The UK Fund, a major strand of The National Lottery Community Fund’s 2023–2030 strategy, it starts with community, supporting work that helps children and young people thrive.
Action for Children’s Criminal Exploitation Intervention Service works to protect and divert exploited young people aged 11–18 — and their families — from serious harm. Launched in Glasgow in 2012, it now operates across Scotland, Wales and England and has helped more than 650 children and families since 2020.
Support includes intensive one-to‑one work, peer mentoring, help to stay in or return to education, employment or training, and tailored support for families. Many peer mentors have lived experience of exploitation and act as accessible, trusted role models for young people who may not engage with mainstream services.
In Wales, Action for Children’s frontline expertise has become a vital part of how public bodies understand and respond to criminal exploitation. The charity works closely with Welsh Government, Senedd Members, local authorities, commissioners and multi‑agency safeguarding partners to influence the way children affected by exploitation are supported.
Continued investment in Flintshire means this successful approach can keep informing and improving national responses to child exploitation across Wales.
One young person supported by the service in Wales said: “I was selling drugs and didn’t want to be involved in it anymore, so I tried to leave. The person I was working for wasn’t happy that I wanted to stop selling for him and gave me a broken jaw. I
“t was dark, it was scary… I didn’t like my life… I wanted to take my own life. I didn’t want to be here. Without the help from Action for Children, I would be in jail or I would be dead. I would not be here.”
Laurie Ryall, National Director for Action for Children in Wales, said: “We see the harsh reality of criminal exploitation in our intervention services every day.
“The harm done to children and young people at the hands of exploiters is harrowing and has devastating consequences for them, their families and communities.
“For Flintshire, this funding is a beacon of hope and means we can build on the fantastic work already happening in our service there.
“This work has transformed young lives in the county and, importantly, we are also helping to shape how policy makers, commissioners and services across Wales respond to criminal exploitation.
“The evidence shows that our approach works — it keeps young people safe, supports them back into education or employment, and helps them build brighter futures.
“We’re incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund and National Lottery players for the opportunity to continue having a huge impact in our communities.”
